A new analysis of the Bank of America’s environmental financing has found that over a four-year period said financing supported an annual average of 40,000 jobs, realized a cumulative $30 billion in economic output, and contributed a cumulative $14.8 billion to GDP.
The Bank of America, one of the country’s leading banks, published the results of a new report this week, which was conducted by professional services firm, EY (formerly Ernst & Young). The report, Banking on a Low-Carbon Economy: The Economic Impacts of Bank of America’s $125 Billion Environmental Business Initiative (PDF), saw EY analyze a subset of the Bank of America’s larger $125 billion environmental business commitment — the subset was the $12.6 billion deployed directly in the United States between 2013 and 2016, the first four years of the Bank’s current environmental commitment.
Breakdown of $12.6 Billion Financing by Activity
EY found that the four-year period of investment commitment yielded the following:
- Supported an annual average of 39,728 jobs, nearly half of which pay significantly higher than the US average compensation and resulted in $9.6 billion in labour income
- Realized a cumulative $29.9 billion economic output
- Contributed a cumulative $14.8 billion to GDP
- Funded projects that have helped prevent 2,376,100 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016 alone — the equivalent of taking more than half a million cars off the road for one year
“We know that committing capital to a clean energy future creates jobs and business opportunities,” said Anne Finucane, vice chairman, Bank of America. “This analysis validates once again that our focus on responsible, sustainable growth is helping the economy while addressing important societal issues.”
The Bank of America’s contributions helped support a tremendous amount of US jobs — adding further validity to the economic success and importance of environmental-focused investment and support.
Total Job Contributions
The financing also had tremendous impact on economic output — the broadest measure of economic activity by an industry, roughly equivalent to the sales, or receipts, a business receives for its goods and services.
Total Economic Contributions
The economic output attributed to the $12.6 billion worth of US environmental investments yielded $29.9 billion, and came from the industries and activities financed, shown below.
Total Economic Output
“Bank of America has shown leadership with its long-term commitment to environmental finance,” said Michael Liebreich, chairman of the Advisory Board, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, responding to Bank of America’s report. “It has now demonstrated convincingly that addressing climate change can be an economic opportunity for society — one that pays dividends in terms of well-paid jobs, fast-growing industries and a lower-risk economy.”
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