Bank of America bets on a green future

The bank commits $20 billion to an eco-friendly plan that is also likely to draw customers

In a bid for "green business," Bank of America announced Tuesday that it will spend $20 billion over 10 years on environmentally friendly products, services and initiatives.

Bank of America spokeswoman Eloise Hale said the program is about helping the environment and positioning Bank of America to capture business.

"We see the business opportunity to finance and encourage environmentally sustainable service and technology as a greener economy is created," she said.

Bank of America is the No. 2 bank in the country by assets, and the largest in the state. But it is not the only big corporation going green, said Michael Lennox, associate professor of strategy at Duke University. Retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Lowe's Home Improvement also are pushing environmental initiatives.

Other financial institutions also are making environment-minded changes. In October, Wachovia announced commitments to reduce its effect on the environment, refuse loans to companies that log rain forests and consider more lending to projects "that have a positive impact on climate change."

"It's kind of filtering down across a wide number of sectors," Lennox said. "There's multiple incentives they're responding to, including cost savings in the supply chain, market opportunities and business opportunities for the future."

About $18 billion of the $20 billion in Bank of America's initiative is earmarked for products and services that encourage customers to develop and use green technology. Much of the rest will be used to reduce the bank's effect on the environment.

Hale said the products for corporations already are available, and products for individuals will be introduced throughout 2007.

The company will increase promotions for its EPA SmartWay Transport Program, which provides Small Business Administration Express loans to small- and mid-size trucking companies to finance fuel-efficient equipment.

New products for individual consumers will include an eco-friendly credit card and a green mortgage program, in which customers will get a reduced interest rate or $1,000 rebate for buying homes that meet certain environmental standards.

These types of incentives could help the bank lure more mortgage customers as the housing industry slows, as well as take advantage of the boom in green-home building and energy-efficient appliances.

Those kinds of bottom-line incentives could be partially responsible for companies' rush to promote green initiatives, Lennox said.

"It's retail, banks, management consulting firms," he said. "They're seeing services that their clients are asking them for."

Hale said she could not give specifics on the costs of establishing the new programs.

"We know from customer feedback that this type of product is viable," Hale said. "We are the largest credit-card issuer in the country. We know what customers are looking for."

Bank of America has more than 40 million active credit-card accounts.

The company could do with some good publicity.

Last month, Bank of America was the focus of harsh criticism when it announced that it was testing a credit card that would be available to people who do not have a Social Security number. Some customers who said the card would appeal to illegal immigrants threatened to cancel their accounts, and critics of illegal immigration called for a boycott of the bank.

"There may be some halo effect to their business in general" with the green initiative, Lennox said. "They're trying to appeal to individual consumers out there."

Still, Bank of America's commitment to the environment should not be underplayed, said Joel Makower, executive editor of greenbiz.com, a Web site that focuses on businesses and activities related to the environment.

"It's not standard for companies to be making billion-dollar commitments," he said. "This is an extraordinary announcement."

The initiative will build on the company's environmental programs, which include a $3,000 reimbursement for employees who drive a hybrid car, a goal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 9 percent by 2009 and about a $1.5 billion investment to build environmentally friendly corporate towers in Charlotte and New York City.

The investments should be good for the companies and the environment, Makower said.

"This is not about saving the planet," he said. "Although the planet may be saved in the process, this is about creating products and services that meet customers' growing needs.

"This is pure business, and that's a good thing."