Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Build Financial Confidence
• Advance Climate Solutions
• Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Environmental Achievements

• Maintained CarbonNeutral® certified operations powered by 100% renewable electricity globally since 2018
• Submitted near- and long-term emissions reduction targets to the SBTi for validation.

Social Achievements

• Maintained 100% pay equity for colleagues across genders globally and across races and ethnicities in the US for the third consecutive year in 2022
• Supported over 400,000 underrepresented-owned small and medium-sized businesses in the US from October 2020 through December 2022, exceeding our initial goal of providing access to capital and financial education to at least 250,000 businesses by 2024.

Governance Achievements

• Executive compensation linked to ESG goals, including diversity representation, talent retention, culture, and inclusion metrics.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Supply chain disruptions
• Increased energy, waste, and water usage in 2022 due to the return of colleagues to the office.

Mitigation Strategies

• Developing alternative sourcing strategies
• Implementing lighting retrofits, HVAC equipment upgrades, and new building control systems to save energy.
• Reviewing methodologies for waste, water, and single-use plastics in response to changes in the operating environment.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Considering at least one diverse vendor for each request for proposal
• Tracking and measuring annual spend with certified business enterprises run by underrepresented owners and operators

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding due to sea level rise and extreme precipitation
• Cyclonic storm threats
• Drought
• Extreme temperatures

Transition Risks

• Current and emerging regulations
• Carbon pricing
• Enhanced emissions reporting requirements
• Shifting consumer preferences
• Reputational risks
• Increased operating costs
• Impacts to travel patterns
• Geographic or location-based risks

Opportunities

• Maintaining carbon neutrality
• Investing in energy efficiency projects
• Onsite renewable energy generation
• Renewable Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs)
• Carbon offsets
• Innovation and investments in research and development for low-carbon products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD

Third-party Assurance: Apex Companies, LLC (Apex) conducted independent verification of energy consumption and GHG emissions for 2022.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3
• Goal 4
• Goal 5
• Goal 7
• Goal 8
• Goal 9
• Goal 10
• Goal 11
• Goal 12
• Goal 13
• Goal 17

The report maps corporate and ESG initiatives to the 11 listed UN SDGs.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• American Express Card manufactured primarily from reclaimed plastic
• Delta SkyMiles Card with CarbonNeutral® product certification

Awards & Recognition

• #3 on Great Place To Work’s Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2023
• Named among Fast Company’s Brands that Matter in 2022
• #2 on American Opportunity Index (2022)
• America’s Most JUST Companies (2023) JUST 100 List
• #17 on 2023 Axios Harris Poll 100 Corporate Reputation Study
• Bloomberg’s Gender Equality Index 2023
• 90% on Disability Equality Index & Best Places to Work for People with Disabilities (2022)
• #4 Best Workplaces for Parents— Great Places to Work (2022)
• #10 Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies (2022)
• Fast Company Best Workplaces for Innovators (2022)
• 100% score 2022 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change

Environmental Achievements

• Maintained CarbonNeutral® certified operations powered by 100% renewable electricity globally since 2018
• Achieved green building certification across 59% of operations
• Recycled more than two million cards since 2019
• Expanded cards made from recycled or reclaimed plastics globally, including approximately four million cards issued in the US, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2022
• Launched American Express Carbon Footprint Tool for select Corporate clients in February 2023

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Established a dedicated Climate Risk Management Working Group and a Climate Risk Team in 2022 to enhance climate risk management framework
• Executive compensation linked, in part, to ESG goals, including progress on key ESG initiatives

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Potential physical risks including flooding, cyclonic storms, drought, and extreme temperatures affecting operations
• Transition risks including current and emerging regulations, technology advances, shifting consumer preferences, reputational risks, increased operating costs, and impacts to travel patterns

Mitigation Strategies

• Qualitative climate-related physical and transition risk assessments to understand impacts
• Commitment to net-zero emissions by 2035 in alignment with SBTi
• Investments in energy efficiency projects, onsite renewable electricity generation, renewable Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs), and carbon offsets
• Development of low-carbon products and services
• Business continuity planning and disaster recovery plans to address physical risks

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding
• Cyclonic storms
• Drought
• Extreme temperatures

Transition Risks

• Current and emerging regulations
• Technology advances
• Shifting consumer preferences
• Reputational risks
• Increased operating costs
• Impacts to travel patterns

Opportunities

• Reducing operating costs and environmental impacts
• Leveraging climate policies and tax incentives
• Developing low-carbon products and services
• Carbon tracking and offset solutions

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, CarbonNeutral Protocol, SBTi, ISO14064-3

Certifications: CarbonNeutral®, Green building certifications (LEED, BREEAM, NABERS, GreenMark, HQE, and Effinergie+)

Third-party Assurance: Apex Companies, LLC (Limited Assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• American Express Card manufactured from reclaimed plastic
• Carbon Footprint Tool

