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Business travel emissions have risen at the major U.S. banks that recently quit global net-zero banking alliances – though many are still down from pre-Covid levels.
Over 140 global banks in the United Nations backed net-zero banking alliance (NZBA) group commit to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 from their business and investments.
Last December, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America exited the NZBA. Then over the past two weeks, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan also quit.
Most of the banks that are part of the exodus said they are still committed to helping in the fight against climate change and reaching net-zero.
Skift looked into the business travel emissions at each bank and the data reveal a mixed picture. Business travel emissions at some of the banks have not yet reached even half of what it was before the pandemic, despite economic growth since then. But emissions were again growing from 2022 to 2023, according to the most recent data available in the banks’ annual reports.
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States, broke past its pre-pandemic business travel emission levels that year.
“We strive to manage the environmental impact of our own operations, which includes regular activities such as business travel,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told Skift. “To complement ongoing emission reduction efforts, we seek to address our remaining unabated emissions – including from business travel – by purchasing and retiring high-quality carbon credits,” the spokesperson said.
Blackrock was not a member of the NZBA. But a Bloomberg report said a letter sent last Thursday by Blackrock to clients said the bank quit a similar alliance, the net-zero asset managers initiative (NZAM).
Business Travel Emissions
Company20192020202120222023JPMorgan Chase181,00436,16938,336156,854255,481Citigroup126,05521,78510,55463,68169,751Blackrock39,1166,606*3,07918,363No available data yetGoldman Sachs135,47329,29524,49661,51779,915Bank of America147,37928,57017,07572,73082,204Morgan Stanley99,70020,45121,50057,05796,031Wells Fargo71,01914,1114,79527,40338,354
Source: Each bank’s annual ESG and sustainability/climate report. Figures shown are in MTCO2e.
JPMorganChase said business travel-related emissions are largely from commercially operated air travel but the figure includes rail and car rental.
Blackrock figures are made up of air travel, car rental and car services.
Goldman Sachs: For 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023 – over 80% of the figure is made of air travel emissions. 2021 is 67% air travel.
Bank of America, Morgan Stanley business travel emissions mainly come from air travel as well as rail use, car rental and hotel stays.
Wells Fargo figures are air travel only.
A spokesperson from Goldman Sachs responded to Skift’s request for comment on the bank’s rise in business travel emissions with a link to the bank’s latest sustainability report. “We have been carbon neutral across our operations and business travel since 2015,” the report said. The bank said it achieved this by reducing emissions, buying carbon offsets and sourcing renewable energy.
A spokesperson for Wells Fargo told Skift the bank “has ended its membership in the NZBA.” On its website, Wells Fargo said it has a goal of reducing its 2019 greenhouse gas emissions levels by 70% by 2030 but the goal does not include business travel.
A letter signed by Blackrock’s Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand and Helen Lees-Jones, global head of sustainable and transition solutions and sent to clients, said the asset manager’s membership of NZAM had no impact on the way it managed client portfolios.
“Therefore, our departure doesn’t change the way we develop products and solutions for clients or how we manage their portfolios,” the letter said.
In its latest sustainability report, Blackrock said that staff business travel is a “significant source of emissions” but that it is also a “critical component of conducting business.”
“BlackRock is exploring ways to reduce travel emissions through operational changes and additionally through mechanisms such as sustainable aviation fuel certificates,” it said.
A Goldman Sachs spokesperson responded to Skift’s request for a comment with a link to the firm’s sustainability section on its website. “We have been carbon neutral across our operations and business travel since 2015,” the website states.
Citigroup, which aims to be net-zero by 2050, said in a statement that it ranked as the number 1 U.S. lead underwriter in 2023 for “global, green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds.”
Morgan Stanley did not respond to Skift’s request for comment.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) recently found in a report that business travel went beyond expectations in 2024 and is expected to continue to grow.
It said that sustainability is a growing focus, with a rising number of businesses thinking about the impact of business travel
An NZBA spokesperson told Skift they would not be commenting on the departures.
Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible through the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This backing allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in any decisions made by Skift’s editorial team.
