ANZ shareholders have delivered a world-record vote in favour of a deforestation resolution at the bank’s AGM in Sydney today.
A resolution calling on the bank to disclose deforestation linked to its lending was supported by 22.7% of shares voted at ANZ’s AGM.
The previous highest vote in favour of a deforestation resolution was a proposal in 2024 for PepsiCo to conduct a biodiversity impact assessment. It received 18% support from shareholders.
The shareholders who supported today’s resolution own $13.5 billion of shares in ANZ.*
A second resolution, calling on the bank to set out a strategy to eliminate financed deforestation, was supported by 11.3% of shares voted. The resolutions were facilitated by the Australian Conservation Foundation and co-filed by SIX.
Jolene George, ACF’s head of corporate advocacy, said:
“This is a world record vote in favour of a deforestation resolution – one ANZ can’t ignore. ANZ’s investors and the broader community expect the bank to monitor for deforestation and take action to protect Australia’s bushland from bulldozers.
“The support for the resolution demonstrates that investors are increasingly aware of the economy’s dependence on nature.
“ANZ is at an early stage in understanding deforestation risk. While many banks are monitoring deforestation, ANZ is yet to undertake mapping or demonstrate it has the capabilities to check whether its customers are engaging in deforestation.
“We urge ANZ to wake up to nature-related risk, assess its exposure and invest in internal capability to identify and monitor deforestation linked to its lending.”
Adam Verwey, SIX co-founder and CEO, said:
“Today we’ve seen a clear signal from investors for ANZ Bank to prioritise nature and biodiversity risk. Nature risk has emerged as the top ESG consideration for investors, and the pressure to act is only going to increase.
“How is it that ANZ, with its $6 billion in profit and dozens of sustainability staff, knows less about its own deforestation risk than the NGO proposing the resolution?
“After today’s vote, there are no excuses for the bank not to prioritise this work.”
* Number of shares voted in favour (375,632,233) x share price ($36.10)
Contact details:
Josh Meadows, 0439 342 992, [email protected]
