Synovus Environmental Management

Doing Our Part

We’re focused on the future—becoming the bank we’ve always been, but better. And we’re also wholly committed to fulfilling our purpose by enabling team members, clients, shareholders, and communities to reach their full potential.

As we work to build the better bank of tomorrow, we believe that protecting the environment is critical to the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve.

2021 Steps to Positively Impact the Environment

In 2021, we continued to assess our environmental impact and evaluate opportunities to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We increased accessibility to electric vehicle charging stations, moved toward LEED-certified and energy-efficient facilities, reduced workspace square footage, and upgraded to more energy-efficient technology. We continued to convert more clients to digital transactions, invested in renewable energy projects, and, importantly, defined our priorities for 2022.

Our 2022 priorities include the following:

• Continue physical space reductions.
• Continue digital banking adoption and paper reduction initiatives.
• Build a sustainable financing strategy.
• Continue exploration of and engagement in solar tax credits and additional carbon offset opportunities.
• Adopt Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework and begin reporting under the Climate Disclosure Report framework.
• Market existing sustainable investment fund options for clients.

Understanding our Greenhouse Gas Emissions

During 2021, we performed an inaugural greenhouse gas (GHG) assessment of our 2019-2021 Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to better understand our environmental impact.

Our Approach to Calculating Emissions

We calculated Scope 1 and Scope 2 location- and market-based GHG emissions based on available data for each calendar year using a methodology consistent with the World Resource Institute’s (WRI) GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

2019-2021 energy consumption data for our facilities, vehicle fleet, and aircraft served as a starting point for assessment:

For our locations where actual data was not available, we estimated usage using a Synovus-specific estimation factor or an estimation factor source from the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) survey, specific to the building type and climate region of the location in question. The quantity of electricity data collected allowed for the calculation of a Synovus-specific usage factor per square foot. Due to the lack of actual data for natural gas usage, we estimated natural gas usage using EIA’s CBECS survey, a trusted source commonly used in GHG inventory calculations. We used the following factors in these calculations:

After collecting this data and calculating usage estimates where needed, we used the emission factors from the following sources to calculate our 2019-2021 GHG emissions:

• Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) GHG Emission Factors Hub (Scope 1).
• EPA’s System Average Emission Factors by Subregion eGRID2019 and eGRID2020 (location-based Scope 2).
• Green-e® Residual Mix Emissions Rate Tables (market-based Scope 2).
• Based on this methodology, we calculated our GHG emissions for 2019, 2020, and 2021:

(1) Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent

Energy Management

In understanding our emissions, we realize that there are two primary focus areas for our energy management: the physical infrastructure of our offices and branches and the energy consumed by our technology and data centers. The Synovus team has made strides to increase efficiency and draw down energy usage in both areas.

Energy-efficient Infrastructure

Operational emissions related to buildings, including heating, cooling, and lighting, account for 28% of all carbon emissions in the world. Synovus has approximately 300 branches and offices in the Southeast region of the U.S. – 30% of which are fitted with LED lighting to conserve electricity. Our conversion to more efficient lighting has already yielded annual savings across 56 buildings. Additionally, 60% of our square footage has automatic lighting fixtures to adapt to room activity and avoid excess energy usage.

We conduct annual energy audits to identify energy reduction opportunities within our buildings. In select locations, we monitor energy use and benchmark performance against equivalent buildings in size and function. When consumption exceeds its normal range, we perform testing and root cause analysis to identify sources of excess use.

While all buildings are weighted equally in our consideration of energy upgrades, adopting energy-efficient measures is easier and more economical when constructing new buildings. Currently, about 144,000 square feet of our building space, or 7% of total square footage, qualifies as LEED Gold and Silver. We have installed approximately 12 electronic vehicle (EV) charging stations as of December 31, 2021, and plan to increase that amount during 2022. We have also increased the use of LED lighting to approximately 30% of our offices, up from 25% only a year ago. We look forward to continuing to improve the energy efficiency of our infrastructure.

Over the past few years, we have been strategic in right-sizing our operational footprint with significant reductions in our real estate as measured in square footage, as noted in the table below:

8% Reduction in Square Footage (274,000) 2019 to 2021

We are working to reduce our energy footprint by upgrading our hardware technology, with the deployment of 3,000 new laptops to replace more energy-intensive desktop computers. Old equipment is wiped of all data and decommissioned. We work with a third-party recycling vendor to collect and properly recycle used electronic equipment.

We are consolidating 300 servers located across our branches to 30 cloud servers. By transitioning fully to the cloud, we anticipate reducing our reliance on computer data centers that operate using nonrenewable electricity sources. This transition to cloud storage was approximately 70% complete as of mid-year 2022.

Transitioning to Digital Communications

Banking has traditionally been a paper-intensive industry. However, that is changing rapidly as banks adopt electronic transactions and record-keeping, make operational improvements away from paper, and transition clients to electronic statements.

Recycling bins are distributed in select locations, and team members are encouraged to actively recycle individual waste in accordance with local recycling guidelines.

Several factors contributed to a reduction in paper use. Internal communications are predominantly electronic, with minimal printed collateral or supporting materials, and we have implemented additional digital channels to shift from paper-based communication across the company. Default printer settings are for double-sided printing in black and white. Scanning documents to electronic formats, process improvements, and working from home have yielded a decrease in total pages printed from 2020 to 2021. Our used paper is shredded to protect private and confidential information and recycled through a third-party collection agency. During 2021, Synovus securely shredded and recycled more than 1.38 million pounds of paper. This paper is taken to paper mills for pulping used in other supply chains, contributing to a more circular economy. Additionally, as of June 2022, nearly 280,000 consumer and commercial accounts have opted to go paperless, further reducing our paper consumption.