Wells Fargo Opens 'Green' Bank in Porter Ranch

Wednesday (NYSE: WFC) opened a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold-certified retail banking store in the San Fernando Valley.  The new store, located at 19767 Rinaldi Street, in Porter Ranch, Calif., is the 13th Wells Fargo LEED banking store in the state and the 75th in the country reflecting the company’s new building standards for its newly built retail banking stores.   A few green features of the new store include: 

• Light harvesting system, which adjusts lighting according to available daylight helping to reduce energy usage by 20 percent,
• Insulation made from recycled cotton, primarily denim,
• Fully recyclable carpet, window treatments and counter surfaces,
• Use of water saving plumbing fixtures and control devices, which helps to cut water usage by 40 percent (Compared to conventional buildings of the same type),
•  Over 40% of all materials installed in the branch are regionally manufactured and over 20% are made up of recycled materials
•  All of the installed Glass has a special low-e coating which allows natural daylight without the harmful effects of UV rays and heat gain. Each glass panel has 50% recycled content.
• All adhesives, paints, sealants and coatings in this branch are low VOC approved, creating a healthier air quality for employees and guests. 

 “Wells Fargo is responsible for being leaders in protecting the environment and promoting the long-term economic prosperity and quality of life for everyone in our communities,” said Marla Clemow, regional president for Wells Fargo’s San Fernando Valley Community Bank. Wells Fargo earned a 2011 Leadership Award from the U.S. Green Building Council for its commitment to environmentally responsible building design, construction and operation.

In addition, Wells Fargo has provided more than $11.5 billion in loans and investments in renewable energy, clean tech and greener building projects nationwide since 2005, invested $4.4 million in environmental non-profits, and established a companywide greenhouse gas emission reduction goal to reduce emissions 20% below 2008 levels by 2018. To date, Wells Fargo has achieved a reduction of 12%. For details about LEED and USGBC, visit www.usgbc.org. 

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.2 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.  Wells Fargo ranked No. 1 among banks and insurance companies – and No. 13 overall – in Newsweek magazine’s inaugural “Green Rankings” of the country’s 500-largest companies. 

The Company promotes economic growth and self-sufficiency, education, social services, the arts and the environment in thousands of communities across North America.  In 2009, the Company gave $202 million in grants to 18,000 nonprofits. 

The merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia makes our presence twice as strong in the communities we serve.  For more about Wells Fargo’s achievements in Social Responsibility:www.wellsfargo.com/about/csr. 

###