Beef producer Deanna Fernance has done what she can to mitigate the effects of changing local weather patterns on her farm, and she wants her bank and super fund to do the same.
Three-quarters of her 32-hectare property north of Grafton, in New South Wales, is flood plain, so moving her herd to higher ground around the house is nothing new, but increasingly hot summers are posing a new challenge.
The cattle are losing condition in the hot and humid conditions, which also reduces nutrition in the grass.
Ms Fernance says although she is “small fry”, she wants to make a difference. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)
To adapt she is breeding lighter-coloured animals and she has planted a diversity of ground cover to improve soil health.
She has also planted hundreds of shade trees, but half were lost when another flood came through.
“The floods, the fires, the storms — there’s no real break in between, that is the real difference,” she said.
Ms Fernance said she was trying to meet the challenges by also looking at what should could do beyond her front gate, including volunteering with Landcare and joining lobby group Farmers For Climate Action.
She said although she was “small fry”, she had deliberately opted to do business with a bank and super fund that aligned with her concerns.
“I have less than average income, I’m a single parent, but when I invest money I try to do it where the money is going to be well spent.
“I think it’s tricky for farmers because we generally like to stick to ourselves and try keep our heads down.
“But I don’t think we can do that anymore, we have to be more out there.”
Power of pressure
Crikey.com founder and well-known shareholder activist Stephen Mayne said this type of pressure on corporations had limited impact until the weight of numbers became too big to ignore.
“Unless it’s done at scale, it won’t be particularly impactful unless it comes with a broader brand damage,” Mr Mayne said.
“Companies don’t wish to have their reputations damaged because they will lose both customers and shareholders — they will lose their social licence.”
Mr Mayne said while sitting through 993 annual general meetings in his capacity as a shareholder, he had seen countless lobby groups pressure companies by putting forward shareholder resolutions.
In December, shareholders put forward resolutions at the annual general meetings of the ANZ, Westpac and Commonwealth banks designed to effectively increase disclosure on matters relating to the fossil fuel transition plans of its customers.
All three boards opposed the resolutions and they were not carried by a majority of shareholders.
Ulmarra farmer Peter Lake, 73, was among the shareholders who attended the NAB meeting, and is now planning to change banks.
Peter Lake says he likes to think individuals can influence corporations. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)
He said he went along to support the shareholder motion because he was keen to leave his 41-hectare holding in a better state than when he moved there in 2007.
“I’m depressed about our political system that enables us to just keep not doing what we say we are going to do in terms of cleaning up our environment,” Mr Lake said.
“Any significant group, but farmers in particular, are powerful if we are united so I see it as an incremental momentum.”
Mr Lake is focused on the future of his community and the environment. (ABC North Coast: Hannah Ross)
Lobbyists at work
Market Forces Australian banks analyst Kyle Robertson said the lobby group was trying to ensure banks in particular upheld their commitment to the goals of the 2016 Paris climate agreement.
Mr Robertson said its strategy involved tracking and publishing detailed analysis of the investments of the big four banks, including their funding to companies with ties to fossil fuel projects.
He said the not-for-profit had been applying the strategy for close to a decade, but it was now gaining greater momentum.
The big four banks are feeling the heat from pressure groups and lobbyists. (ABC News: Michael Barnett)
“It’s pressure that has continued to grow from a range of stakeholders for the banks, we are talking about their customers and the banks’ own investors,” he said.
“So it’s all really just heading one way, which is that they are under an increasing amount of pressure from their stakeholders to live up to their commitments.”
Mr Robertson said this type of pressure paid off last year when the Commonwealth Bank announced it would no longer be providing new finance to its coal, oil and gas producing clients that did not have a plan to transition away from fossil fuels in line with the Paris Agreement.
He said people were waking up to their collective power.
“They are getting organised and they are raising their voices and they want not just our governments but also the custodians of our money to take responsibility for what they are funding.”
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