Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Commonwealth Bank of Australia publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment. In terms of female representation in leadership positions, the financial institution has a gender-balanced board of directors where five out of 11 members are women. Moreover, the bank has gender-balanced representation among its senior leadership roles where 41.2% are women. The financial institution discloses a target to to achieve 47-50% women in the leadership positions by 2025. Commonwealth Bank of Australia discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member including sustainability- and non-sustainability-related organisations.

As a member of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, Commonwealth Bank of Australia has set a target of net-zero financed emissions by 2050. The financial institution discloses the aggregate amount and share of finance it devotes to climate solutions while specifying what these solutions are. The financial institution discloses time-bound targets for its climate solutions. Commonwealth Bank of Australia aims to finance AUD 15 billion in climate solutions by 2025. The financial institution discloses progress against the targets it has set for its climate solutions.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights. The financial institution discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has a grievance mechanism accessible to all workers to raise human rights complaints or concerns as well as a grievance mechanism accessible to all external individuals and communities to raise human rights complaints or concerns. The financial institution has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The financial institution has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption as well as a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints regarding bribery and corruption. Commonwealth Bank of Australia publicly states that workers shall not be required to work more than 48 hours in a regular work week or 60 hours including overtime. In addition, the financial institution discloses a public commitment to protect personal data and a global tax strategy.

In terms of its approach to senior leadership accountability, there is no evidence that the bank links the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. While Commonwealth Bank of Australia discloses the total ratio of basic salary to men and women and provides a breakdown per employee category, it has the opportunity to disclose the data across significant locations of operations. While the financial institution monitors its pay gap, there is no evidence that it takes action to address it. Commonwealth Bank of Australia has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with clients.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia could disclose interim emissions reduction targets at the group level, such as a 45% reduction in financed emissions by 2030. The financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on the alignment with the Paris Agreement. Commonwealth Bank of Australia could align its low carbon funding and renewable energy lending with internationally recognised frameworks. Regarding nature and biodiversity, no evidence was found that the financial institution is committed to minimising its negative impacts or financing regenerative solutions.

There is no evidence that Commonwealth Bank of Australia describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts through its relevant financing activities. There is no evidence that the financial institution discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the bank has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries.