The sustainability nonprofit organization Ceres announced today that the PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) has joined the Ceres Company Network.
As a new member of the Ceres Company Network, PNC joins approximately 50 companies committed to achieving sustainability goals and improving resiliency in their operations and supply chains. Through the network, PNC will gain unique access to diverse external perspectives, as well as Ceres’ insight and guidance on how to help advance the accelerated transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.
“PNC recognizes that environmental issues, including climate change, are impacting our business, our employees, our clients and the communities in which we operate,” said Bill Demchak, PNC Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, we understand the importance of balancing financial priorities with environmental issues. For this reason, among others, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to join Ceres, which we expect will help us enhance our sustainability strategy by introducing us to best practices and challenging us to pursue relevant industry initiatives.  Not only is this work the right thing to do, but we believe it will allow us to better compete and subsequently yield long-term financial benefits.”
PNC’s commitment to environmental sustainability isn’t new. In 2000 the company opened PNC Firstside Center, which was then the world’s largest LEED-certified building. In 2017—after meeting several of its 2020 environmental targets ahead of schedule—the company set more ambitious 2035 targets, specifically to reduce its carbon emissions and energy consumption by 75 percent and its water consumption by 50 percent.
From a financing perspective, the company is committed to supporting renewable, green and energy efficient projects, including financing $23 billion of sustainable projects since 2016. Â Furthermore, PNC has an environmental and social risk management framework through which it evaluates lending risks and opportunities at the transaction and portfolio levels.
PNC’s Board of Directors has formal oversight of corporate social responsibility and regularly receives updates and provides feedback on related issues, programs and policies. The bank’s executive committee is equally engaged and meets with PNC’s CSR team on at least a quarterly basis to review the company’s progress in meeting its ESG goals. Like other Ceres members, PNC is determining how it may best support the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It will be hosting an internal working group session this summer, led by Ceres, to begin building a TCFD alignment strategy for the company.
Finally, PNC’s growing commitment to sustainability has also led it to join the RE100 initiative in May 2019 and to set a 100 percent renewable electricity goal for 2025. RE100 is a global leadership initiative led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, which brings together leading companies committed to source 100% renewable power. PNC joins many of the world’s leading financial services companies in making this commitment and looks forward to working with Ceres and The Climate Group to reach this goal as quickly as possible.
“PNC has ramped up their commitment to sustainability and has shown leadership in doing so, as evidenced by their most recent commitment to source 100 percent of their energy from renewables,” said Ceres President and CEO Mindy Lubber. “We are looking forward to working with them to take their strategy to the next level by evaluating and acting on the sustainability risks and opportunities within the bank’s operations and financing portfolio."
To join the Ceres Company Network, members must have executive-level, public-facing sustainability commitments. Learn more: https://www.ceres.org/networks/ceres-company-network.
About Ceres
Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. For more information, visit www.ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.
About PNC Financial Services Group
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.