Great Southern Bank pledges to reach Net Zero ten years early

29 June 2022

Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, Great Southern Bank, is today pledging to reach net zero emissions by 2040, ten years earlier than the target date set in the Paris Agreement. The bank continues to support the goals of the agreement, which seeks limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century.

Great Southern Bank outlined its approach in its new Climate Action Plan, which was developed with leading climate change advisory firm Ndevr Environmental and with financial analysis provided by CoreLogic.

“Acting sustainably is part of our duty as a customer-owned bank,” said Paul Lewis, CEO and Managing Director of Great Southern Bank.

“Our purpose is to help all Australians own their own home. Our support for net zero helps to safeguard those same homes, some of which we know are at increasing risk to climate change.

“To reach net zero by 2040 is challenging – but ultimately that’s the only kind of target that will make a meaningful contribution to reducing the impacts of climate change.

“We are currently working with our finance industry peers to understand the collective role our sector can play in managing climate risk and transitioning to net zero.”

Great Southern Bank’s Climate Action Plan is designed to build greater insight into the impact of extreme weather events such as flooding on its customers and their homes. It also maps out the bank’s plans to reduce its emissions, set clear, science-based targets and adopt global reporting standards.

Great Southern Bank achieved carbon neutral certification in 2021 and, this year, became the first customer-owned bank to publish a Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) report and disclose its financed emissions in line with emerging industry standards.

You can find out more about Great Southern Bank’s work on sustainability on our website.

About Great Southern Bank

For over 75 years, we’ve been putting our customers first, and today we look after the financial needs of more than 381,000 Australians. We have changed our name from CUA to Great Southern Bank but we remain customer-owned and firmly focused on helping all Australians own their own homes.