Bank named as finalist for Green Bank of the Year 2021

2 June 2021

Teachers Mutual Bank Limited has today been acknowledged as a leader in socially responsible banking and named as the runner up for the ‘Green Bank of the Year’ in Finder’s Green Awards for 2021. The award recognises the Bank’s commitment to, and leadership in, sustainability.

We have been a socially responsible organisation ever since we started more than 50 years ago. As part of this we place particular focus on sustainability and acting on climate change . Our recent achievements were noted as part of the judging process, including:

1. In May 2021, Teachers Mutual became the first bank to sign up to Climate League 2030, an initiative led by the Investor Group on Climate Change to reduce Australia’s carbon emissions by at least 230 million tonnes by the end of the decade. As part of this, we committed to delivering an additional $20 billion in Certified responsible investment products by 2030 that have zero fossil fuel industry investment.
2. We have been net zero for our direct greenhouse gas emissions since 2012. Going even further, we have reduced our emissions intensity by ~50% over the past 5 years and our overall emissions by 666 tCO2-e (32%) during the same time frame. This is despite our bank growing considerably during this period.
3. We are the only bank in Australia to have all wholesale and retail mortgages and deposits certified by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) on the basis of  zero fossil-fuel industry investment. In the six months to 31 December 2020 our total RIAA Certified product portfolio increased by 43% ($1.9 billion) from $4.5bn to $6.4bn. 

Read more about the Finder Green Awards and see the full list of finalists