Traditionally, banking is a paper-intensive industry. We are working to reduce our paper use and move to digital options.

From 2012 to 2020, Bank of the West has decreased our paper consumption by 67%. We are also working with our suppliers to primarily offer responsible or recycled paper for when digital alternatives are not an option. As of 2020, 82% of our paper was from recycled or Forest Stewardship Council-certified responsibly sourced paper.

We’re working to eliminate single-use plastic in our office kitchens and marketing supplies.

With over 500 branches and offices, and almost 10,000 employees, Bank of the West can make an impact by evaluating its purchasing catalogs. We recently removed single-use plastic marketing items and are replacing single-use plastic cups, plates, and cutlery products with compostable versions.

Electronic waste (e-waste) can have a large negative impact on our environment.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over 2.7 million tons of electronic goods are produced, but only a little more than a third are recycled. To mitigate these impacts we reduce, reuse and recycle electronic hardware whenever possible. In 2020, Bank of the West reused or recycled over 7,200 hardware products resulting in an estimated 131,600 pounds being diverted from landfills.

We continually evaluate the energy consumptions of all of our office and branch locations to make them as efficient as possible.

Bank of the West is completing a LED lighting retrofit project across our Nebraska campus to reduce electricity consumption by more than 50%, and is piloting a branch exterior lighting program which is expected to reduce electricity consumption by 60%.

We are coating Bank of the West’s advertising billboards with a ‘smog-eating’ coating (a nanoparticle coating that has the ability to decompose organic compounds, odors, and most airborne noxious substances). Additionally, we have begun to upcycle vinyl from billboards into backpacks for Bank employees.