Comerica Bank's Corporate Sustainability Program 'LEEDs' by Example as Earth Day Nears

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Apr 19, 2010, 12:04 ET

DALLAS, April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In the year since Comerica Bank opened its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certified banking center, the bank has received recognition for its progress in implementing its commitment to sustainability.

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"Integrating green practices into the way we do business is a core commitment and allows us to enhance our performance as a company and create long-term value for our stakeholders," said Richard J. Plewa, Comerica Bank's Chief Sustainability Officer.

In 2009, Comerica Bank was named to the following sustainability leadership indices in recognition of its recent sustainability successes:

The Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index. The CDP represents 534 global investors responsible for the management of $64 trillion of assets. For the second year in a row, Comerica was named to the CDP's Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index, which rates firms according to the level and quality of their disclosure and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategy. In 2009, Comerica's index score of 91 was #1 in the financial sector and #1 overall among S&P 500 companies.

Maplecroft Climate Innovation Leaders Index. The Maplecroft Index focuses on U.S. companies with at least $1 billion of market capitalization which have climate change programs and identifies top performers in climate-related innovation and carbon management. Comerica was ranked in the top 100 companies ('The Leaders') among over 300 U.S. companies with such programs. Comerica was ranked #61 overall and #5 in the finance sector.

FTSE4Good Index. FTSE4Good Index is a leading global responsibility investment index designed to measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. Companies named in the FTSE4Good Index have demonstrated that they have put policies and management systems in place to help address relevant corporate responsibility risks as they pertain to social and environmental change.

Comerica launched the following sustainability initiatives to increase the efficiency of resources and decrease greenhouse gas emissions:

Energy and Emissions. During 2009, Comerica implemented a range of initiatives to reduce energy use, corporate travel and the related greenhouse gas emissions. Total corporate emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) decreased by almost 5 percent from 2008 to 2009, partly reflecting the positive contributions of these initiatives.

Reducing Paper Use. Other initiatives implemented in 2009 were designed to reduce the use of paper throughout the company. Paper purchases were down by almost 19 percent for the year, and when all of the initiatives rolled out in 2009 have taken full effect, they are expected to result in a reduction of almost 6 million printed pages annually.

Greener Procurement. A Green Procurement Work Group was established in 2009 and a new Supplier Questionnaire & Scorecard was developed to help identify environmentally preferred providers of goods and services. Comerica plans to use this tool over time to improve the sustainability performance of its supply chain.

Eco-Friendly Buildings. All of Comerica's newly constructed banking centers in 2010 will have green features. Specifically, Comerica has five new banking centers that are LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council: the Camp Bowie-Ridglea Banking Center (opened in April 2010) in Fort Worth, Texas; the Fossil Creek Banking Center (opened in December 2009) in Fort Worth, Texas; the Jefferson-35th Banking Center (opened in November 2009) in Austin, Texas; the Campbell-Central Banking Center (opened in November 2009) in Richardson, Texas; and the Goodyear-Estrella Falls Mall Banking Center (opened in October 2009) in Goodyear, Arizona. Comerica also is seeking LEED certification for three additional banking centers scheduled to open in 2010 in Austin, Scottsdale and San Diego.

In addition, four existing Comerica buildings in Michigan received Energy Star certification in 2009 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This program recognizes the most energy-efficient buildings nationwide.

Sustainability Reporting. Among milestones for the year, Comerica published its Inaugural Sustainability Report in September 2009. The report was based on the Global Reporting Initiative framework and included a wealth of information on Comerica's sustainability programs and performance, including baseline environmental performance data against which future progress can be measured.

"We've also been working hard to develop awareness of sustainability issues among our employees and to tap into the deep reservoir of creativity they possess when it comes to identifying better and more sustainable ways to operate," noted Plewa. "For example, on Earth Day 2010, Comerica teams will be sponsoring and participating in a range of educational and service projects at Comerica locations and beyond."

For more information on Comerica's Corporate Sustainability Program, please visit http://www.comerica.com/sustainability.

About Comerica

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $59.2 billion at December 31, 2009. To receive e-mail alerts of breaking Comerica news, go to http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts.