About B Corp certification
B Corp™ was established by B Lab, a non-profit organisation which manages a global certification recognising businesses meeting better standards of social and environmental performance. The 2024 certification process involved a rigorous assessment of our operations, covering five key impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.
B Corp organisations are required to reach a benchmark score of over 80 along with other key criteria. Since we were first certified in 2021 we have improved our score by 40 points; earning a total score of 128.2 in 2024. You can find our full B Impact Report on the B Corporation website here.
We’re one of more than 9,500 global businesses, including more than 150 in New Zealand, with the certification.
What matters most
Being customer owned means listening carefully to the people and communities we serve. In 2025, we completed our latest materiality assessment to understand which environmental, social, governance and economic topics matter most to our stakeholders and are most important to the long term sustainability of the Bank. From the 19 material topics identified, seven stood out as the most material for The Co‑operative Bank. By understanding these priorities, we can maintain our strategic focus on the areas with the greatest impact. You can read more about our materiality assessment here.
Net Carbon Zero organisation
Considering our environmental impact is a key aspect of the B Corp framework and we’re proud to be a Toitū Net Carbon Zero certified organisation.
The Toitū Net Carbon Zero programme is an independent certification that shows we have taken appropriate steps to measure, verify and offset our greenhouse gas emissions.
Our certified carbon credits support high-quality and independently verified projects to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, with co-benefits for local economies, health and wellbeing.
See here for our Toitū Net Carbon Zero certificate. For more information about our emissions profile, reduction activity and how we manage certified carbon credits see our Climate Report 2026.
Ethical investment
Through our Ethical Investment Policy, we commit to not invest in entities which are likely to be regarded as unethical by customers and the New Zealand public. The bank will not invest in entities that are directly involved in:
- fossil fuel extraction
- nuclear power
- weapons manufacture
- manufacture of tobacco products
- palm oil manufacture
See here for our Ethical Investment Policy.
Supporting good customer outcomes
As a co-operative we want customers to grow together with us and share the gains.
- We're here to help New Zealander's bank better, acting fairly, with leading customer service, and access to advice.
- Our profits remain in New Zealand, and if we make sufficient profit, we can choose to share some back with customers as a rebate.
- We offer a range of options that may assist when customers are experiencing financial hardship, need extra care, or need help resolving an issue.
- We help customers bank safely and consider scams and fraud.
- We safeguard the financial sustainability of the co-operative for mutual benefit of customers as shareholders.
- Our people bring their experiences, background and perspectives together, and this diverse and inclusive workplace makes for better customer experiences.
Climate risks and opportunities
We are building the capability to manage challenges that a changing climate will present to our strategy and business model, as well as to the wellbeing of our people and customers.
As well as reducing our environmental footprint, we’re focusing on the physical and transition risks and opportunities associated with a changing climate – one example being the effects that flooding may have on our mortgage portfolio.
The effects of climate change are increasingly considered in our strategy and decision making. For more information on the climate transition aspects of our strategy, including our climate scenario analysis, flood modelling, carbon emissions profile, reduction activity and how we manage certified carbon credits see our Climate Report 2026.