Bendigo and Adelaide Bank : 2023 Sustainability report

Acknowledgement of Country

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of this nation and the Traditional Custodians of the land where we live, learn and work.

We pay our respects to Elders past and present as it is their knowledge and experience that holds the key to the success of future generations.

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By staying true to our values and our regional roots for 165 years, the Bank has earned the trust of our stakeholders, building on those early foundations with its purpose of feeding into prosperity, not offit.

This year we launched the Bank's inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan which is the first step in our reconciliation journey.

As part of this journey, the Bank's Executive and Board participated in cultural immersion experiences by the Dja Dja Wurrung peoples in the Bendigo region and the Kaurna peoples in the Adelaide region. These immersions left lasting impressions and provided space for us

to better understand and acknowledge that while the gold rushes of the 1800s built the prosperity of these regions and our business, they also resulted

in dispossession of Aboriginal people and land.

We do not underestimate the importance of our work ahead.

To maintain and keep building trust we must continue to evolve how we deliver on our purpose.

To support this, this year the Board approved our ESG and Sustainability Business Plan which builds on our ESG framework. Our plan provides detail on our various ESG initiatives and how we will implement them and clarifies how we will measure and be accountable for our performance.

We understand that climate change and its effects will increasingly impact our customers and the communities we support. We recognise the considerable climate-related risks and opportunities that exist as we navigate an economy in transition and are committed to supporting our stakeholders as they prepare for and adapt to the changing climate.

This year, we were proud to deliver the third and final year of our inaugural Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). Over the last three years we have delivered close to 90 percent of the actions in the plan, nearly halving our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions since 2020.

We are now proud to announce our Climate & Nature Action Plan for 2024 to 2026. This plan will enable us to grow further as a trusted, regionally focused climate leader and it represents an uplift in integration and sophistication since our initial Action Plan. Importantly, it casts our eyes outward, to prioritise how we can help customers to reduce their emissions.

We also joined the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) - which aims to foster a more sustainable and resilient financial system - and became a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a pact to both adopt and report on sustainable and socially responsible principles.

Our connection to community continues to remain core to our purpose. We know that communities thrive when local businesses and enterprises flourish. The Bank's philanthropic arm, the Community Enterprise Foundation, provided over

1,300 grants to worthy projects including essential disaster recovery initiatives. Our Community Bank model is now in its 25th year and has grown to encompass more than 300 branches which have returned over $320 million in profits in the form of grants and sponsorships since the model's inception. The success of this model reflects our expertise in partnering with like-minded organisations to pursue shared goals.

This year we built on our partnership with the Regional Australia Institute by participating in a number of initiatives designed to address challenges and opportunities specific to regional areas. We also expanded our participation in government-led home equity schemes to help get aspiring homeowners, including those in regional areas, into homes faster.

The hard work put in by our Diversity and Inclusion team was recognised in a number of ways including the achievement of Bronze Tier status through the Australian Workplace Equality Index, an initiative

by Pride in Diversity. This recognition is testament to the Bank's ongoing commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion for our LGBTIQ+ people and their allies. The Bank also participated in a pilot program designed to help reduce the employment gap for people with disability.

This year, we are disclosing our gender pay gap. This is a complex and important issue and we remain committed to closing the gender pay gap and creating a more equitable and inclusive future for our people.

+1,300 grants

provided to worthy projects by the Community Enterprise Foundation

+$320 million

in profit has been returned in the form of grants and sponsorships

We are taking a holistic approach to risk management by fostering a strong risk culture, supporting our people and strengthening our governance, processes, controls and technology so we can create a better bank for all our stakeholders.

The landscape for fraud and cyber-crime continues to evolve. The Bank is working hard to proactively detect and prevent the unauthorised use of customer accounts and offer customers cyber security education and protection. We will continue to share more about our efforts in the future, and we remain strongly focused on advocating for a whole of system approach to combatting fraud.

P

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d : J a c q

u e l i n e H e y(

Chair),M

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B

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(

CEO

and

Our people, our trusted brand and our authentic connection to community and regional Australia are enviable strengths and our competitive advantage. We remain committed to our vision to be Australia's bank of choice - for those who bank with us, work for us, partner with us and invest in us.

Yours sincerely,

Jacqueline Hey

Chair, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Marnie Baker

Managing Director & CEO,

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank

Over the last three years we

have delivered close to

90% of actions

in the Climate Change

Action Plan