A green path to a sustainable future
![Two men looking at solar panels in the desert.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/CROCKER-BANK_1983_01_solar-header.jpg)
![Wells Fargo & Co. check dated 1893, paid to the order of Sierra Club for 15 dollars, signed by Adolph Sutro.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/3001148.jpg)
![Hanging tag with text “Turn off light when not in use. The Fargo Way.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/light-off-tag.jpg)
![Seven images showing steps in the recycling of paper waste, with title “Rubbish… a new resource.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Wells-Fargo-Banker-Vol8-1970_rubbish.jpg)
![Wachovia magazine cover with dark mountain landscape, with title “the goodliest land… a report on our environment.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Wachovia-Magazine-1972_08-10_Page_1.jpg)
![Illustration of piggy bank with trefoil symbol and Save Energy text. Three circles above piggy bank contain a half-darkened light bulb, a speed sign at 55mph, and a thermometer at 68 degrees. Image link will enlarge image.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Fidelity-Bank_Trefoil-Talk-1975_02_03-1-1.jpg)
Eco-friendly alternatives to paper
The byproduct known as bagasse is a crushed juiceless, fibrous residue that is a byproduct of the cane stalks after the mills finish extracting the sugar. The bank’s commitment to this process is discussed by Wells Fargo Executive Vice President Robert L. Kemper.
Our customers used 200 million checks a year.
It would take 8,000 trees to produce paper for that many checks.
We have instructed our printers to use bagasse when their current paper stocks are depleted.
Each of the new bagasse checks will have an ecology symbol in the lower righthand corner.
Twenty-five cents of each check order will be sent to an ecological endeavor of the customer’s choice. These twenty-five cent contributions will create a fund of $75,000 a year for environmental groups.
In studies conducted since last May by the bank printing quality both on four-color and standard checks holds up very well and post-encoding processes necessary to root a check from the time it is written to the time it is returned to the customer in his monthly statement do not affect the paper substantially.
Balentine pulp and paper division of Litton industries of
Rock Port Louisiana, the one firm in the United States which converts bagasse to paper says that after an initial step of extracting the soft, spongy core of the cane, bagasse processing coincides with that of wood pulp including the cooking, screening, and bleaching processes.
But the most important thing is that this process will be another step in the program to recycle waste products and preserve our natural resources.
In 1972, the bank bought bagasse, a waste product created during the processing of sugar cane. The recycled sugar cane fibers created a quality paper that held the bright colors of the stagecoach checks that many customers prized.
![Wells Fargo Bank Ecology Donation form with ecology symbol made up of mountains, water, and sun.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Ecology-Donation-form_frontback.jpg)
![Office building exterior: section of roof has sloped angle.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/United-Banks-of-Colorado_Transactions-1978_11-12_Mesa.jpg)
![Three women pose around a stack of paper in an office.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/WELLS-FARGO-NEWS_1984_01_05_paperstack.jpg)
![Triangular recycling symbol made up of three chasing arrows with “AGE” in center.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/AG-EDWARDS-SONS-INC_1991_08_INSIDE-QUOTE_recycling-logo.jpg)
![Illustration of green plants with title “The Greening of Norwest.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Norwest-Bank-Iowa_Newsbreak-1991_01-02.jpg)
![Wells Fargo brochure with text “The Next State in ATM banking is here!” and “No envelope required!” ATM display screen of check deposit in center.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/no-envelope-brochure02.jpg)
![On left, woman standing in front of windmills in open field with blue sky, holding sign with text “Someday my purchasing will help purchase power.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Renewable_Energy_EPA_2006.jpg)
![Connections magazine cover of a man standing in front of a windmill with blue sky background, with title “How Green Is Your Company?”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Wells-Fargo-Connections-2007_03-Vol-9-No-3.jpg)
![Color photograph of a solar array on top of a Wells Fargo building.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/HR-South.jpg)
![Large solar panels lined up in rows on ground.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/environmental_finance_report2012_03.jpg)
![Three women posing with bicycles in bank branch.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/bike-work-whittier-1974.jpg)
![Advertisement for First National Bank of Arizona, Paradise Valley Office, showing a small vehicle and text “You’re invited to see… The Citi Car, the exciting new two-passenger electric car.”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/FNB-Arizona_Citi-Car_1975-ad.jpg)
![On left, two people riding mopeds into Crocker Bank parking lot. On right, woman with bicycle in front of Crocker Bank administrative offices.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/CROCKER-BANK_1979_09_BANK-NOTES_commuting.jpg)
![On left, diagram showing how light is converted into energy using a solar thermal system. On right, people seated at desks in bank branch with red and yellow tubing behind a glass wall.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Solar_Fox-Hills-Office_1979.jpg)
![Two people at table displaying First Interstate Bank of Oregon’s Earth Day tote bags, mugs, and other promotional items.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/First-Interstate-Bank-of-Oregon_Statement-1991_06-14.jpg)
![Blank Wells Fargo Bank check with text “Ask me about our Recycled Checks!”](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/recycled-checks_branch-tag_1991.jpg)
![Brochure cover for Wells Fargo Environmental Affairs, with girl standing in front of a row of windmills, holding a pinwheel.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Environmental-Affairs-2010_brochure-cover.jpg)
![Close up view of a hand plugging in electric car to charge.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/35_electric-Car.jpg)
![Report cover titled “Smart Cities, Connected Communities” with illustration of a city skyline, windmills, elevated train, and various vehicles on road.](https://history.wf.com/wp-content/uploads/Innovation-Incubator-Summit-Report_2017-cover.jpg)