New Stakeholder Advisory Council appointed

9 November 2016

Westpac announced it had established a Stakeholder Advisory Council to provide advice and insights to its Executives and sustainability leaders on the Group’s approach and performance on issues and opportunities that are most material to the sustainability of the Group and its stakeholders.

 

Siobhan Toohill, Westpac’s Group Head of Sustainability, said the Council adds an important dimension to Westpac’s robust sustainability governance framework.  

 

“We are delighted to have access to the deep and diverse experience in environmental, social, economic and governance themes offered by the inaugural members of our Stakeholder Advisory Council,” Siobhan said.

 

“We see the formation of the Council as an extension of our regular engagement of external stakeholders to ensure we gain a strong understanding of what our stakeholders expect of us and whether we are responding effectively to priority concerns.

 

“We look forward to seeking the Council’s insights on these issues, which will be particularly useful as we prepare to refresh Westpac Group’s Sustainability Strategy in 2017,” she said.

 

The Council is made up of eight members and one observer, and is co-chaired by Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer and The Ethics Centre Executive Director Simon Longstaff.  It is also attended by the Chair of Westpac Group’s Sustainability Council and members of the Executive Team.

 

The inaugural meeting of members was held in October 2016.  In future, the Council will meet three times a year.  Current external Stakeholder Advisory Council members are:

 

  •  Simon Longstaff, Stakeholder Advisory Council Co-Chair, Executive Director, the Ethics Centre
  • Michael Anderson, Chairman, Uniting Financial Services
  • David Borger, Director, Sydney Business Chamber, Western Sydney
  • Nick Main, Chair, Westpac New Zealand External Stakeholder Panel
  •  James Moody, Founding CEO, Sendle
  • Sam Mostyn, Commissioner, Business and Sustainable Development Commission
  • Tim Nelson, Head of Economics, Policy and Sustainability, AGL
  • Robynne Quiggin, Deputy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
  • Catherine Yeomans, CEO, Mission Australia
     

Related reading