Environment
Developing products and services
The most significant role we can play in tackling climate change is to assist customers to transition and adapt to a low carbon environment.
Consumers increasingly expect the companies they deal with to have a position on climate change and to translate this into meaningful action on their behalf - most obviously by managing the emissions from their products and services.
We've offered environmentally focused retail products since 2006, that in turn provide options for customers to reduce their climate impacts. For example:
- More than 1 million customers from Westpac, St.George, and BankSA have already elected to save paper by receiving their statements electronically - reducing our paper consumption by over 526 tonnes
- BT Financial Group supports the development of sustainable investment practices through our involvement in the UN PRI, Investor Group on Climate Change, Responsible Investment Association Australiasia and Regnan
- Customers in New Zealand can now use debit cards made from recycled plastic
- Westpac customers may use their Altitude points for purchasing green products.
Engaging with carbon intensive and high risk customers
- In 2008 we revised and updated our approach to financing renewable energy projects, putting in place new underwriting standards to support industry expansion
- In 2010, more than half of our energy financing in Australia and New Zealand was for renewable sources. We publicly report changes to this figure in our Annual Report.
Participating in emerging carbon markets (including opportunities relating to the creation of offset credits).
- Westpac’s Commodities, Carbon and Energy (CCE) team has been trading in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EUETS) since 2006 and completed the first trade under the proposed Australian Scheme in 2008
- Westpac was the first bank to trade the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. And we're focused on financing new carbon-related business opportunities for customers.
Communicating research and risk management
We have a dedicated team within WIB focused on developing new services and products incorporating carbon.
- This includes debt and equity funding for emerging business opportunities in the domestic offset sector (forestry and agriculture), energy efficiency, clean technology and other internal abatement financing requirements, as well as carbon off-take, price risk management or origination activities via our Commodities, Carbon and Energy (CCE) trading team in financial markets.
- Our wealth management arm, BT Financial Group, is a signatory to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which is gathering investment-relevant information on behalf of institutional investors on how companies are responding to climate change risks.
