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Our climate change commitment

We want to be the leading Australia- and New Zealand-based bank in supporting customers' transition to net zero emissions by 2050.

To meet the Paris Agreement goals, significant greenhouse gas emission reductions are required across all sectors of the economy. Trillions of dollars are needed to invest in new and existing technologies for clean energy, transport, sustainable food production and resilient infrastructure.

Financing opportunities linked to our business strategy will contribute to the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals and the transition to a net zero economy.

Our focus areas

Our climate change commitment outlines our support of customers in the transition to net zero. Our focus areas include:

Supporting our customers and industries to transition

The most important role we can play in the transition to net zero is to support our customers to reduce emissions and enhance their resilience to a changing climate. To achieve this, we are:

  • Executing our environmental sustainability strategy and providing finance, services and advice that support customers to shift to low carbon business models and operations that put them or the broader economy on a path to net zero emissions.
  • Funding and facilitating at least A$100 billion by the end of 2030, in social and environmental outcomes through customer activities and direct investments by ANZ. This includes initiatives that help lower carbon emissions, protect nature and biodiversity, increase access to affordable housing and promote financial wellbeing1.
  • Progressively deepening our employees’ understanding of climate risks and opportunities, including the potential of emerging technologies, focusing on our institutional bankers in key customer segments such as resources, energy and agribusiness.

This expertise will help us develop products and services to meet our customers’ needs, for example in:

  • Green, social and sustainability-linked loans and bonds
  • Lending and advisory services to help our customers buy, sell and raise capital for renewable energy and other low-emissions projects
  • Project finance to support the development of long-term sustainable infrastructure.

Transition our lending to net zero financed emissions by 2050 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement

Our success in supporting and accelerating a net zero transition by 2050 will be driven by our ability to help our customers reduce their emissions.

To reduce our portfolio emissions, we commit to transitioning our lending in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Our work in this area is focused on developing metrics and interim targets2 for key sectors by the end of 2024, in line with our NZBA commitment and the evolution of globally recognised standards and methodologies, noting there is no single method that covers all relevant sectors and asset classes.

To decrease our portfolio emissions, we are focusing our efforts on high-emitting sectors, such as the energy sector3 which plays a key role in the transition, with around 75% of global emissions attributed to energy use4. This is especially the case for the power generation sector which is essential in decarbonising other high emitting sectors such as transportation and buildings.

To achieve this, we seek to:

  • Continue to improve the management of climate-related risks within our risk management framework. This includes factoring climate-related risk into our lending for large business customers5,6 primarily by assessing their capacity to respond to climate change and the evolving regulatory landscape. We undertake customer due diligence through application of tools under our Social and Environmental Risk Policy (Policy) and Requirements for lending to ‘sensitive sectors’,7 including the Climate Change Risk Assessment tool used to help guide our engagement with customers and assess and manage climate-related risks.
  • Expect our existing large business customers in higher-emitting sectors such as energy, building products and transport to integrate climate change risk into their company strategies. 

We may decline lending and/or reduce our exposure to projects and customers – new or existing – that do not meet our expectations.

Engaging constructively and transparently with stakeholders

  • We recognise it is vital to work collaboratively with our stakeholders to help support the transition to net zero emissions. That’s why we are:
    • Focusing our engagement and raised expectations on our 100 largest emitting customers with the aim that by end 2025, compared with their starting point more customers achieve a ‘well developed’ or ‘advanced’ rating for their low carbon transition plans;
    • Extending the use of our Climate Change Risk Assessment methodology so that by end 2024 it has been used to support our engagement with each of our 100 largest emitting customers.
  • Enhancing our management of climate risks and opportunities by intensifying our engagement with our largest emitting business customers. We will expect and encourage them to strengthen their low carbon transition plans, by:
  • Engaging with stakeholders on climate change and increasing our transparency on our approach through Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) market briefings, investor roundtables and other avenues8.
  • Disclose how we identify, assess and manage climate-related financial risks and opportunities informed by the TCFD and in line with climate reporting requirements as they develop across the jurisdictions in which we operate.
  • Disclosing metrics on the emissions impact of our financing and setting targets to reduce this impact.
  • Engaging with regulators, where appropriate, to enhance our alignment with regulatory expectations.
  • Engaging, as appropriate, in public policy discussion on climate change and increasing transparency on our approach. This includes disclosing the key industry associations we are members of and reviewing alignment on key relevant policy positions.

man fixing solar panels 

Our climate change commitment

For a summary of our climate change approach, please refer to our ANZ Climate Change Commitment (PDF 88kB). Additional disclosures and policies can also be found at ESG reporting

 

Click here for an accessible version of our ANZ Climate Change Commitment (PDF 106kB).

 

ANZ's 2023 Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Supplement

This report provides detailed information on ANZ's focus on bringing our purpose to life through helping tackle significant societal challenges that are core to our business strategy and matter to society.

2023 ESG Supplement (PDF 5.3MB)

Reporting

2023 ESG Supplement

Detailed information on ANZ's social and environmental sustainability performance and challenges. Released 13 November 2023.

PDF 5.3MB

Social and Environmental Sustainability Target Methodology 

ANZ's Social and Environmental Sustainability Target Methodology. Released 13 November 2023.

PDF 2.0MB

2023 Environmental Performance Report

The 2023 Annual GHG Emissions and Carbon Offset Data Assurance Statement details our global carbon offset data, done by KPMG. Released 31 October 2023.

PDF 284kB

2023 Climate-related Financial Disclosures Report

We report using the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

PDF 4.7MB

  

2023 ESG Forum

Our annual ESG investor forum briefing pack. Released 19 June 2023.

PDF 1.85MB

  

Financed Emissions Methodology

ANZ's Financed Emissions Methodology. Released 13 November 2023.

PDF 671KB

  

1. Refer to ANZ’s Social and Environmental Sustainability Target Methodology available at anz.com/esgreport

2. Our targets are in the metrics and targets section of our Climate-related Financial Disclosures, available here: anz.com/esgreport That report also contains important notices about forward-looking statements and about the uncertainties, challenges and risks associated with climate-related information.

3. The energy sector includes integrated oil and gas companies involved in exploration, development and refining as well as low carbon energy solutions, thermal coal mining, and integrated power utility companies such as renewable energy and coal.

4. Energy use includes transport in addition to the power generation sector. The percentage of global emissions from energy use is sourced from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, October 2021.

5. Institutional, including Corporate, customers.

6. Our lending is informed by our evolving social, environmental and credit policies, which includes commitments relating to thermal coal. Information on our policies is available here: https://www.anz.com.au/about-us/esg-priorities/fair-responsible-banking/responsiblebusiness-lending/

7. These include energy, extractive industries, forestry and forests, water and hydropower. 

8. This includes an avenue for complaints that is available to stakeholders who have concerns about whether our business lending is consistent with our climate statement. Complaints can be made by contacting the Group General Manager, ESG or Chief Risk Officer.

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