Wells Fargo Environmental Forum

It's my favorite time of year: Spring, when the flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, bats are cracking, and biking to work is at its most delightful.

Being May, it's also Bike to Work Month—"an opportunity to celebrate the unique power of the bicycle and the many reasons we ride," and maybe, hopefully, pick up the habit yourself.

To help convince you, here are some cool bike statistics: On a round-trip commute of 10 miles, two-wheel commuters save about $10 per day. That adds up!

If you already commute every once in a while on two wheels or have been considering it, this is a great time to be reinvigorated or give it a try. This event happens all over the country and throughout May and June. Here are some other cities and dates where you, too, can celebrate two-wheel commuting:

Anchorage, AK	May 18, 2012
Baltimore, MD	May 18, 2012
Boise, ID	May 14–19, 2012
Boston, MA (Bike Fridays)*	May 18, 2012
Chicago, IL*	June 11–15, 2012
Denver, CO	June 27, 2012
Indianapolis, IN	May 18, 2012
Los Angeles, CA	May 17, 2012
Louisville, KY	May 18, 2012
Memphis, TN	May 18, 2012
New York City, NY*	May 18, 2012
Sacramento, CA	May 17, 2012
San Diego, CA	May 18, 2012
Seattle, WA*	May 18, 2012
Twin Cities, MN (Bike Walk Week)	June 2–10, 2012
Washington, DC*	May 18, 2012

* Ranked within the 10 most bikeable large U.S. cities by Walk Score.

You can also enjoy the ride and map your commute with Google's Bicycling Directions. So what are you waiting for? Climb aboard your bike and get riding!

As Environmental Forum readers, you're bound to hear us celebrate one of our amazing environmental grant recipients, GRID Alternatives. In our five strong years of working together, Wells Fargo has provided GRID with more than $500,000 in funding to help install solar energy in deserving family homes. Today, I am pleased to invite Erica Mackie, P.E., Executive Director and Co-Founder of GRID Alternatives, back to the blog to tell us more about her organization's important work.

Erica has a professional background both in social work and in renewable energy and energy efficiency consulting and sales, and has overseen the installation of solar electric systems and energy efficiency retrofits ranging in construction cost from $10,000 to $1.7 million. She holds two bachelor's degrees from Southern Illinois University, one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Physics. I'll let Erica take the story from here.... (KVT)

Sandy Cha, Foundation Manager at Wells Fargo Central/Northern California was part of a team of Wells Fargo volunteers that came out two weeks ago to help install solar panels for the Martinez family. Migrant farm workers with two children, the Martinezes are one of nine families—all new homeowners who built the neighborhood themselves—that received solar systems through GRID Alternatives during the event. The Wells Fargo volunteers were on the roof installing panels, learning to wire the inverter, and helping the Martinez family celebrate when it was time to flip the switch.

"To get to see how we're directly impacting and to get to interact with the family that we are impacting is an amazing experience," Sandy said, during our annual Central Valley Solarthon fundraiser in Madera, "and one that I hope so many more volunteers can experience by volunteering with GRID."

Over the past five years, Wells Fargo volunteers have logged more than 1200 hours to help us make solar power a reality for families around the state, saving them an average of 75% off their electricity bills and diverting thousands of tons of carbon emissions.

So we wanted to join homeowner Floricel Martinez in saying THANKS, from all of us at GRID Alternatives.

I am excited to introduce you to a Vincent Davis, the Director of the Smart Energy Now® Community Partnership at Duke Energy. Wells Fargo has had the opportunity to work with Vincent's team at Duke Energy through Envision Charlotte, a unique collaborative opportunity that seeks to make Charlotte, N.C., the most sustainable urban core in the U.S. As an active member of the Envision Charlotte team, Wells Fargo is helping the city meet its goal to reduce energy usage in our buildings.

