Natural Capital

Natural capital refers to the Earth's renewable and non-renewable resources, such as soil, water, air, minerals, plants, and living organisms, that combine to benefit all people. Assessing natural capital is not only important for its conservation, it can help us make decisions to manage risks and identify opportunities.

Our position on natural capital 

Our ambition to become a nature positive bank

As a bank, Westpac can play a significant role in supporting our institutional and commercial customers to conserve nature and reduce natural capital loss.


Our Natural Capital Position Statement (PDF 2MB) (Position Statement) outlines our ambition to become a nature positive bank – that is, a bank that supports nature positive outcomes.


In November 2023, we outlined that becoming a nature positive bank means developing our understanding of nature-related risks and opportunities for our business and customers and encouraging nature positive outcomes. Our ambition and Position Statement (PDF 2MB) currently applies to our direct operations and lending to institutional and commercial customers. We expect to expand this scope as our understanding matures. 

Our principles

1. Nature loss and human rights issues can be intersectional

The transition to nature positive outcomes needs to also respect human rights. We are committed to conducting our business in a way that respects the human rights of our people, business partners (including our customers and suppliers), the communities we support and in which we operate, as well as of others who may be impacted by our activities and business relationships. Refer to our Human Rights Position Statement and Action Plan (PDF 976KB) for more detail.

2. Collective action, transparency and disclosure matter

Addressing the loss of natural capital requires collective action. We aim to support this through engagement and collaboration with a range of stakeholders. We acknowledge Indigenous Peoples and the intrinsic relationship with land and nature. We recognise that Indigenous Peoples and local communities can contribute to better outcomes given their stewardship role and traditional knowledge. Accurate, timely and relevant information about nature-related risks, opportunities, impacts and dependencies is key to assessing and managing the impacts of nature loss. We aim to be transparent about our approach to understanding and addressing these impacts across our business.

3. Nature and climate change are interdependent 

We recognise the interplay between nature and climate change. Negative climate change outcomes drive negative outcomes for nature, and vice versa. In considering our climate and nature ambitions, we will aim to take into account these interdependencies as appropriate. Refer to our Climate Change Position Statement and Action Plan (PDF 1MB) for more detail on our approach to climate change.

4. Economic prosperity and improved stocks of natural capital are complementary

Over half of the world’s economy is highly or moderately dependent on nature. By increasing the stock of natural capital (improving the extent and condition of nature), dependent sectors may become more productive and resilient. While there can be an upfront cost to managing natural capital, this investment may lead to stronger economic growth over the medium and long term. We seek to play a constructive and responsible role in the development of government policy responses to natural capital in Australia and New Zealand.

5. Addressing natural capital loss creates opportunities

Efforts to reduce natural capital loss and address the physical impacts of nature loss could lead to changes in investment patterns and a shift in business models. As a major financial institution, Westpac can seek to support customers as they adopt measures that reduce natural capital loss, leading to a more resilient and prosperous society.

6. Nature-related risk is a financial risk

Nature-related risks can become financial risks for businesses and banks. If unmanaged, these risks can impact financial performance, insurance markets and economic stability. As our understanding of nature-related risks evolves, we aim to improve our awareness of the impacts on our business, customers and stakeholders.

Becoming a nature positive bank

Work is underway to improve our understanding of potential nature-related transition, physical, legal and regulatory risks and opportunities that face our business and customers.


The four focus areas where we are seeking to build our understanding include:

  1. Deforestation–and the protection of natural forests
  2. Restoration and regeneration
  3. Loss of critical habitat
  4. Natural capital finance.


In future periods, we expect to work towards:

  • Embedding salient nature-related risks into our risk management frameworks and policies
  • Considering nature-related risks in our customer and transaction screening for material sectors
  • Helping our people identify nature-based dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities
  • Better understanding how we can support customers identify their nature-related risks and opportunities
  • Engaging with customers, investors, industry bodies, governments and non-government organisations.

Find out more

Global commitments and partnerships

Through our commitments and partnerships, we collaborate with other organisations to support positive change.

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

Westpac has joined the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD) Forum, a collaboration of more than 350 international members aiming to support transparent disclosure around nature-related risks and opportunities.

UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative

In 1992, Westpac was a founding signatory to the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). This is a global partnership between the United Nations Environment Program and over 200 institutions, including banks, insurers and fund managers, working together to understand the impacts of environment and social considerations on financial performance.


In 2023, Westpac partnered with UNEP FI to pilot the BETA versions of the TNFD. The outcomes of this pilot contributed significantly to the development and finalisation of the TNFD final framework.

UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative - Principles for Responsible Banking

In May 2018, Westpac joined 25 banks across five continents to develop shared principles, aligning the purpose of banking with delivering against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.