Westpac banks on being more socially responsible

By ELLEN READ


Westpac New Zealand is taking the lead of its Australian parent and embarking on a path towards corporate social responsibility.

Chief executive Ann Sherry has released a benchmarking booklet and said the bank would, from next year, produce an annual Social Impact Report.

It will show how the bank rates in the areas of social, economic and environmental impact.

Westpac Australia began triple bottom line reporting two years ago.

Responding to a "crisis of trust" in the industry, Sherry said that this year the bank had asked a range of people what they expected from a bank.

"We wanted people to tell us about the economic, social and environmental impacts our bank has on their communities, as the first step in a collaborative effort to change for the better how we do business."

The result, "I Never Knew You Cared", will be a stake in the ground for Westpac to measure progress from, Sherry said.

"It also expresses our hope that more New Zealand companies will embrace corporate social responsibility as their way of doing business - and our belief that it eventually will not be a matter of choice."

Westpac belongs to the Council for Sustainable Development - the only bank on a membership list that includes The Warehouse, Telecom, Fonterra and Waste Management.

Sherry said the bank would gain something from becoming more socially responsible - happy staff and more customers.