Over the past several years, Simmons has undertaken various environmentally conscious initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse emissions, promote recycling and, through the Simmons First Foundation, support environmentally focused grants to aid conservation and sustainable projects. Included below are certain noteworthy initiatives and their resulting impact. These, and other initiatives, are discussed in further detail in our 2021 Company Report which can be accessed here.
In 2021 approximately 637,000 pounds of paper was recycled though our partnership with Shred-it vendor.
- Equivalent to 5,445 trees saved
- Equivalent to 956 cubic yards of landfill space saved
- More than 2.2 million gallons of water saved
In 2019, Simmons Bank implemented the recycling program, K-Cycle, for coffee ground and K-Cups.
- In 2021, more than 1,670 pounds of used K-Cups and coffee grounds were recycled
- Since its inception, more than 3,370 pounds of used K-Cups and coffee grounds have been recycled
Steps taken during Simmons Bank’s renovations have helped us reduce greenhouse gasses across our footprint. LED lighting retrofits have eliminated nearly 1,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide since 2016.
- Equivalent to 1.7 million kWh saved
- Equivalent to eliminating 252 cars from the roadways
- Equivalent to eliminating 128,743 gallons of gas
- Equivalent to eliminating environmental impact of 179 homes
- Equivalent to eliminating more than 1.5 million in pounds of coal burned
eStatement Enrollment
In 2021, we implemented a $3 paper statement fee. For one year, for customers who wish to keep paper statements, $1 of each fee is donated to the Simmons First Foundation Conservation Fund, which is focused on making a positive impact on the environment. Customers were encouraged to “go green to save green,” helping protect our environment by signing up for enhanced eStatements.
LEED® Certified
In June 2021, Simmons Bank relocated our West End branch and regional headquarters to a new corporate office at 1222 Demonbreun in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Located in the new Gulch Union office building, this 20-story, LEED® Silver Certified, Class AA building is part of the only urban district in the southern U.S to achieve LEED® NG certification and the fourth neighborhood in the world to achieve LEED® Silver status.
Branch Optimization and Digital Banking
In 2020, Simmons implemented a branch rationalization strategy that leverages data to assist us in creating a more efficient branch distribution network, while also allowing us to better serve our customers based on information that tells us how and where they want to bank.
The successful implementation of our branch optimization strategy allowed us to eliminate approximately:
- 668 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 20211
- 2,164 metric tons of carbon dioxide since 20201
In 2018, Simmons launched a multi-year Next Generation Bank (NGB) initiative that represented a $100 million technology investment to allow Simmons the ability to offer our customers the latest in digital banking products and services. In addition to providing our customers the ability to manage their finances on-line or through their mobile device, these solutions provide a more user-friendly experience which allows our customers the convenience to bank when they want, where they want. The use of digital banking also helps reduce the use of natural resources by lowering the amount of paper and carbon emissions from mailing and delivering. For more information on the digital banking capabilities offered by Simmons Banks, simply click here.
Simmons First Foundation
The Simmons First Foundation was established in 2013 to help give back to the communities that have been so vital to our continuing growth and success. Former Simmons CEO Tommy May heads up the foundation and guides it in its mission to build stronger and more vibrant communities for the future.
In 2021, the Simmons First Foundation created a new $3 million endowment to support environmentally focused grants to aid conservation and sustainable projects.
- In 2021, the Nature Conservancy was one of the first nonprofits to receive a gift from this endowment with a donation of $150,000 to support the Youth Engagement Program and aid efforts to restore wildlife habitat in Arkansas through controlled, prescribed burns. More details about this project can be found here.
- In June 2022, The Simmons First Foundation awarded Ducks Unlimited a grant of $100,000 to support the Big River Park Conservancy project located along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee and West Memphis, Arkansas. More details about this project can be found here.
1 Figures calculated by totaling the square footage of branches closed/sold for the respective period and converted into square meters. The resulting figure was multiplied by a factor of 102 kg CO2 per square meter, and then converted to arrive at metric tons of CO2 for each respective period. The 102 kg CO2 per square meter factor was based on data published by the Center for Sustainable Systems, School for Environment & Sustainability, University of Michigan, related to carbon emissions data for commercial buildings and cited by Diebold Nixdorf in a publication dated April 19, 2021.