Citizens Bank
At a Glance
Industry
Financial Services and Insurance
Project Types
Data Analysis, Engagement and Behavior Change, Goals/Targets, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2018
Location
Cranston, RI
Summary
Sara Hicks worked with Citizens Bank to evaluate the business drivers and benefits of setting science-based targets.
Goals
Citizens Bank, the 12th largest retail bank in the United States, enlisted Sara Hicks to help research and evaluate the feasibility of setting science based GHG reduction targets.
Solutions
Sarah combined Citizens Bank’s standards of reporting for energy, water, waste, business travel, paper and GHG emissions against the Science Based Targets initiative standard of Scope 1 and 2 reporting. Electricity use was determined to be the most material category, accounting for 60% of the bank’s carbon footprint from a 2016 baseline. To reduce the company’s energy use, Sarah assessed the feasibility for both renewable energy procurement and energy efficiency projects across the spread of 1,300 facility locations. For the less material categories, including water, waste, business travel and paper, the focus was on educational programming and marketing initiatives to drive environmental progress.
Potential Impact
By committing to a science based GHG reduction targets, Citizens would be aligning with leading institutions to mitigate climate change. Hicks’ recommendation of replacing electrical consumption with renewable energy would allow Citizens Bank to reduce its carbon footprint by 60%.