Corporate Social Responsibility at Bank of America: Five Years Since the Crisis
by Andrew Plepler
One of the most important – and frankly, challenging but rewarding – parts of my job as head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Bank of America involves actively engaging with external stakeholders, a group that includes members of the media, nonprofits, regulators, legislators and other key influencers. Whether that means speaking at a conference, serving on a panel, or attending meetings with consumer and community advocates who fall into the category of critics of our company and industry, each of these engagements provides an opportunity to explore new ideas in the CSR space, address emerging issues and concerns, and give stakeholders a clearer idea of what we’re doing to conduct ourselves as a responsible company.
At two recent events, I had the opportunity to do all the above – and more. Along with Barclays Head of Brand, Reputation and Citizenship David Weldon and Bloomberg reporter Sheela Kolhatkar, I served on a panel at the 2014 Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Conference in New York City, debating and assessing with each other and a very engaged audience on how the role of the financial industry has evolved since the crisis. The following week, we convened a meeting in Boston of our National Community Advisory Council (NCAC), a committee composed of approximately 30 prominent civil rights and community advocates and sustainability leaders, whom we bring together to engage in two days of honest if occasionally spirited dialogue about what we as a company are doing to reinvigorate local economies and promote the advancement of the many communities, households and individuals still struggling.
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Andrew D. Plepler is Bank of America’s Global Corporate Social Responsibility Executive. In this role, he oversees the company’s global approach to advancing the countries,regions and communities it serves through socially responsible business practices,programs, policies and direct investments. He is the senior executive responsible for engaging with consumer and communitygroups on critical consumer issues, developing the bank’s consumer policy positions,and leading its philanthropic, community development, employee volunterism andenvironmental and cultural initiatives. He and his team also drive the company’sprogress toward its $1.5 trillion community development lending and investing goal, its$50 billion environmental business goal and its $2 billion philanthropic investment goal. Read more about Andrew Plepler on CSRwire.
