The ANZ is creating an image for itself as a greener bank, as I discovered when researching who is behind
Project Andromeda, a climate initiative by business.
So, what are they going to do about the Gunns pulp mill, which as already pulped Turnbull and Garrett and it is only in approval stage? As Gunns' bank for the last 20 years, they face a dilemma.
They have gone public when they could have remained quiet, hoping not to attract attention to a potentially unbalanced triple bottom line. So good on them. I know that the trend among financiers and developers is to take their environmental commitments seriously now.
It would be great if they were legally able and willing to make the environmental review aspect of their technical review public. As infinitely preferable as it is to not chop down productive carbon sinks, I mean trees, I'm not against anything that the stake-holding public has been fully informed about, as part of a two way dialogue.
ONE of the country's largest banks, ANZ, is considering whether it will fund the Gunns pulp mill, saying it must first assess whether the Tasmanian project meets its own environmental
standards. In a statement issued yesterday the bank said it had commissioned an independent review of the $1.7 billion Tamar Valley mill, approved by the Federal Government on Thursday. "The review is testing the technical aspects of the mill's design and its overall feasibility with reference to engineering specifications, design plans and other supporting information," it
said. "As this project proposal involves significant social and/or environmental issues, the technical review will also include an assessment of the adequacy of measures proposed by the company to manage these risks on an ongoing basis." Gunns has been a customer of ANZ for more than 20 years.
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