As Director of the Smart Energy Now program, Vincent collaborates with large commercial building owners like Wells Fargo to evaluate and implement energy efficiency products and services. He took on the role in September 2010 and has been busy creating exciting ways to engage our team members in energy awareness. Vincent will tell you more about how his team leverages interactive technology, social media and education to stop energy waste (—KVT)

As we conclude our first Smart Energy Now campaign, "Flipping Out" (unnecessary lights), I was excited to be offered the opportunity to guest blog on the Wells Fargo Environmental Forum. For those of you not familiar with Smart Energy Now®, it is a Duke Energy program with the goal of reducing uptown Charlotte, N.C., energy usage by 20 percent by 2016. Charlotte will also avoid 220,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions by meeting our goal.

Simple and no cost changes in our daily habits, such as flipping out unnecessary lights and unplugging unused electronics, will account for a portion this goal. Smart Energy Now® is proud to be firmly supported by, and is a big part of, the Envision Charlotte initiative, a first-of-its-kind collaborative partnership in Charlotte's center city to create the most environmentally sustainable urban core in the nation.

We are on our way! Walking through the lobby of a participating building in Charlotte, it is hard not to notice one of our interactive kiosks displaying live Charlotte energy usage, and we achieved high participation levels through fun, interactive games, like "Crab, You're It!" (PDF*)—a reminder to turn off a light or a monitor that's not in use—and our "Adopt a Light" stickers.

Even better is that Wells Fargo associates in Charlotte have stepped up in a big way. They leverage existing channels such as the Wells Fargo Charlotte Green Team, participated in our Energy Champion training classes, and contributed straight-forward ideas, such as using revolving door signage to reduce wasted energy. Did you know that using a standard door instead of a revolving door waste 8 times more energy?

This is just the beginning, and we know that the Wells Fargo associates will continue to take action in pursuit of reducing energy waste. We look forward to your continued leadership in upcoming Smart Energy Now® campaigns here in Charlotte! (Stay tuned for those.) Now that I know about this blog, I expect that the Smart Energy Now team will continue to check it out and look for great ideas like the vampire slayer campaign launched by the Vancouver Green Team.

If you'd like, you can stay tuned by following Smart Energy Now on Twitter, on our blog, or on our new LinkedIn forum.

* You will need Adobe® Reader® to view PDF files. Download Adobe Reader.

As we continue to find new technologies being developed in our communities across the country, America continues to be the frontier for innovation. Many of these technological advancements are related to energy efficiency and the "built environment"—think lighting, windows, landscape, buildings software, and much more—and are being developed at colleges and universities across the U.S., on campuses like the University of California at Davis.

The UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center's (EEC) mission is to accelerate the development and commercialization of energy-efficient technologies and to train future leaders in energy efficiency. Sounds great! But why is this important? And why would Wells Fargo want to be a part of this?

To answer that, let's take a look at a few numbers. Buildings in the U.S. alone are responsible for more than:

• 40% of CO2 emissions
• 40% of energy consumption
• 13% of water consumption
• 15% of Gross Domestic Product per year [Source: USGBC.org]

What that means is there is tremendous opportunity to improve the efficiency of our current building stock. And by doing so, we reap all kinds of benefits:

• Employees and tenants are more productive.
• Health care costs are reduced from improved air quality and healthy food options.
• Jobs are created through the retrofit process.
• New technologies can be tested and deployed in the retrofit process.
• Overall energy costs can be significantly reduced for building owners.

Not bad, right?

I'm pleased to introduce you to Matt Wadley from Corporate Communications, who is responsible for managing communications for Wells Fargo's marketing efforts, including our sponsorship of the Wells Fargo Championship.

As we've mentioned before on the blog, Wells Fargo aims to weave environmental stewardship into everything we do because through our everyday actions we can make a difference. Matt is here today to share with you how the tournament team is driving sustainability on the greens. Take it away, Matt! (SR)

As the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship returns to Charlotte, N.C. this week, it marks the 10th anniversary of one of the PGA TOUR's most popular tournaments.

For the past decade, the event has provided golf fans with world-class competition from the games' top golfers. It's also made a significant impact on important organizations, donating $13.5 million in tournament proceeds.

The Wells Fargo Championship also places a focus on recycling and preserving natural resources. In 2011, the tournament was able to produce impressive results from its "greener" effort thanks to the awareness of patrons, volunteers and support from ReCommunity, who sorted and processed all materials. Working together, the team collected 43 tons of recycled material that included paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminum. In addition, the golf course uses a water filtration method to recycle water that is used to maintain the fairways and greens.

