Employee Engagement  and Partnerships

Employee Engagement and Partnerships

With a workforce of approximately 53,000 employees, PNC recognizes the importance of employee engagement to achieve its sustainability goals. In November 2016, PNC launched the “Bring to Light” energy campaign to educate employees about energy conservation both at work and at home. The campaign featured six internal news stories, each of which focused on the history of and conservation practices for a particular energy source.

In 2017, and based on the success of the “Bring to Light” campaign, PNC:

• Launched “Smart Insights,” a series of seven articles that explored environmentally sustainable approaches to daily habits, including driving, drinking coffee and using technology
• Hosted an Earth Day lunch and learn for approximately 150 Pittsburgh employees and community members. The event focused on equitable access to healthy and sustainable food and featured keynote speaker Curt Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Foodcorps, who discussed the impact of his organization before leading a panel discussion with representatives from three Pittsburgh-based nonprofits. Mike Lyons, Head of PNC Corporate & Institutional Banking and PNC Asset Management Group, provided introductory remarks highlighting PNC’s support of its communities, including food banks and other nonprofits that provide services to low-income individuals
• Partnered with a startup that distributes environmentally-friendly paints to the eastern United States. This partnership demonstrates PNC’s commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability and is one example of how our partnerships can help us discover intelligent solutions

Curt Ellis leads a panel discussion with (from left to right) 412 Food Rescue’s Leah Lizarondo, Farm to Table Pittsburgh’s Erin Hart, and Grow Pittsburgh’s Jake Seltman.

Water Efficiency

As water scarcity, water quality and high water rates have become increasingly pressing environmental issues, we are focused on reducing water use across our footprint. While we have already reduced our water consumption by 29 percent and are on target to achieve our 2020 goal of a 30 percent reduction, we recognize a need to do more and recently set a reduction target of 50 percent by 2035.

In 2017, PNC completed its standard water audit procedure at more than 75 of its buildings that consume the greatest amount of water. We discovered instances of inconsistent irrigation schedules, over-watering of landscaping, outdated and inefficient irrigation equipment, non-programmable irrigation controllers, and major leaks. To address these issues, we launched several pilot projects in Florida and Michigan to test new high-efficiency irrigation equipment, smart irrigation controllers and new scheduling requirements.

Based on the success of these projects, we will be pursuing additional projects in Florida, Michigan and other states where we have an opportunity to significantly reduce our buildings’ water consumption.

Reducing Waste through Furniture Donations

A life cycle assessment conducted in 2016 found that PNC’s greatest environmental impact is its buildings. This finding has driven PNC to take specific actions to lessen its construction projects’ environmental impacts and to constantly seek new ways to reuse or recycle building materials and other resources. In 2016, for example, PNC developed a program in which it responsibly redistributes office furniture, equipment and supplies that are no longer needed due to property renovations or location changes. By ensuring that these items receive a home, PNC helps divert waste from the landfill and subsequently reduces the amount of carbon that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere. Furthermore—and perhaps most importantly—PNC’s donations benefit qualified schools and nonprofit organizations across its footprint.

In 2017 alone, PNC donated 624 tons of furniture, equipment and supplies to 20 schools and nonprofit organizations that have an existing relationship with the PNC Foundation. These donations had a value of approximately $375,000 and allowed PNC to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 1,600 metric tons.

Part of Monessen School District, this library received all seating and some tables from PNC