Drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic endangers one of our planet's most pristine wilderness areas, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Harsh, unpredictable weather can lead to catastrophic accidents—especially oil spills—that are impossible to fix. Oil spills located under ice cover, for example, pose a particular risk.

This is why Bank of the West does not finance onshore or offshore oil and gas projects in the Arctic Circle, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Perceived short-term rewards simply do not outweigh the real long-range risks. For more about our stance regarding Arctic drilling, please see the policy document.

There's a sub-sector of fossil fuel extraction that's proven to have particularly harsh ecological effects: unconventional oil and gas projects. Fracking extracts oil and gas from deep within shale and other types of rock, and can poison or pollute water in the areas where it is done. Tar sands mining inflicts immense environmental impact for relatively little reward. Two tons of tar sands must be mined to create enough gasoline to fill the tank of an SUV just one time.

Bank of the West is acting to mitigate these adverse impacts by not doing business with companies whose main activity involves fracking or tar sands mining. Financing in these segments must meet mandatory criteria including the ability to disclose performance on water use, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and land reclamation strategy, among others.

For more about how we restrict our financing of fracking, shale, and tar sands mining, please see the policy document.

Coal, unfortunately, is the world's largest source of electricity generation. Coal-fired power plants also release tons of carbon emissions and other pollutants into the air we breathe. These emissions contribute to climate change and have been linked to a number of adverse health conditions. Ash from coal-fired power plants, for example, can pollute natural environments, as well as contaminate drinking water.

As part of BNP Paribas, Bank of the West has a policy in place that restricts the financing of coal-fired power generation plants. Since 2017, we have not financed any new coal-fired power plant projects and we also do not finance coal-fired power plants that are not actively involved in the transition to sustainable energy production. Mandatory criteria for financing approval includes, but is not limited to, publication of environmental performance spanning air emissions, water consumption, ash generation, and disposal methods; and publication of safety records, subject to credit approval.

For more about how we restrict our financing of coal-fired power generation, please see the policy document.

Cigarettes aren't just bad for cigarette smokers—they are poisoning the environment. About 4.5 trillion cigarette butts litter the planet each year, and those stubs can take many years to decompose.

This helps explain why researchers have found waste from cigarette butts in 70% of seabirds and 30% of sea turtles. Cigarette butts are the most-littered item found on the world's beaches—more than plastic straws, cans and bottles, or grocery bags.

These are some of the reasons Bank of the West does not provide financial products or services to companies or business groups that derive a significant portion of their revenue from tobacco products. This applies to tobacco manufacturers. It also applies to upstream and downstream players in the tobacco manufacturing chain, including farmers, producers, and business-to-business tobacco distributors.

For more about how we restrict tobacco sector financing, please see the policy document.