Great Southern Bank

Disclosing Financed Emissions inline with PCAF and TCFD

Great Southern Bank is Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, looking after the financial needs of more than 380,000 Australians. As the bank grows, it has committed to doing so sustainably and in ways that benefit its customers and communities, today and tomorrow.  The bank openly acknowledges that it has a part to play in creating a sustainable future for all, and that this includes acting now to limit its impact on climate change.

It has worked with Anthesis (formerly Ndevr Environmental) since becoming carbon neutral in 2021, to measure, reduce where feasible and offset the operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its branches and offices. More recently, this partnership has been expanded to include Anthesis undertaking new work to better understand the emissions stemming from the bank’s lending and investment portfolios.

Measuring such data is significant. ‘Financed emissions’ are typically much larger, in aggregate, than the emissions from a bank’s direct operations or energy consumption, yet they are still not widely measured or reported. Anthesis assisted Great Southern Bank with an assessment of Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across their portfolio using guidance published by the industry-led Partnership for Carbon Accounting for Financials (PCAF).

Calculations were conducted across all the bank’s lending and investment activities, including residential mortgages, corporate bonds, motor vehicle loans, security deposits, certificates of deposits, unlisted equity, and business loans. Findings were presented in line with emerging metrics for the banking sector, including the weighted average carbon intensity (WACI) of each million Australian dollars lent or invested.

This work and the transparency of reporting results has led the sector in environmental disclosure. In March 2022, Great Southern Bank was the first customer-owned bank to publish a Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) statement.

This report and the data provided by Anthesis provide Great Southern Bank with previously unavailable insights into the carbon intensity per asset class and per sector, helping guide strategic decision-making and responses around risk management and product development.

More information: Media Release and Full Report