Our Sustainability Goals

Capital One has set GHG reduction targets since 2009 and continues to evaluate its GHG reduction targets in light of the most recent climate science and industry and market best practices.
We measure and set targets for Scope 1 direct emissions from our operations, Scope 2 indirect emissions from purchased power used to run our business and Scope 3 indirect emissions (categories 1-14) that result from the operation of our business.

By 2030, Capital One is committed to:

Reducing Scope 1 Direct Emissions by 50 percent from our 2019 baseline: These emissions are driven primarily by natural gas use in some of our offices, branches, and cafes. The X percent reduction in these emissions since 2019 has been largely due to branch and office consolidation. Future reductions will be driven by continued real estate portfolio optimization as well as the eventual replacement of some natural gas assets with electric alternatives in existing and new locations.

Continuing to purchase 100 percent renewable energy while increasing location-aligned procurement in the markets in which we operate: Capital One’s electricity use has declined by X percent since 2019 largely due to branch and office consolidation, energy efficiency retrofitting including installing energy-efficient LED lighting and automatic controls in some locations, and our pursuit of LEED certifications in new buildings. While we will continue to purchase renewable energy certificates for 100% of our enterprise electricity use, future reductions in electricity use will come from continued real estate portfolio optimization, energy efficiency retrofitting in our buildings and on-site renewable energy generation.

Reducing Scope 3 Emissions (Categories 1-14) by 50 percent from our 2019 baseline: These emissions are driven primarily by our purchased goods and services (including direct mail, marketing and customer management and purchases of plastic credit and debit cards); and associate commute and business travel. A majority of the XX% reduction since 2019 has come from reduced associate commute and business travel emissions as a result of remote work starting in 2020 and our hybrid work policy that began in 2022. Future reductions will come largely from our supply chain as our vendors reduce their own emissions intensities. 

Renewable Energy Commitment
Low-carbon renewable energy is a critical tool in addressing climate change. Capital One has met its ongoing goal of 100% renewable energy since 2017 by matching renewable energy certificates (RECs) to the total annual enterprise electricity usage.
In 2018, Capital One affirmed its commitment to renewable energy by becoming a member of RE100 — a collaborative, global initiative uniting more than 100 influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity.
Capital One has a goal to increase the procurement of renewable energy produced within the markets in which we operate
For example, we deployed our first on-site solar array at the 1717 Innovation Center in Richmond, Virginia in 2018. Additional onsite projects are underway at our West Creek Campus in Richmond, Virginia, and our headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and are expected to become operational as early as 2023.

Green Building

Capital One is pursuing LEED Silver or higher certification on all new buildings and comprehensive renovations. 

Paper Sourcing

Capital One first instituted a corporate paper procurement policy in 2009 in which we defined our standard for Environmentally Preferred Paper (EPP) and established an initial target percentage of paper purchased for our operations that should come from EPP sources. We define EPP as paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or contains at least 30 percent post-consumer recycled content. We have continued to increase our EPP targets and are exceeding our current goal of 95 percent EPP as of year end 2021.

Waste Reduction and Water Conservation

In 2015, Capital One rolled out composting and centralized waste stations at our campus locations. In addition to reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfills, composting plays a critical role in reducing methane. Our goal is that by 2025, we will reduce landfill waste generated at our campus locations by 50 percent, as measured from our 2019 baseline.

In 2020, we set a goal to reduce the amount of water we use at our facilities by 20 percent by 2025. We aim to achieve this by executing water-efficiency projects across our footprint and employing native landscaping and xeriscaping practices — the process of designing landscapes to reduce the need for irrigation through native and drought resistant landscaping.