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Climate Corps Projects

Citizens Bank – Sara Hicks – 2018

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%.

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
About the fellow
Sara Hicks
Bard College
Sara Hicks is an MBA in Sustainability candidate at Bard College, where she is a student council member for the program. Prior to graduate school, she diversified her experience in related fields, including land management and environmental education. Hicks also spent time studying abroad in Europe, visiting 17 countries in 3 months.

Who We Work With

EDF has collaborated with over 40% of Fortune 100 companies to align sustainability goals with bottom line gains