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Financial Confidence
• Climate Solutions
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved a key milestone on our net-zero journey in August 2024 by receiving validation of our net-zero target, consisting of both near-term and long-term targets, from the SBTi
• Continued to power our operations with 100% renewable electricity
• Maintained CarbonNeutral® certified operations
• Decreased energy consumption in the facilities we manage by approximately 54% compared to 2011
• Expanded Carbon Footprint Tool, which was made available to select Corporate clients in February 2023 and Carbon Offset Referral Suite launched for US Corporate clients in 2022
• Issued 12 million cards made from at least 70% recycled or reclaimed plastics in 2022 and 2023

Social Achievements

• Achieved 100% pay equity for colleagues across genders globally and across races and ethnicities in the US for the fourth consecutive year in 2023
• Exceeded goal to provide at least 5 million individuals with tools, resources, and educational content to improve financial well-being from 2021 through 2025 (6.3 million enrolled in MyCredit Guide since 2021)
• Exceeded goal to provide $50 million in grants by the end of 2024 to nonprofits focused on addressing inequality and promoting social justice ($52.2 million provided)
• Supported over 550,000 underrepresented-owned small- and medium-sized businesses from October 2020 through December 2023
• Launched Digital Accessibility Policy for American Express National Bank in 2022

Governance Achievements

• Established Climate Risk Management Standard in 2024 and conducted quantitative climate-related physical risk assessments at certain facilities in the UK in 2023
• For 2023, the Strategic category of our annual scorecard included a metric to continue to progress on key ESG goals, linking executive compensation with our ESG goals

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Supply chain disruptions
• Climate-related physical risks (flooding, cyclonic storms, drought, extreme temperatures)
• Climate-related transition risks (regulations, technology, consumer preferences, reputational risks)
• Cash flow uncertainty for small businesses

Mitigation Strategies

• Developed alternative sourcing strategies
• Investing in energy efficiency projects and renewable electricity
• Factoring climate-related physical risks into real estate strategies
• Launched American Express Business Blueprint, a digital cash flow management platform

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• 96.5% of direct marketing, customer communications, and office paper sourced from certified responsibly managed forests

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding
• Cyclonic storms
• Drought
• Extreme temperatures

Transition Risks

• Regulations
• Technology
• Consumer preferences
• Reputational risks

Opportunities

• Energy efficiency
• Renewable energy
• Low-carbon products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 45001 (Italy)

Third-party Assurance: Apex Companies, LLC (Limited Assurance on GHG Emissions)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3
• Goal 4
• Goal 5
• Goal 7
• Goal 8
• Goal 9
• Goal 10
• Goal 11
• Goal 12
• Goal 13
• Goal 17

Initiatives mapped to SDGs are described throughout the report.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• American Express Cards made from recycled plastic
• Carbon Footprint Tool
• Carbon Offset Referral Suite

Awards & Recognition

• #1 Great Place to Work’s Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance
• #8 Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies
• #1 JUST Capital’s JUST 100 Companies in Transaction Processing
• #1 J.D. Power 2024 US Credit Card Satisfaction Study

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change

Environmental Achievements

• Maintained CarbonNeutral® certified operations for Scope 1, 2, and 3 (waste and employee business travel) emissions through renewable energy credits, carbon offsets, and reduced GHG emissions.
• Powered operations with 100% renewable electricity.
• Achieved green building certification across 55% of operations.
• Issued 12 million cards made from at least 70% recycled or reclaimed plastics in 15 jurisdictions.

Social Achievements

• Launched the first American Express Card manufactured from 70% reclaimed plastic.
• Introduced a Card Take Back Program, recycling over three million cards since 2019.
• Provided at least $10 million to support initiatives addressing climate change and pollution (2021-2025).

Governance Achievements

• Established a Climate Risk Management Standard to manage climate-related financial risks.
• Linked executive compensation to ESG goals in 2023.
• Conducted voluntary climate risk trainings for risk management colleagues in certain jurisdictions.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Potential physical risks including flooding, cyclonic storms, drought, and extreme temperatures affecting operations and supply chain.
• Transition risks associated with regulations, technology, consumer preferences, and reputational risks.
• Evolving SBTi methodology for net-zero requirements and standards related to emissions accounting.

Mitigation Strategies

• Qualitative and quantitative climate risk assessments.
• Developed a Climate Risk Management Standard.
• Adjusted GHG inventory and set revised targets aligning with SBTi's updated Net-Zero Standard.
• Investments in energy efficiency, onsite renewable energy, and carbon offsets.
• Development of low-carbon products and services (e.g., carbon tracking and offset solutions).

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding
• Cyclonic storms
• Drought
• Extreme temperatures

Transition Risks

• Regulations
• Technology
• Consumer preferences
• Reputational risks

Opportunities

• Energy efficiency
• Renewable energy
• Low-carbon products and services

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, CarbonNeutral Protocol, RE100, SBTi

Certifications: ISO 14064-3

Third-party Assurance: Third-party verification for GHG emissions

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Cards made from recycled plastic
• Carbon Footprint Tool
• Corporate Carbon Offset Referral Suite

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed