According to Hamish Reid, Director of Sustainability and Brand at Synlait, “we need to act now and we need to be bold. It’s both a matter of mitigating climate- related risks and at the same time, seizing opportunities to reimagine all aspects of our business and value chain.”

Synlait is implementing a range of initiatives to reduce emissions and deliver long-term financial benefits.

Targets relating to climate, welfare, water and waste have been set – including an off-farm2 50% reduction in GHG emissions per kg of product by 2028, and an on-farm 35% reduction in GHG emissions per kg of milk solids by 2028.

Within its on-farm certification program, Lead With PrideTM, educational resources and milk price incentives are being offered to its farmer suppliers to implement best practice GHG mitigation techniques. It

has also recently opted for an energy and emissions efficient electrode boiler, rather than the traditional coal-fired boiler, to run its fresh milk and cream facility in Canterbury, NZ.

Synlait has been an ANZ customer since 2000, when the company’s founders bought their first few Canterbury dairy farms, before then expanding into processing in 2008. In 2019, ANZ arranged and funded a NZ$50 million sustainability linked loan which has supported Synlait’s sustainability agenda.

“ANZ enabled us to enter into an ESG linked loan, sending two strong signals to our stakeholders. First, that leading banks today recognise that sustainability performance results in lower risk, and second, that sustainability performance can lead to financial benefits. Having a diversity of like-minded partners accompanying us

in our transition is critical for us to achieve our goals,” says Hamish.

Another customer ANZ is assisting with its transition towards a low carbon future is Silver Fern Farms Limited.

Since 2018, the grass-fed red meat processing and exporting company has reduced its GHG emissions by 8%, and reduced its fossil fuel usage by 12% since 2017. It is targeting a 30% reduction on 2005 levels of the GHG emissions intensity of its operations per tonne of product before 2030.

“We’ve taken a number of steps to embed sustainability within our company, from being the first red meat processor to certify our carbon footprint in New Zealand, to having strong Board involvement in our sustainability agenda, to incorporating sustainability and climate reporting into our parent co-operative’s external disclosures,” says Justin Courtney, Head of Communications and Sustainability from Silver Fern Farms.

Silver Fern Farms uses a ‘whole of farm’ system approach to reduce carbon in the supply chain as a way to enhance the natural, biodiverse farming environments in New Zealand.

“In addition to our own initiatives, such as sourcing animals from farms rich in biodiversity and sourcing electricity from 100% renewable sources, we’re proactively working with suppliers to better understand their carbon footprints and where the opportunities lie to reduce and optimise carbon absorption on their farms,” says Justin.

The engagement with our largest emitting customers on their transition plans is a top priority for ANZ, as we seek to support them to manage the climate-related risks and opportunities. Synlait and Silver Fern Farms are just two out of the 100 customers we are engaging with on their transition plans.