WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION | Transition Plan Assessments

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Reason withdrawn
Transition Plan Assessments - Resolution 6(b) was not put to the meeting as it was contingent on Resolution 6 (a) being passed as a special resolution.
Resolution details
Company ticker
WBC
Lead filer
Market Forces
Co-filers
Australian Ethical Investment Ltd.
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Net Zero / Paris aligned
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
Australia
Supporting materials
  • Australian Ethical Briefing on the 2023 Australian bank shareholder climate resolutions.pdf Download
  • 2023-11-ANZ-NAB-WBC-Rolling-Market-Forces-investor-briefing-banks-1.pdf Download
Resolved clause
Shareholders recognise the substantial transitional and physical risks of climate change and their potential financial impacts on our company. Noting our company’s requirement that upstream oil and gas customers have ‘credible transition plans’(1) in place prior to 2025 in order to receive corporate lending, shareholders request further disclosure addressing:
1. Whether all ‘fossil fuel companies’(2) will be required to have such plans in place prior to 2025 in order for Westpac to provide ‘new financing’(3); and
2. How Westpac will assess such plans for alignment with the bank’s definition of a credible transition plan, which should not include an unreasonable reliance on emissions offsets or negative emissions technology.(4)

Footnotes:

1 As defined in Westpac November 2022 Climate Change Position Statement
(https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/
sustainability/Climate_Change_Position_Statement_and_Action_Plan.pdf)
2 As defined in Science-Based Targets Initiative Fossil Fuel Finance Position
Paper Consultation Draft (https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/
The-SBTi-Fossil-Fuel-Finance-Position-Paper-Consultation-Draft.pdf)
3 Defined as: The provision of new corporate lending, project finance or trade
finance to a customer, including the refinancing of existing facilities, and the
arranging or underwriting of capital markets transactions to a customer.
4 For examples of transition plan assessment frameworks, see:
• Climate Action 100+ Net-Zero Company Benchmark
(https://www.climateaction100.org/net-zero-company-benchmark/)
• IGCC Corporate Climate Transition Plans Guide (https://igcc.org.au/
wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IGCC-corporate-transition-plan-investorexpectations.pdf)
Supporting statement
Please see attached investor briefings prepared by Australian Ethical Investment and Market Forces

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