This year, just like last, recycling containers will be available all over the golf course, making it easy for patrons to properly dispose of aluminum and plastic.

Wells Fargo recently announced an enhanced commitment to environmental leadership that includes some pretty significant goals for the next 8 years. We're excited that our sponsorship of the Wells Fargo Championship offers yet another avenue to help promote "greener" habits and environmental stewardship.

Environmental Forum readers may remember Joanne Lasnier from her wonderful story on plastics, and we are thrilled to welcome her back!

This time, Joanne is demystifying organics. From farming standards to labeling, she covers all the ins and outs of the organic industry. (—Krista)

I'm sure you've noticed the increase in organic foods, clothing, and personal care products available in our local stores, farmers' markets, and online. But what does "organic" really mean when you see it on a product label? Who decides what qualifies as "organic"?

So let's take a tour of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website to learn more about our National Organic Program (NOP) and what the term "organic" means for U.S. consumers. Then we'll try to address a few other questions you might have.

Labeling organic products

When you see this label on a product's packaging, you know it was produced using methods approved by the USDA. These methods integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster resource cycling, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. All products sold as organic must be certified by a USDA-accredited agent.¹

Labeling standards are based on the percentage of organic ingredients in a product:

• 100% organic: Must contain only organically produced ingredients
• Organic: Must have 95% organically produced ingredients
• Made with organic: Must have at least 70% certified organic content
• Products containing less than 70% certified organic content may identify specific ingredients as organic

Only products made with 95-100% organic ingredients may display the USDA Organic seal.

USDA requirements for organic food products

• Organic crops: Producers must not use ionizing irradiation, sewage sludge-based fertilizers, petroleum-based fertilizers, prohibited pesticides, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
• Organic livestock: Producers must meet animal health and welfare standards, not use antibiotics or growth hormones, use 100% organic feed, and provide animals with access to the outdoors.

(Source: NOP fact sheets)

Wells Fargo Environmental Forum readers, I am proud to share with you a new enhanced environmental commitment that outlines our vision for where we can have the greatest positive impact on our environment and details a comprehensive set of goals that we aim to make progress on between now and 2020. It includes three focus areas:

1. Encouraging stronger communities: Where we live.
2. Accelerating a greener economy: Where we do business.
3. Reducing the environmental impact of our operations: Where we work.

The imagery that comes to my mind when I think of the sustainability journey that Wells Fargo has been on since we announced our first environmental commitment in July of 2005 is one of stepping stones through the woods—sometimes the steps from stone to stone are small, sometimes you move more sideways than forwards, and sometimes they require a giant leap to get from one stone to the next.

The process of developing this new commitment was a little like that, as well. Our commitment was developed over the course of a year with input from you, our customers, team members, shareholders, and environmental thought leaders. It also involved gaining support from business leaders across our company to develop a comprehensive set of goals. Through the process of engagement and dialogue we were pleased to learn that while priorities and opinions vary, concern for the environment is an underlying value we all share.

Some of the highlights of the feedback we received from our stakeholders are that you want us to focus on areas that are material to our business—and where we have the greatest opportunity to demonstrate leadership. You also want to see how we are contributing to solutions that address important community and societal needs. You want us to be more open in our dialogue about these important issues. And finally, we heard and responded to the desire for clear goals and metrics that we can measure progress against.

Future posts here on the blog will highlight more of the feedback we received and show you how it was incorporated into our commitment.

While it took a year to develop, establishing the commitment is the easy part. Hard work is ahead as we carry out our commitment, and we will need to work together with all our stakeholders to truly make a difference.

However, we believe that, because this commitment is a comprehensive set of goals that are "owned" across the company by many lines of business and organizations, we will be able to make significant progress, including many of those giant leaps forward.

Hey Wells Fargo Environmental Forum readers, just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day and share this short video from the Earth Day Network!

As you recall, the theme this year is "Mobilize the Earth." What does that mean exactly? In their words:

For Earth Day 2012 we are mobilizing the planet simply to say one thing: the Earth won't wait. It seems that environmental issues have been put on the back burner as we are in the midst of a global recession. It is time for us to Mobilize the Earth™ and speak with one voice, one message.

