CONTACT: Sarah Lasoff, sarahlasoff@stopthemoneypipeline.com, 818-929-8777
PHOTOS & VIDEO: ARRESTS AT COSTCO HQ DURING PROTEST OVER LINKS TO DIRTY CITI
Six people were arrested at a peaceful protest at Costco’s headquarters in Issaquah WA today after they held a sit-in over the retailer’s links to Citi, the biggest funder of oil, gas and coal expansion since 2016.
Today’s protest follows months of attempted engagement with Costco after customers and shareholders in January delivered a petition signed by 40,000 people calling on Costco to drop Citi.
Click here for photos & video of the action and arrests
Click here for a livestream of the event
Photo Credit: Patty Tang @veganpattyy
See quotes from protesters below:
Citi issues Costco’s credit card, earning the bank lucrative fees, which enables it to fund the fossil fuel industries behind deaths and destruction caused by climate change.
Outside Costco’s office other protesters sang and spoke about their anger at Costco’s refusal to engage Citi on its climate record, despite promises. Today’s action follows hundreds of arrests during months of protests in New York at Citi headquarters, including arrests of Costco hot dogs.
At Costco’s annual shareholder meeting in January, CEO Ron Vachris said he was aware of concerns about links to Citi and would engage with Citi on its carbon reduction financing. Mr Vachris told shareholders: “We’re going to focus on our efforts that we’re going to take forward, and we’re going to stay very close to Citi and their efforts that they’re going to take forward as well.”
Data shows the Costco’s carbon footprint from its cash deposits – where banks get to use its money to fund oil, gas, and coal – is equivalent to 85.3% of Costco’s total operational carbon emission (all the energy and gas used for its warehouses, deliveries, capital goods, employee travel and commuting, and more). Costco’s carbon cash footprint is equivalent to 10.1 gas-fired power plants operating for one year.*
Costco has been forced to act on climate previously: in 2022 the retailer set climate targets after shareholders went against the board’s wishes and backed a proposal to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Citi has pumped $204 billion into oil, gas and coal expansion since the Paris climate talks to reduce global warming. It is the biggest foreign funder of fossil fuel companies operating in the Amazon and funds harmful projects and companies in communities of predominantly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, lowering their health outcomes and compounding racism.
Citi’s shareholders are also angry with the bank, with one in four backing a resolution for three years in a row calling on Citi to account for the impact of fossil fuel funding on Indigenous communities.
Since June 10, faith leaders, youth and elder groups, and communities from Texas and Louisiana affected by Citi’s funding decisions have gathered at Citi’s headquarters in New York to protest over the bank’s destructive financing of oil, gas and coal. One of the most recent arrests was of a man playing a cello outside the bank.
Quotes:
Chris Goelz, who owns shares in Costco:
“As a Costco shareholder I have been disappointed at Costco’s leadership for failing to engage on its links to CitiBank, one of the world’s dirtiest banks. I am here today looking for answers as to how Costco will either use its leverage to move Citi away from fossil fuel investments or find a way out of its relationship with Citi. I am concerned about my investment in Costco: global warming is not good for business and its financial relationship with Citi, which is overinvested in fossil fuel infrastructure, makes it even more vulnerable.”
Anne Shields, a Costco shopper and member of Third Act, a climate organization for older people:
“In January, we were excited that CEO Ron Vachris acknowledged our concerns over Costco’s links to Citi, but he hasn’t engaged his leadership team to work on this important issue and he hasn’t engaged Citi directly. Months have gone by and we have yet to hear from Costco about plans to work with Citi or find a better banking partner. I’ve been a Costco member for many years and I won’t use a Citibank card to shop there. I won’t be used to help Citi finance its bad investments in oil, gas and coal. Costco is letting its members down. Costco shoppers care about the climate and want Costco leadership to understand that Citibank is going to become a liability for them. US Costco members can shop with any VISA card and we won’t be used to create profits for Citibank.”
Sarah Lasoff, of Stop the Money Pipeline:
“Costco employees, shareholders and customers continue to contact us in huge numbers because of their concern over the retailer’s links to Citi and the implications for the planet. Tens of thousands of people across the US have gotten behind a petition to get Costco to drop Citi. These numbers will continue to grow the more Costco refuses to engage and explain how it can reduce its exposure to Citi’s dirty fossil fuel funding.”
*Data analysis done by Topo Finance, which co-authored the Carbon Bankroll report.
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