Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporation receives BNZ’s first Māori Agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan

Renata Blair says the loan will support AWHI in transitioning to a low-carbon model.

Bank Of New Zealand (BNZ) has partnered with Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporation for its first Māori Agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan.

Ātihau-Whanganui Incorporation (AWHI) has over 9000 shareholders producing lamb, beef, milk, and wool across 21,000 hectares of ancestral land.

BNZ’s general manager for Māori business, Renata Blair, said the loan would support AWHI, and the wider New Zealand economy, to transition to a low-carbon model.

“This is a Sustainability Linked Loan with a difference.

“One that embraces the idea that debt and finances can not only enhance environmental outcomes for Māori businesses and their shareholders, but social and cultural outcomes as well, incorporating and reflecting both AWHI’s strategic values and te ao Maori.”

AWHI was focused on lifting the capabilities of their uri [descendants] and rangatahi [young people] through their rural cadetship programme, providing good-quality jobs and setting them up to continue farming their land into the future, Blair said.

“To help them achieve their goals, AWHI will receive further interest rate discounts as more uri enter and complete their cadetships, paving the way for social sustainability into the future.”

Ātihau-Whanganui will also receive interest rate incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to six per cent across the term of the loan and by completing additional waterway protection and biodiversity enhancements beyond compliance and regulatory requirements.

Ātihau-Whanganui Inc chairperson Dr Tiwha Puketapu said its legacy and values had inspired staff to normalise sustainable practices across the incorporation.

“Having the BNZ Agribusiness Sustainability Linked Loan and the rigour that goes around that adds another layer of credibility to our actions and practices.”

Previously, BNZ has signed Sustainability Linked Loans with Silver Fern Farms, Southern Pastures, Turners and Growers, Sudima Hotels, and more.

It has an ambition of delivering $10 billion in sustainable finance by 2025.