One of the most powerful things you can do as an individual to protect our planet is to move your money to a green bank: meaning a bank that genuinely cares about the environment. Discover how our clean money promise, offices powered by 100% renewable energy, commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2035, and award-winning Clean Energy Home Loan are all helping create the future that Australians deserve.
What is a green bank?
To us, being a green bank and banking ethically means making decisions that will protect and benefit people and the planet. As Australia’s first customer-owned bank, balancing purpose and profit is what we do. We live our values – and are guided by our customers’ – through investing and lending in line with our responsible banking policy. This means we don’t fund harmful industries like fossil fuels, weapons and gambling, and we instead help create positive change through clean energy transition, protecting nature, and social and affordable housing.
What makes Bank Australia a green bank?
We steward a conservation reserve, and along with our partners and Traditional Owners we care for it on behalf of our customers. It’s one way we’re using the business of banking to create a healthier planet. Our reserve covers 2117 hectares and is home to 225 native plant and 234 native animal species.
We're a leading voice on corporate conservation innovation to draw down carbon from the atmosphere, while protecting and preparing our conservation reserve for a warmer climate.
Private land conservation is an important path forward to protecting more of the precious environment from development forever. We’ve been protecting land on our conservation reserve since 2008, and we want to share what we’ve learned to show that this is something other landholders in Australia can do too.
We were also proud to be named Finder Green Bank of the Year in 2023.
Environmentally friendly banking, for real
It’s easy claiming to be a climate-friendly bank, but how do we actually live up to our title as a green bank?
We run on 100% renewable electricity
We have solar panels on our head office in Melbourne, and national contact centre in the Latrobe Valley. Plus, we have a 10-year agreement with the Crowlands Wind Farm as part of the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project.
We’ve been carbon neutral since 2011
We measure, reduce and offset our greenhouse gas emissions every year and we’re certified carbon neutral by the National Carbon Offset Standard.
We’ll reduce our emissions by 16% by 2025
We used science-based methods to work out how much we need to reduce our emissions from gas, the bank’s cars and electricity to do our bit to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees.
Sustainable and green banking: we’ll hit net zero by 2035
It’s time to raise the bar on climate action. We know that 2050 is too late, and that our customers care deeply about taking decisive action.
Our commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2035 across our operations and lending portfolio is the most ambitious of any Australian bank.
In our climate action strategy, reducing emissions is an essential first step. We’ve also realised our role as a sustainable bank is supporting communities in Australia to respond to climate change in a way that’s regenerative and focused on a just transition.
Our climate action strategy also focuses on how we will:
- work with our customers to reach net zero emissions in our operations and portfolio by 2035
- finance regenerative projects and services
- help people reduce their emissions
- support First Nations voices to lead the way on climate action
As a green bank, funding regenerative products and services is an important part of our contribution to climate action. In 2021, we were financing $400m of lending and investment to clean energy transition and conservation across green property, electric vehicles and green bonds. We’ll now be working to grow that to $1.5b by 2025.
We offer award-winning green home loans
Our Clean Energy Home Loan was designed to encourage customers to build or buy homes that don’t have as much of an impact on our earth. We’re always working to improve this, including launching our Eco Plus option that takes us a step closer to net zero homes.
Aligning your banking with your environmental values
Lots of people don’t realise that the money in your bank account doesn’t just sit there. Banks use it to lend and invest, and the industries they invest in can do good, or harm.
As a green bank, our clean money promise is underpinned by our responsible banking policy.
Banking with us means your money won’t be used to invest in fossil fuels, live animal export, weapons or gambling. And it will support clean energy transition, community projects and protecting nature.
We also became an accredited B Corp bank in 2020. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Learn more about what it means to be a B Corp bank.
