Media releases

The Westpac Group named one of world’s most sustainable companies

 

1 February 2011

The Westpac Group today announced that it has been named as one of the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations in a prestigious global index for the second year in a row.

Westpac was the only Australian bank named in the 2011 Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations list, and was the top-ranked Australian company in the list which included five other Australian companies.

Westpac was placed 18th in the list. This follows the bank’s inclusion as the only Australian bank in the 2010 Global 100 list.

“Westpac is delighted to be named amongst the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations,” Westpac CEO Gail Kelly said.

“Westpac takes sustainability extremely seriously. From minimising our corporate carbon footprint, to providing finance for environmentally-friendly investments, we always use best endeavours to be a responsible corporate citizen.

“We do our best for our customers and staff by being highly transparent in our business dealings and providing an employee-friendly workplace.”

“It is also a priority for us to promote diversity in the workplace – Westpac now offers paid parental leave for 13 weeks and continues superannuation contributions for up to 39 weeks for staff on unpaid parental leave,” Mrs Kelly said.

“Westpac has also set itself the goal to increase the percentage of women in senior management roles from the current level of 33% to 40% by the end of 2014.”

This is the fifth time that Westpac has been included in this list since its inception in 2005. Inclusion on the list is assessed on a number of factors, which include energy, carbon, water and waste productivity, leadership diversity, transparency, sustainable remuneration practices and innovation capacity.