to be entirely clear... this is one Australian Bank...really a conglomeration of Credit unions, that already has a well established record of environmental activism. (though a good chunk is likely just green washing..)
from their Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Australia
"
Sustainability
In June 2020, Bank Australia became a certified
B Corp.
[11]
Bank Australia has been carbon neutral since 2011 and in 2018 became certified carbon neutral by the Australian Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard.
[12] In 2019 they switched to
100% renewable energy. It was the first bank in Australia to do so.
[13] In 2022, Bank Australia responded to shareholder demands and set a net zero target for 2035.
[14]
The Bank Australia Conservation Reserve
[15] is a 927 hectare private land reserve owned by the bank and its customers. The reserve is located in Victoria's Wimmera region and is made up of three properties and is protected from development forever through a conservation covenant. The company purchased the first of the three properties in 2008 in response to customer concerns about the environment.
Greening Australia[16] and
Trust for Nature[17] manage the Reserve. In 2018, Bank Australia, in partnership with Greening Australia and Trust for Nature, won the Banksia Large Business Award for the conservation reserve's ten-year strategy.
[18]
Bank Australia has reaffirmed that they have never invested and will never invest money in
fossil fuels,
live animal exports,
military weaponry,
tobacco, or
gambling.
[19]
Impact fund
Bank Australia allocates 4% of its after tax profits to the Bank Australia Impact Fund. The fund supports projects and partnerships that "benefit people, communities and the planet".
[20] As part of the fund, the bank runs an annual customer grants program, many concerned with investment in sustainability and community renewable energy projects.
[21]"
www.westernjournal.com