So today—and every day, really—we encourage each and every one of you to speak up on behalf of the Earth. Remember, we've said it before and we'll say it again: Every little bit helps!

Have a wonderful day!

Wells Fargo Environmental Forum readers, as you may have observed we're having "A busy April" with tons of Earth Day activities. Now, I'm pleased to turn today's post over to Marketing Manager Jenna Dunham, who is here to discuss even more Earth Day activities, as well as encourage you to participate in our Online Statements Sweepstakes! (—SR)

Earth Day is a few days away, making it a great time for all of us to think about what we can do to help the environment!

That includes us, of course, and we're excited to do our part. This week we announced our Online Statements Sweepstakes, which will hopefully encourage our customers to go paperless and conserve trees. We're also conducting two tree recovery campaigns in California and Missouri along with our friends at the Arbor Day Foundation.

First, the sweepstakes. Now through May 31, 2012, for each eligible account statement you switch to online only statement delivery, you'll automatically be entered for a chance to win $25,000 or one of 20 $1,000 prizes! (And there's no purchase necessary to enter or win the sweepstakes—see the official rules for complete details.) We encourage all of our customers to switch to paperless statements for the environmental aspects, as well as for the convenience and increased security.

In fact, according to December 2011 estimates (using the Environmental Paper Network's Paper Calculator and provided statements weren't printed at home), our customers have helped conserve more than 223,000 trees by turning off 649 million paper statements. That's a lot of trees and avoided clutter on your desks!

Second, the tree recovery campaigns. In appreciation of customers who choose paperless banking options whenever possible, we're pleased to support the planting of trees, especially in areas of need. This year we're donating 50,000 trees to California's Six Rivers National Forest in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The donated trees are expected to contribute to an improved ecosystem in the forest—which extends 140 miles south from the Oregon-California border—for years to come.

We're also working with the Foundation's Joplin Tree Recovery Campaign, to help the people of Joplin, Missouri, restore the community trees lost due to last year's devastating tornado. The Foundation and Well Fargo volunteers will distribute thousands of tree seedlings to Joplin residents on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

What are YOU doing to help the environment and celebrate this Earth Day? We'd love to hear! Please let us know in the comments section.

Environmental Forum readers, here is the latest version of our ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Notes compiled each week by Adam Berkowitz. If you have any questions or comments about Nelson Capital's ESG notes, please leave them for Adam below or visit our website.

Exxon forced to disclose out the "fracts"

ExxonMobil, the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., will be facing a shareowner resolution addressing hydraulic fracturing for the third consecutive year. Eight companies were targeted with a proposal for more disclosure on the impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing. Of the eight companies targeted by the proposal, only Exxon challenged it at the SEC attempting to get it removed as a proxy ballot issue. The SEC responded in a letter dated March 22nd.

"We are unable to concur in your view that ExxonMobil may exclude the proposal," the letter stated. "Based on the information you have presented, it does not appear that ExxonMobil's public disclosures compare favorably with the guidelines of the proposal."

Last year's shareowner votes in support of proposals on the controversial extractive process averaged an unprecedented 40%. At Exxon, the vote in favor of a resolution requesting that the company report on the environmental impacts of fracking totaled 28.2%.

Corporate boards urged to pay attention to proxy proposals

A recently published white paper (PDF*) from Ernst & Young asks corporate boards if they are prepared for a focus by investors on sustainability issues. The results of the 2011 proxy season have set the stage for what will occur in 2012. The paper states that "a confluence of factors … [is] working to sharpen attention on the 'triple bottom line' of environmental, social and economic performance." For the third straight year, the paper continues, proposals addressing sustainability issues "will dominate other major proposal categories."

Furthermore, voting support for such proposals is likely to continue to increase in 2012. The major issues that corporate boards will be pressured to confront this year include corporate expenditures on political spending and lobbying; the sustainability of extractive practices relating to hydraulic fracturing, oil sands development, and coal combustion; and sustainability reporting and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies.

Ernst & Young recommends improved sustainability reporting as a means of enhancing dialogue and bolstering disclosure.