Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
In 2010, our parent company ANZ (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited) was assessed as the leading bank globally on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the fourth year in a row.
The DJSI is the most widely accepted assessment of Corporate Responsibility performance and assesses business management practices such as corporate governance, risk management, customer relations, brand management, human resources, corporate community investment, climate change mitigation and environmental performance.
New Zealand has contributed to the ANZ's success, particularly in relation to our customer focus, our commitment to helping our communities grow and strengthening corporate governance and creating a risk aware culture.
This year, we launched ANZ’s Customer Charters in New Zealand. It signaled our public commitment to our customers and created a baseline for the experience we want our customers to have when they bank with us.
In addition, the Financial Wellbeing programme we established in 2008 continues to support our personal customers facing financial difficulty as a result of the global financial crisis. Since the programme started we have directly assisted over 8,500 of our customers by providing them with access to specialist internal advisors, independent budget advisors, dedicated websites and brochures.
As part of our ongoing commitment to communities, this year ANZ New Zealand partnered with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the governing body for Ngāi Tahu Whanui, to undertake the world’s first indigenous people’s financial knowledge survey. The survey is an important start in the process of improving people’s ability to make informed decisions about how they manage their money and plan for the future.
We also actively support the New Zealand Government's EnergyWise Home program by providing finance options to customers to assist in the cost of installing insulation, clean household heating and other energy saving measures to improve the energy efficiency of New Zealand homes.
Working closely with our communities is also reflected in our culture. Our staff actively volunteer and this year have donated over 15,000 hours to community organisations, projects and charities.
Our Staff Foundation, a staff giving scheme matched dollar for dollar by the Bank, has seen more than $1.65 million in community grants to some 367 charities since 2002.
