Bank of America 2012 Annual Report Download - page 17

Bank of America 2012 Annual Report 15
Local impact, global momentum. Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) is integral to the success of our
company and the customers, clients, shareholders
and communities we serve around the world. Our
CSR activities — lending, investing and giving —
are core to our business, as we continually strive
to be a better and more responsible company. Our
global work force is committed to serving all of our
stakeholders through daily interactions, listening and
collaborating, and responding with the best solutions.
From helping to structure innovative business
deals that benefi t the environment, to working with
nonprofi t leaders to better understand important
issues, we are making every effort to be responsive
to our customers and to society.
Leadership and service: We’re developing leaders
through signature programs, from mentoring emerging
women leaders from developing countries to working
with high-performing nonprofi ts across the United States. And our
employees give their time and expertise to improve communities
through volunteerism, helping individuals gain fi nancial stability,
feeding the hungry and building affordable housing.
Arts and culture: Through innovative programs,
we promote local economic growth and community
engagement worldwide, including grants to help
preserve global works of art, loaned exhibits for museums and
free admission to U.S. cultural institutions for Bank of America
and Merrill Lynch cardholders.
Diversity and inclusion: With a global work force in
more than 40 countries, we value our differences — in
thought, style, culture, ethnicity and experience — understanding
that diversity and inclusion are good for business, allowing
our company to better serve employees, customers, clients
and shareholders.
Responsible business practices: We rigorously review
our business practices and policies, including simplifying
information for customers, maintaining a strong risk
culture, building up industry-leading levels of capital, and
managing all of our businesses to be accountable to shareholders
and stakeholders.
Strong economies: Through lending, investing
and giving, we are supporting the economic health
of communities, from fi nancing more than 114,000 units of
affordable housing in low-income communities over the past
eight years to providing more than $22 million in housing grants
last year. We continue to help small businesses grow by offering
local expertise in the markets that we serve.
Environmental sustainability: We put our capital and
expertise to work to address climate change, reduce
demands on natural resources and advance lower-
carbon economic solutions. We’ve delivered $21.6 billion in
fi ve years to fi nance energy effi ciency and wind, solar and other
renewable energy projects that are powering communities and
creating thousands of jobs.