Environmental, Social and Governance
We recognise our responsibility to operate as a force for positive change, both inside the bank and in the communities we serve.
Our commitment to ESG
Charity Bank Australia applies environmental, social and governance principles to how we lend, how we invest and how we run the bank itself — and we publish what we find, including the parts that still need work.
Our path to net zero is part of the same commitment: measure the emissions we cause, cut them where we can, and be honest about the rest.
Environmental
Climate change is an urgent social challenge as well as an environmental one. Rising energy costs land hardest on the organisations we lend to and the people they serve, which is why green lending is a growing part of our loan book rather than a side project.
We report our operational emissions annually and reduce them before we offset anything that is left. Our reporting follows the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting framework, and we are working towards Climate Active carbon neutral certification for our own operations.
We do not lend to fossil fuel extraction, and we publish the emissions financed by our lending alongside our own.
Social
The social half of ESG is not a policy for us — it is the loan book. Savers’ money funds housing, care, education, food relief and community facilities, and we measure what that lending changes for the people who use it.
Inside the bank, the same commitment shows up as our equity, diversity and inclusion work, our support for customers in vulnerable circumstances, and a four-day week that we treat as a wellbeing measure rather than a perk.
Governance
We are an authorised deposit-taking institution regulated by APRA, and our conduct and credit licensing sit with ASIC. Complaints we cannot resolve can be taken to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, and personal information is handled under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the OAIC’s Australian Privacy Principles.
Our board is appointed by shareholders who are themselves charities, trusts and social investors, so the people holding management to account have the same mission we do. Board papers carry impact and ESG reporting alongside the financial pack.
Net zero and values-based banking
Our net zero working group leads the bank’s emissions reduction programme and reports progress to the board each year. Residual operational emissions are offset with Australian Carbon Credit Units from projects we can name in our reporting.
We are a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values and have signed its climate change commitment, which asks member banks to measure and disclose the emissions financed by their lending. We are also part of the Fossil Free Alliance.
Put your money behind it
Green savings
Savings that fund solar, retrofits and energy work for community organisations.
Green loans
Lending for charities and social enterprises cutting their energy use and emissions.
Reports and publications
Our impact reporting, annual report and the policies behind this page.
Where you bank matters
Every deposit held here funds lending to the Australian social sector — and nothing else.