Shareholders are demanding ANZ and NAB face up to nature destruction

Beef is the biggest driver of deforestation in Australia, and the biggest banks behind deforestation are NAB and ANZ. For the first time ever, they’re being forced to face their shareholders over it.

For years, NAB and ANZ have financed companies bulldozing vital habitat for koalas, greater gliders and countless other wildlife – and failed to take responsibility. Thanks to people like you helping uncover this destruction, from scanning satellite images with ACF Investigates to exposing the banks funding it, the pressure is mounting. 

Westpac has already committed to a no-deforestation policy, but NAB and ANZ are lagging behind - and now we are holding them to account. 

ACF has turned up the pressure by filing a shareholder resolution, a formal request put to a company’s annual general meeting that requires the board and shareholders to respond. Even when non-binding, it’s a powerful tool: it shines a spotlight on inaction, attracts media attention, and signals to the company and the public that corporate behaviour is under scrutiny. 

It’s one of the most effective ways to hold corporations accountable.  

This morning, alongside SIX, Australian Ethical Investment and Melior Investment Management, we co-filed Australia’s first-ever bank shareholder resolution on deforestation with NAB. On Friday, we’ll file the same resolution with ANZ. 

The stakes are huge:

• NAB and ANZ are linked to roughly 75,000 hectares of deforestation – about the size of New York City.
• This destruction threatens species like koalas, greater gliders and swift parrots, damages soils and waterways, and releases climate pollution.
• Land degradation already costs Australia $260 billion a year, putting banks at financial and reputational risk if they continue to ignore their role. 

Westpac has already committed to a no-deforestation policy. It’s time for NAB and ANZ to follow.  

How you can help:

Let’s increase the pressure! Share the news about today's resolution, and help us put the spotlight on the banks profiting from deforestation. 

When the story is everywhere, the banks cannot ignore it. 

Not on social media? No worries. Read the articles that hit the media today about the shareholder resolution, and share them with your wider networks however you usually share content!

Every person that raises their voice for our big backyard helps turn this shareholder resolution into a moment of accountability for ANZ and NAB, and a step toward protecting forests, wildlife and communities across Australia.