Natural Value

All companies are dependent on ecosystem services, either through their supply chains, around their operating sites or via their customers. There is a more holistic understanding of the natural economy developing. Managing natural value includes the economic valuing of ecosystem services and the natural environment - that is, recognising the impact and dependency of biodiversity and ecosystem services and accounting for them within traditional business frameworks and the way we do business.

At a more granular level applying to our business, this would mean incorporating consideration of biodiversity and ecosystem services into our business policies and procedures, from risk assessments to operational and supply chain decisions, both to meet our corporate responsibilities and ensure we better understand the materiality of risk exposure and revenue dependencies. Without a natural value lens across our decision making, we may be blind to significant risks and threats to our future business sustainability.

Eventually, as business decisions become more informed by natural value considerations, it will be easier to place actual financial value on nature (bringing it explicitly into the balance sheet) and start to adjust the way we think about growth strategies, future value businesses and real impacts on sustainability. NAB is investigating these issues and supporting research activities and involvement of our employees in initiatives listed below:

Conservation Initiatives

Earthwatch

NAB is a supporter of Earthwatch Institute - an international environmental not-for-profit research organisation that supports scientific field research and conservation education. Since 2007, 51 employees have participated in Earthwatch programs as field volunteers, assisting scientists to carry out their research activities.

Plant Your Paper Back

NAB launched its 'Plant your Paper Back' initiative in 2010, in an effort to improve employees' awareness of the impact of their paper use in relation to the natural environment. This initiative encourages employee volunteering in conjunction with Conservation Volunteers Australia, Landcare and other conservation organisations. In the last year, 2296 employees chose to dedicate their volunteer days to conservation activities and over the two years this program has been in action, NAB employees have planted over 43,000 trees, plants and grasses.

Save the Kiwi Trust

For nearly two decades, BNZ has been a passionate supporter in the kiwi's fight for survival. The BNZ Save the Kiwi Trust is a partnership between the Department of Conservation, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and BNZ. Over time, this team effort has made genuine inroads into protecting the kiwi and its natural habitat as well as increasing the kiwi's numbers through comprehensive breeding programs. BNZ meets all of the costs of running the Trust and provides a funding pool which is distributed to community-based projects that are saving New Zealand's national icon. BNZ's financial support is complemented by employee volunteer efforts and facilitation of customer donations via eftpos card accounts. Collectively this is making a real difference.

In addition to funding the Trust, BNZ Save the Kiwi EFTPOS card has been offered since 2003 and generates around $170,000 a year for this cause, with a further $50,000 from our Kiwi cheque books.

Further information on BNZ Save the Kiwi is available at: www.savethekiwi.org.nz

Supporting Research

Flora and Fauna International Australia

In conjunction with Deutsche Bank, NAB has supported Flora and Fauna International Australia undertaking a 'strategic review' of biodiversity conservation in Australia. The review has identified challenges to, and opportunities for, more efficient and effective conservation activity in Australia.