Climate Change, Sustainable Finance and Environment

We understand that climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Auswide Bank’s approach to climate change aligns closely with our strategic purpose of helping all Australians own their own home. A house may not feel like a home without a safe and sustainable environment and thriving community around it.

At Auswide Bank, we are very conscious of our impact on the environment. We are also increasingly aware of our community’s changing attitudes, expectations and our need to set an example to other businesses.

Over the past few years we started our journey to reducing waste and increasing efficiency including:

• Implementing ways to recycle paper generated internally, e.g. document shredding and secure document destruction.
• Encouraging customers to cancel or reduce the numbers of statements they receive by mail.
• Promoting Internet Banking and other electronic options as an alternative way of receiving statements and reducing customers’ need to travel to branches for simple transactions.
• Promoting BPAY® as a free service allowing customers to pay any bill bearing the distinctive BPAY logo.
• Promoting BPAY View®, which enables our customers to receive bills online from selected billers.
• Allowing ATM users to elect at the time of their transaction whether they wish to receive a printed receipt.
• Paying the majority of our suppliers electronically rather than by cheque.
• Providing our shareholders with the option of receiving annual reports and other shareholder communications online.
• Actively sponsoring community organisations such as Landcare in their initiatives, including National Tree Day.
• Having energy efficient LED lighting at all new and refurbished branches.
• Having automatic timers to switch off air-conditioning at all branches when not in use.
• Directing branches to turn off all lightning and electrical appliances when not in use.
• Recycling of printer, fax and photocopier cartridges through Cartridges 4 Planet Arc.
• Using recycled products where possible and financially viable.
• Recycling obsolete phone handsets, mobile phone batteries and computer equipment.

Over the next few years we will be looking to strengthen our capability in this area by developing a climate action plan. This will allow us to:

• Gain a better understanding of the impact of extreme weather events such as cyclones, flooding, bushfires and droughts on our customers and their homes.
• Access how we can reduce our emissions, setting clear and meaningful targets and transparency in the way we report and share our progress.
• Gain an understanding of how we achieve a status of becoming a certified carbon neutral organisation.
• Work with government and best practice organisations and agencies in reducing our impact on the environment.

While individuals, companies or governments generate huge amounts of carbon, there are specific programs and organisations that exist to take carbon out of the atmosphere. Auswide Bank will look to ‘offsetting’ as a strategy to compensate for the emissions we might create by matching it to a reduction in carbon somewhere else, after we’ve done everything else to reduce our carbon emissions.

Our goal will be to purchase carbon offsets from accredited projects that are carefully aligned to our values.

We know that tackling the considerable challenges of climate change is something that cannot be achieved alone. Partnerships are key to building scale and creating impact. Our goal is to see collaboration grow between industry, government, business, and community. We have continued our focus on being a sustainable business by:

• Managing our climate related risks and environmental impact through scenario analysis and risk assessments and assessing the impact of our lending activities.
• The launch of VISA debit cards made from plants not plastic.
• An upgrade to our Internet Banking and mobile app to continue to deliver enhanced electronic banking options.
• Ongoing promotion and education of electronic banking as an alternative way of receiving statements and reducing our customers need to travel to branches for simple transactions.

Auswide Bank does not finance companies engaged principally in the exploration, mining, manufacture or export of thermal coal or coal seam gas. We do not intentionally invest directly in companies specialising in these areas.