We put Macquarie on notice, here’s what happened
In brief
Your investment with Australian Ethical does more than grow. It plays an important role, helping us hold major companies accountable for their commitments and actions. In the past year, with your support, we’ve been able to advocate for change at the Westpac, Woolworths, Coles, QBE, and most recently Macquarie AGM, where we co-filed a shareholder resolution that was backed by some of the world's largest investors.
Why this matters
When no one asks hard questions, company boards have little reason to change or evolve. That’s why it is important that investors challenge company boards and management on important issues like climate change.
When Macquarie watered down its climate commitments, we stepped up. We co-filed a shareholder resolution, asked questions of management, raised concerns with the board, briefed other institutional investors about our concerns, and helped bring attention to the issue through the media.
As one of Australia’s largest investors and lenders, what Macquarie chooses to finance today shapes what gets built for decades to come. So, when they choose to fund new fossil fuel developments, it locks in emissions that push the world further from the climate targets we’ve already committed to.
How you’re invested is only the start
How we invest is guided by our Ethical Charter, away from carbon-intensive industries and toward companies building what comes next: renewable energy, technology, and businesses with a genuine stake in our future. As a result, our portfolios carry lower carbon intensity than mainstream alternatives and more in renewables and energy solutions1.
We’re focused on making the businesses we invest in better businesses.
Showing up as an investor and holding companies to account is also where change happens. A single fossil fuel project, once financed, could run for decades. Every new one takes us further away from the science-based targets we need to meet to slow warming to acceptable levels2.
For over a decade we have been targeting the banks and insurers that finance and underwrite the expansion of fossil fuel projects in a bid to stop them.
This is part of a bigger campaign
- National Australia Bank: After years of sustained pressure, NAB committed in December 2025 to assessing whether its oil and gas clients are capping or reducing hydrocarbon output, in line with what we asked for. Independent research also points to a significant reduction in the bank's oil and gas lending3. We withdrew a planned shareholder resolution because the bank’s progress aligned with our asks.
- Westpac: We called out Westpac publicly after it watered down its restrictions on fossil fuel lending, giving it more room to keep lending to oil and gas companies including Woodside and Santos.
- QBE: We worked with ethical share trading platform SIX Invest to file a resolution that put climate change formally on the agenda at QBE's 2026 AGM.
- Macquarie: We co-filed our first climate-related shareholder resolution at Macquarie's AGM in 2025. It received 35% support, placing it among the top five climate votes globally.
For over a decade we have been targeting the banks and insurers that finance the expansion of fossil fuel projects in a bid to stop them.
What we asked Macquarie to explain this year
Macquarie manages over $700 billion in assets globally and is a very influential company when it comes to deciding what gets funded.
For years, Macquarie publicly committed to aligning its financing with net zero by 2050. That commitment has been removed from its most recent reporting. At the same time, Macquarie is linked to new fossil fuel projects, including a $45 million loan connected to the Beetaloo Basin4 a gas development that could lock in emissions for decades to come5.
Our ask to Macquarie is straightforward: align your fossil fuel financing with your ongoing climate commitments.
This year we co-filed a shareholder resolution, met with the company multiple times, put our concerns directly to the chair, shared our concerns with other institutional investors and through the media.
Shareholder resolutions are formal proposals investors like us put to a company which get voted on by shareholders at an annual general meeting (AGM). It’s one of the most direct tools we use to push for change. Our shareholder resolution with Macquarie this year gained 17.5% support. That is a meaningful result, particularly given the board recommended investors vote against it. Funds can often vote the way the company recommends without further question.
We also used the July AGM to publicly question Macquarie about their climate plans and how they manage climate risk to their own business. But perhaps even more impactful was the support we attracted from some of the world's largest investors,6 along with confirmation via a statement Macquarie's management team is considering a proposal we put to the board on how the company could better deliver on its climate commitments.
Ethics and good business are the same thing
Our approach does not just keep your money out of fossil fuels, it keeps it away from governance failures too.
When we engaged with Woolworths over supply chain risks tied to deforestation-linked commodities, those same issues came alongside leadership problems, regulatory scrutiny, and worker rights concerns that directly hit shareholder value. We have been seeing the same with Macquarie this year as well, with governance concerns7 emerging in parallel with our concerns around climate disclosure.
We often find the ethical risk and the business risks are connected. Having a process that starts with ethics, we believe, protects us or acts as a warning sign for longer-term investment risks.
Most funds invest in Macquarie, very few publicly push back
Many Australian super funds and fund managers invest in Macquarie, it’s one of the 20 largest companies in Australia, so it’s a big part of the index most investors are exposed to. But we are not seeing any other investors out there filing resolutions, or showing up at AGMs to ask hard questions like we are.
We have been doing this for 40 years, guided by our Ethical Charter, growing our reach, and using our voice to hold companies to higher standards. When we act, we act with the weight of every member and investor behind us.
That is what it means to invest altogether better.
1 In FY25 the carbon intensity of our listed portfolios was 75% less than Benchmark and the proportion of our investments in renewables and energy solutions was 4.1x Benchmark. This is compared to a blended benchmark that best reflects the benchmarks used by the underlying investment strategies. Based on holdings at 30 June 2025 and analysis tools provided by external sources which cover ~74% of the investments we hold by value other than wholesale cash fund and mandates. Both carbon intensity and sustainable impact solutions revenue relate to the listed companies and public corporate fixed income securities in which we invest across our funds and options. This should not be considered representative of individual funds or options which will have their own mix of share and other investments. Scope 1 and 2 carbon intensity is measured as tonnes C02e per million $ revenue earned by companies in which we invest through both listed shares and public corporate fixed income securities. Based on the revenue from sustainable impact solutions earned by companies in which we invest, through both listed shares and fixed income securities, and the proportion of our investments in the relevant category of solutions.
2 Net Zero by 2050 – Analysis - IEA
3 https://publications.marketforces.org.au/link/966615/3/
5 https://climateanalytics.org/publications/emissions-impossible
6 Pension funds push Macquarie Bank over climate pledges after oil and gas financing
7 Macquarie (ASX MQG) investors call for more transparency on culture concerns
