Bread Financial Strengthens Commitment to Environment, Partners With the Nature Conservancy

By Ralph Andretta

At Bread Financial, we recognize the importance of environmental stewardship and the risks environmental challenges, including climate change, increasingly pose to our business, our associates, our clients, our customers and the communities we serve. I am proud to share some of the actions and investments we are making to protect and preserve our planet.

As part of our commitment, today Bread Financial announced a gift to The Nature Conservancy to support its efforts to sustainably manage, restore and protect our forests. Our partnership will also support the financial wellness of low-to-moderate income individuals in Appalachia, a region of forested mountains, valleys, wetlands and rivers spanning roughly 2,000 miles from Alabama to Canada. Like Bread Financial, The Nature Conservancy is closely aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goal of combating climate change and its impacts through actions that limit the rise of average global temperatures.

In addition to our support of The Nature Conservancy, Bread Financial recently updated its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy to better reflect our business transformation and to maximize our impact. A key component of that strategy is the continuation of sustainable practices across the business, with a more purposeful approach to those related to mitigating climate change, improving energy efficiencies and increasing resource conservation. In 2021, we increased the efficiency of our buildings and procured 100% of our electricity from renewable sources at our headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, with a goal to extend that achievement across all of our facilities. We have also made great progress in increasing customer adoption of paperless statements and direct mail with an aggressive push toward digital enrollment and delivery.

Bread Financial is a purpose-driven financial services company, intent on exploring and implementing sustainable practices throughout our business and operations. Our commitment to environmental management includes measures to reduce the waste we send to landfills, cultivating a more sustainable supply chain and reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

I encourage everyone to find ways to protect our planet. To calculate your carbon footprint and learn how to take action, click here, or learn more about Bread Financial’s sustainability initiatives and strategies here.