Renata Blair, head of Māori business at BNZ. Photo / Supplied
Renata Blair, head of Māori business at BNZ. Photo / Supplied
The BNZ and Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporation (AWHI) have announced a new agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan, covering not only traditional environmental targets, but also includes social and cultural targets for the first time.
Nō tēnei rangi tonu ka pānuitia e Te Pēke o Aotearoa (arā, e Te Pēke o Aotearoa) me Ātihau-Whanganui (arā, ko AWHI) tētahi Pūtea Taurewa Whaihononga Toitūtanga Pakihi Ahuwhenua e aro ana ki ngā whāinga ā-taio o mua me ngā whāinga ā-pāpori, ā-ahurea hoki, ā, he tuatahitanga tēnei.
AWHI is a leading Māori agribusiness with over 9000 shareholders producing lamb, beef, milk and wool across 21,000 hectares of ancestral land.
E ārahi ana a AWHI i ngā pakihi ahuwhenua Māori, ā, neke atu i te 9000 ngā kaiwhaipānga e whakaputa ana i te reme, te kau, te miraka me te wūru, puta noa i ngā whenua tupuna, e 21,000 heketea te rahi.
BNZ general manager Māori Business, Renata Blair says, “We are thrilled to be partnering with AWHI in our first ever Māori agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan, supporting them, and the wider New Zealand economy, to transition to a low-carbon model.
Ko tā Renata Blair, ko te Kaiwhakahaere Whānui i ngā Pakihi Māori o Te Pēke o Aotearoa, “E hiamo ana mātou i te hononga nei ki a AWHI i tā mātou Pūtea Taurewa Whaihononga Toitūtanga Pakihi Ahuwhenua tuatahi, ki te tautoko i a rātou me te ōhanga whānui o Aotearoa kia whakawhiti ai ki tētahi tauira waro iti.
“This is a Sustainability Linked Loan with a difference. One that embraces the idea that debt and finances can not only enhance environmental outcomes for Māori businesses and their shareholders, but social and cultural outcomes as well, incorporating and reflecting both AWHI’s strategic values and Te Ao Maori.
“He Pūtea Taurewa Whaihononga Toitūtanga tēnei e rerekē nei, e manaaki nei i te whakaaro mā te nama me te ahumoni e pai ake ai ngā putanga ā-taiao mō ngā pakihi Māori me ō rātou kaiwhaipānga, e pai ake ai hoki ngā putanga ā-pāpori, ā-ahurea hoki, mā te whakauruuru me te whakaatu i ngā uara ā-rautaki a AWHI me ō o te ao Māori.
“We know that AWHI are focused on lifting the capabilities of their uri [descendants] and rangatahi [young people] through their rural cadetship programme, providing good quality jobs and setting them up to continue farming their land into the future. To help them achieve their goals, AWHI will receive further interest rate discounts as more uri enter and complete their cadetships, paving the way for social sustainability into the future,” says Blair. Hei tā Blair,
“Kei te mōhio mātou e aro ana a AWHI ki te hāpai i ngā āheinga o ō rātou uri me te rangatahi mā tā rātou hōtaka whakangungu tauira tuawhenua, mā te whakarato i ngā mahi kounga me te whakarite i a rātou kia pāmu tonu ai rātou i ō rātou whenua hei ngā tau kei te heke mai. Hei āwhina i a rātou ki te whakatutuki i ā rātou whāinga, ka whiwhi a AWHI i ngā whakahekenga pāpātanga huamoni kia nui ake ngā uri e uru ana, e whakaoti ana hoki i ā rātou whakangungu, he whakarite tēnei i te toitūtanga ā-pāpori mō ngā tau kei te tū mai.”
AWHI will also receive interest rate incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 6 per cent across the term of the loan and completing additional waterway protection and biodiversity enhancements beyond compliance and regulatory requirements.
Ka whiwhi a AWHI i ngā poapoa pāpātanga huamoni i tana whakaiti i ngā tukunga haurehu ki te ono ōrau, ka iti iho rānei i tērā, i te roanga o te wā o te pūtea taurewa, i te whakaoti whakamaru arawai tāpiri me ngā whakapaipai kanorau koiora kei tua atu i ngā herenga ā-tūtohu me ngā herenga ā-ture.
Ātihau-Whanganui Inc chairperson, Tiwha Puketapu says, “Ātihau’s legacy and values have inspired staff to normalise sustainable practices across the incorporation. Having the BNZ Agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan and the rigor that goes around that, adds another layer of credibility to our actions and practices.”
Hei tā te tiamana o Ātihau-Whanganui Inc, hei tā Tiwha Puketapu, “Kua whakaaweawe ngā tuku ihotanga me ngā uara a Ātihau i ngā kaimahi kia noho ai ngā tikanga toitūtanga hei tikanga māori noa iho, puta noa i te manatōpū. Mā te Pūtea Taurewa Whaihononga Toitūtanga Pakihi Ahuwhenua a Te Pēke o Aotearoa me ōna āhuatanga e mana ai ā mātou mahi me ā mātou tikanga.
BNZ is New Zealand’s business bank and continues to work towards being the leading sustainability bank in the country, with an ambition of delivering $10 billion in sustainable finance by 2025.
Ko Te Pēke o Aotearoate pēke pakihi o Aotearoa, ā, e whai tonu ana a Te Pēke o Aotearoakia noho mai ko te pēke toitūtanga matua i te motu, ko tana tūmanako kia $10 piriona e puta ake ana i te ahumoni toitūtanga i mua i te tau 2025.
BNZ has previously signed Sustainability Linked Loans with Silver Fern Farms, Southern Pastures, Turners and Growers, Sudima Hotels, and more. The bank also has options for smaller agribusinesses, incentivising farm system and business goals while not restricting the use of debt to one-off environmental projects.
Kua waitohu a Te Pēke o Aotearoa i ētahi Pūtea Taurewa Whaihononga Toitūtanga i te taha o Ngā Rau Hiriwa, o Southern Pastures, o Turners and Growers, o Sudima Hotels me ētahi atu. Kei te pēke ētahi atu kōwhiringa anō mā ngā pakihi iti ake, e akiaki ana i ngā whāinga mō ngā pūnaha pāmu me te pakihi, kāore nei i te here i te whakamahinga o te nama ki tētahi kaupapa ā-taiao kotahi nei.
