Executive Education
During 2022 and 2023, we increased our investment in executive education and training on the potential impacts of climate change to our business, and on the role that Tompkins can play in helping our customers access or invest in alternative energy sources. We retained a nationally-recognized consulting firm to train a group of key managers, including executives from our credit, lending, finance, operations, information technology/data management, legal/risk, and facilities teams, on several climate-related topics. Learning objectives included: an understanding of the current ESG landscape including market and regulatory trends; an overview of the key elements of the SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related disclosures; and an overview of the key elements of the climate-related financial disclosures recommended by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and its relevance for the banking sector.
Tompkins Clean Energy Loan Program with NOCO
Tompkins has partnered with NOCO to offer competitive financing for residential geothermal HVAC systems across Upstate New York. NOCO, established in 1933, is a family-owned, locally operated, full-service energy company serving Western and Central New York. Our pilot program with NOCO emphasizes the benefits of cleaner energy systems and assists customers looking to explore geothermal options.
Encouraging Reduced/Alternate Employee Commutes
Tompkins is proud to do our small part in reducing our carbon footprint by offering incentives to employees working at our Corporate Headquarters Building to car share, walk and use public transportation. For several years, and when appropriate, the availability of remote work arrangements for employees has been a part of our culture. Post pandemic we now have 8.7% of our employees working fully remote and 34% of our employees on a hybrid work schedule reducing the number of days commuting to work down to two or three days per week. Approximately 7% of our Headquarters employees in downtown Ithaca participate in our Alternative Transportation Program. This Program provides an incentive to employees who use alternate transportation (e.g., carpool, bus, bike, etc.) instead of driving to work.