NAB helps farmers report on sustainability of Agri Green Loans using blockchain

Australian farmers will be better able to understand and report on the impact of their sustainability practices, thanks to a partnership between NAB and agri-tech startup Geora, using blockchain technology.

Using the technology, farmers such as Queensland’s Leather Cattle Company are able to support the reporting agreements of NAB’s Agri Green Loan, with Geora integrating the company’s existing sustainability data providers into the blockchain. This creates a standardized and clear overview of the environmental impact and Leather Cattle Company’s measures to reduce emissions.

In turn, this adds an extra layer of transparency to NAB’s Agri Green Loan book and creates a reliable record that Leather Cattle Company can share with interested stakeholders in the beef supply chain.

For the Leather Cattle Company, the data being integrated relates to the dry matter coverage of their property and the amount of red meat produced over the loan period.

NAB Chief Innovation Officer Howard Silby said this initiative will demonstrate how blockchain technology can help with a variety of use cases in the financial services industry, including climate change.

“We believe that parts of the future of finance will be blockchain-enabled, and that the technology also has the potential to help with how we track and audit our ESG-linked financial products,” Silby said.

“We know that farmers are asked by many different stakeholders to report on their sustainability efforts. Digitization and building trust through a transparent and consistent reporting structure will make this process easier and save duplication for farmers and their entire supply chain.

“The Leather Cattle Company is a great example of how the agricultural sector can adopt technology solutions, particularly blockchain, to demonstrate the climate impact of their investments.

“We are working to expand our Agri Green Loan product offering and we continue to explore how technology can help with cost efficiencies that we can pass on to customers where they invest in achieving ‘green’ quality outcomes.”

Owner of Leather Cattle Company Melinee Leather, with husband Rob, said this technology will create data to help show the impact of Leather’s sustainability activities on emissions reduction.

“We invest a huge amount of hard work in making our cattle production green and sustainable. Working with NAB and Geora to track this digitally means we can actually prove the impact of these green projects,” Leather said.

“The ability to store information using blockchain will also be of value to buyers of our beef to demonstrate the credentials in the quality of our product.”

Geora CEO and co-founder Bridie Ohlsson said she was happy to see this collaboration between traditional banking and the start-up industry. Founded in 2019, Geora leverages blockchain networks to provide data solutions to farmers globally.

“The process of building more sustainable agriculture involves shifting trust from the physical world to secure digital environments,” Ohlsson said.

“NAB is a core part of the producer trust network in Australian agriculture and that’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to be working together.”

Creation of a stablecoin

For NAB, the standardized reporting provides a clear, auditable record that can be aggregated across a portfolio of multiple loans to substantiate the green credentials of its green loan products.

Verifiable green loan portfolios also create the opportunity for NAB to act as an intermediary between term deposit or bond investors who increasingly expect their money to be used for green purposes and borrowers who want funds to transition to greener business models.

NAB has recently minted a stable coin to help digitize this connection and create greater transparency for all parties.

“With our stablecoin functionality, which can be characterized as a tokenized deposit, plus our use of blockchain to verify our green assets, a tokenized green deposit offering is certainly in NAB’s Digital Assets product development pipeline,” Silby said.

“This is a new era of transparency that is essential if we are to manage funds at scale for the transition to a green economy.”

Customers wanting more information about NAB’s Agri Green Loan can find details on our website, including how to get in touch with one of our agricultural banking specialists.