A snapshot of the year that’s been

Anna Stewart

Head of Corporate Sustainability, ANZ

As a listed company, financial performance is clearly important to the success of ANZ - but it isn’t the whole story.

It is equally important to consider how we are doing business, including our response to external environmental and societal challenges and the impact we are having in the communities in which we live and work.

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L-R: Katy Landt, Co-Founder & CEO Safe Ag Systems; Caroline Graham, Director And Work, Health, Safety Manager, Safe Ag Systems; Ron Sutcliffe Agribusiness Manager, ANZ.

As our CEO Shayne Elliott says, ANZ’s long-term viability is

" dependent on us making decisions that are mindful of the impact we have on the community, our shareholders, our customers and our people.”

Our 2018 Annual Review tells a broad but concise story about how we are creating value for our shareholders, employees, customers and the wider community. It is the second year we have drawn on aspects of the International Integrated Reporting Framework, after signalling our intent last year to move towards integrated reporting.

Scrutiny

In drafting the review we were conscious it of its release at a time of unprecedented scrutiny of our industry, particularly in Australia where the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has highlighted misconduct and conduct falling below community standards and expectations.

We have sought to ensure our disclosures are transparent and balanced - discussing the challenges we face, what we have got wrong and what we are doing to fix it, as well as the positive contributions we have made during the year.

Communicating transparently and openly with our stakeholders is critical to rebuilding the community’s confidence in us and rebuilding our reputation as a fair and responsible business, driving sustainable returns for all stakeholders.

Throughout the review there are case studies featuring our customers – customers we have supported to grow their business, improve their financial wellbeing and succeed in a digital world.

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Helping Australian businesses to grow

The Graham Group (the Group) is a multi-generational South Australian farming family headed by Mark and Caroline Graham.

Originally focused on grain production, the business has diversified and now encompasses Watervalley Farms, a broad acre cropping business in the Yorke Peninsula, and Regional Skills Training (RST), a registered training organisation providing agronomic, management and compliance training to farmers in South Australia. RST has plans to expand to the eastern States in the coming year.

Caroline Graham and daughter Katy Landt have also launched a startup technology business, Safe Ag Systems, providing software that enables farming enterprises across Australia to manage their legislative obligations and incorporate workplace health and safety requirements into their operations.

Almost 2,000 Australian farmers are now using the software and, pending a successful capital raising, the Group plans to take its software to overseas markets.

As the Group’s business has diversified they have benefited from their long-term relationship with ANZ.

“ANZ has a genuine understanding of all aspects of our business,’ Mark Graham said. “They have provided flexible and timely options and have always supported the Group as we have expanded. This relationship will continue to grow as our plans for the future are implemented.”

At ANZ, we are proud of the relationship we share with the Graham family. They have strong ties to their local community and are making a positive impact to agribusiness in Australia.

Agribusiness is an important part of ANZ’s history, and banking customers like the Graham family aligns with our commitment to help Australian businesses grow.

In addition to featuring a number of case studies, ANZ’s annual review describes:

how we engage with our stakeholders – the issues they have raised and how we are responding;
the challenges and opportunities in our external environment, including digital advancement, globalisation and lower credit growth;
our performance against our 2018 sustainability targets, covering financial wellbeing, environmental sustainability and fair and responsible banking;
the issues our board has been focussed on, such as the purpose and values-led transformation of the bank, improving customer outcomes, financial and regulatory issues; and
our approach to climate change, using the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

In future reports we will seek to achieve a closer alignment with the requirements of the framework, particularly with respect to the connectivity between our strategy, performance metrics and remuneration outcomes.

Anna Stewart is a bluenotes contributor

The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.