Media

19 November, 2008

Westpac Banking Corporation today unveiled its five-year climate change strategy outlining the bank's efforts to cement a whole-of-supply chain approach to reducing carbon emissions.

In a first for the Australian financial services sector, the climate change strategy includes an aggressive overall emissions reduction target of 30% by 2013. Westpac senior executives will be directly responsible for delivering initiatives to achieve this target.

The strategy has been launched following consultation with a number of important internal and external stakeholders and focuses on five key areas designed to encourage a broader response to climate change taking into account both Westpac's direct environmental impact and that of its customers.

"As a leading financial institution with relationships right across society, Westpac will play a pivotal role helping our customers, employees and the broader community shift to a low-carbon economy," Westpac Chief Executive Gail Kelly said.

"It is easy to dwell on the challenges, but we do believe that there are exciting opportunities for companies and individuals with the courage to reach out and grasp them."

The climate change strategy's five key areas of focus include;

• Minimising Westpac's environmental footprint - this includes a more aggressive emissions reduction target of 30% by 2013 through energy, resource and operational efficiency initiatives. This will also see responsibility for the emissions reduction target shared among all Westpac Group Executives and the CEO.
• Communication and advocacy in the community - using Westpac's leadership position to continue to engage key stakeholders including suppliers and customers on climate change issues and encouraging the development of robust carbon trading schemes in Australia and New Zealand.
• Risk and capacity building - a commitment to integrating climate risk within Westpac's risk framework and increasing the understanding of carbon issues across the business to help our employees better engage with customers on carbon issues.
• Products and Services - identifying product and service opportunities which support positive environmental outcomes within retail banking, institutional banking, wealth management and funds management. To help facilitate this, Westpac has launched a Commodities, Carbon and Energy Trading team.
• Engaging employees - continuing to raise awareness across the employee base of climate change and how employees can engage in identifying means to address climate issues.

The climate change strategy builds on Westpac's experience in managing environmental issues over the past 15 years. During that time, Westpac has reduced its own carbon emissions by over 40%, was the first Australian bank to sign up to the Equator Principles, began trading under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and undertook Australia's first trade of permits under the forthcoming Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

Westpac has also developed environmental products and services including green home loans, scrutinised the environmental performance of suppliers through its sustainable supply chain management system and made a substantial contribution to policy development through the Australian Business Roundtable on Climate Change and the Australian Agricultural Alliance on Climate Change.

Details of the new climate change strategy are available at: www.westpac.com.au.