Bank helps its customers reduce their carbon emissions
Westpac NZ has expanded its interest-free loans for making homes warmer and announced a range of new sustainability initiatives to support customers who want to take positive action.
Read more: Climate change can result in devastating property issues
“Climate change is a growing threat to our environment, communities, and business,” Westpac NZ CEO Catherine McGrath said. “Cutting emissions reduces risk, helps protect the world we live in for future generations and also creates opportunities to do things in new ways. Over the past 10 years we’ve reduced emissions from our own operations at Westpac NZ by 60%. With today’s announcement we’re lifting our game across the bank to support our customers to reduce their carbon emissions.”
Westpac’s expanded Warm Up loan now allows customers to borrow up to $40,000 interest-free to make their home warmer, drier, more sustainable, and energy efficient. In addition to the increased limit, electric vehicle chargers and solar batteries have now been added to the items that can be funded through the loan.
Read next: Why climate change is “extremely relevant” to the mortgage space
“We’ve already lent more than $30 million interest-free through Westpac Warm Up and aim to get to $100 million,” McGrath said. “As well as supporting customers to live more sustainably, these loans also help with cost-of-living pressures through the zero-interest, charged, and in many cases, reduced energy costs.”
Westpac NZ is also piloting new Sustainable Agribusiness Loans with a small group of farming customers.
“The loan is the first of its kind to require a customer to meet all parts of the Sustainable Agriculture Finance Initiative guidance,” McGrath said. “This guidance includes practices to reduce emissions, improve long-term resilience, and deliver more sustainable outcomes in terms of water, waste, pollution, and ecosystems.”
Farmers who commit to meet the guidance will have two years to achieve that goal and will be supported with discounted loan pricing.
The loans are expected to be rolled out more widely next year.
McGrath said Westpac Group, including Westpac NZ, has signed up to the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
“This confirms Westpac’s commitment to a net zero lending portfolio by 2050, while also setting lending emissions targets for 2030,” she said. “Moving forward, we’ll be working closely with our big business customers – in certain sectors – that want to access lending, to establish how they’re managing climate-related risk and what they’re doing to decarbonise.”
Westpac NZ will also release its Responsible Banking and Investment Position, which wraps together the way environmental, social and governance factors guide activity across the bank in a clear and simple summary for customers.
“It also spells out plainly where we’re not willing to do business,” McGrath said. “For example, we don’t lend to coal-mining companies, or provide banking services to payday lenders and mobile truck shops.”
