Citigroup, BOA, 3rd Federal Among America's 'Greenest' Banks

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citibankCitigroup, Bank of America, Johnson Financial Group, First National Bank of Omaha, New Resource Bank and 3rd Federal are among the nation's "greenest" banks, according to a ranking from Banking Technology News.

Here's a look at some efforts by each bank.

Citigroup

Citigroup's global sustainable IT initiative is a primary reason for the bank's inclusion in the list. The bank has goals to reduce energy, paper and travel, as well as address the supply chain.

In 2007, Citi said it would earmark $50 billion over the following 10 years to address global climate change through investments, financings and related activities to support the commercialization and growth of alternative energy and clean technology among the clients and markets it serves, as well as within its own businesses and operations.

By the end of 2010, Citi aims to have its more than 300,000 laptops and PCs upgraded to a standardized, energy efficient model.

Bank of America

Bank of America has spent about $6 billion of the $20 billion it promised to address issues related to climate change, with much of that going to lending or investing opportunities.

Within its operations, the bank plans to install five Bloom Energy Server fuel cells, generating 500 kilowatts, at a Southern California call center.

The company has a program called NighWatchman that puts 30,000 computers to rest each evening. A print monitoring program being added to 200,000 workstations should yield a 30-40 percent cut in printing volume.

Johnson Financial

Johnson Financial, based in Racine, Wis., embraced the notion of recycling building materials when its headquarters went up 10 years ago, and the building still serves as an example on green building tours.

The bank is saving $40,000 a year by turning PCs off each year, in addition to a $16,000 rebate from Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program. Energy efficient HVAC upgrades are saving 500,000 kWh of electricity and 17,000 therms of natural gas.

First National Bank of Omaha

The First National Bank of Omaha in 1999 was the first bank to use fuel cells to entirely power a data center. Now, the bank is using virtualization software to reduce energy use at its 8,000 desktop terminals.

The bank also recycled 350 tons of paper in 2008.

New Resource Bank

Energy efficiency at New Resource Bank involves tapping into senior executives, employees and customers, as well as upgrading equipment.

The company has a master IT strategy that includes replacing servers, upgrading networking equipment, taking advantage of power management features in Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server, and moving toward virtualization.

Third Federal Bank

Reducing paper use - both by customers and internally - is a big part of environmental efforts at Third Federal Bank.

So far, the bank has been able to convince just 1,000 out of its 30,000 customers to get electronic statements instead of receiving them by mail, but "that's a big deal for us," said Kevin Roddy, vice president of IT for the bank.

Third Federal is opening its first LEED Silver-certified branch this month.

Environment + Energy Leader