Introduction
The development of Regions’ environmental strategy relies on the identification of risks and opportunities to drive strategic initiatives. This strategy considers all three scopes of GHG emissions, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Successful execution of this environmental strategy is measured through achievement of defined emissions metrics and targets. At this stage in our journey, we have historically been focused upon measuring emissions within our operational footprint that are generally categorized as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. An important benefit of measuring our emissions is the ability to develop targets and manage our performance against these targets.
Understanding the existing level of exposure to climate change risk carried by our lending portfolio is an integral step toward allocating capital in a more sustainable way, and Regions has initiated the process to develop new methodologies for measuring and evaluating our Scope 3 portfolio and sector-specific emissions. Capturing these metrics deepens our understanding of our impact, via both risks and opportunities, while simultaneously enabling us to develop ambitious but practicable sustainability goals we can share with the public. By continuing to gather the data, we can then evaluate our progress against those goals on an ongoing basis and also deepen our own internal risk management and strategic efforts. We provide some of these key metrics, and the goals they inform, to solidify our accountability and demonstrate our desire for openness and transparency.
Scopes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that we control or own
Indirect GHG emissions associated with our purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling
Indirect GHG emissions resulting from activities of assets not owned or controlled by our Company across our value chain
Regions’ Operational Footprint
Energy and Emissions
We are committed to operating our business responsibly, understanding that doing so will help us create long-term, sustainable value for our stakeholders and society. This commitment, and how we plan to act on it, is articulated in our Environmental Sustainability Policy Statement, which was initially approved by management in 2018 and is now overseen by the Board’s NCG Committee. The Policy Statement contains a number of pledges that, as this report demonstrates, we have since made considerable progress to effectuate. Importantly, the Policy Statement also established our first two environmental goals using a 2015 baseline. Both goals have since served as key operational targets for our organization. We are pleased with the progress we have made since that time.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: We established our first GHG emissions reduction goal in 2018, seeking to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2023. Having accomplished this goal ahead of schedule, we announced a new Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions reduction goal in our 2020 TCFD Report: to reduce our gross Scope 1 and Scope 2 location-based carbon emissions by 50 percent by the end of 2030, using 2019 as our base year. This goal was informed by the Science Based Targets Initiative and aligns with the Well Below 2˚C (WB2C) model. We chose 2019 as the base year because of the abnormalities in the usage of our facilities in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Implementation of automated smart panels to control branch utilities continues to contribute to decreases in energy usage.
Energy Use: We successfully achieved our 2023 reduction target for energy use in 2021. To ensure that ongoing improvements continue and further reduction is sustained, management will develop additional targets to monitor performance.
To achieve this progress, we have executed upon many existing initiatives including:
- Energy-efficient LED lighting and automatic controls.
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and mechanical efficiency upgrades and improvements.
- Building intelligence and remote controls.
- High-performance building envelope upgrades.
- Education and awareness for continuous improvement of control processes.
- Real estate portfolio optimization.
- Renewable energy procurement.
| Target Area | Scope | Unit of Measurement | Reduction Target | Year-End 2021 Reduction Percentage vs. Baseline | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target AreaGross Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHGs (Location-Based) | ScopeReal estate where Regions is responsible for paying utilities and maintaining operational control | Unit of MeasurementMetric tons CO2e | Reduction Target50% reduction by 2030 against a 2019 baseline | Year-End 2021 Reduction Percentage vs. Baseline33% | StatusOn Track |
| Target AreaEnergy Use | ScopeElectricity and natural gas usage in metered space | Unit of MeasurementMegawatt-hours (MWh) | Reduction Target30% reduction by 2023 against a 2015 baseline | Year-End 2021 Reduction Percentage vs. Baseline34% | StatusCompleted |
Branch Efficiencies
We have also adapted our existing action plan to accommodate plans for further emissions reduction. Specifically, we have targeted the following priorities in helping us reach our updated goal:
