Supporting sustainable farming through sustainably-linked loan assurance

Over the past few years, AsureQuality has been involved in co-developing world-first sustainable farm lending programmes, which reward and incentivise farmers to achieve on-farm sustainability measures.  

Our Sustainability Assurance team has collaborated with leading rural lenders to create sustainability linked-loans and whole-of-farm sustainability loans. The ambitious goal – as with much of the work the team undertakes - is to support farmers in transitioning to more sustainable farming practices and help build resilience into both individual farm systems and the wider community.  

Farm sustainability linked loans were first launched by BNZ in 2022. The farm owner and bank work together to set environmental and social targets, and the farm is offered interest rate discounts for meeting their targets each year. 

Whole-of-farm sustainability loans, such as the Sustainable Farm Loan (SFL) by Westpac New Zealand, offer a basis point discount to farms meeting the Westpac SFL Standard, which is forward-thinking but pragmatic. To reduce duplication, this product acknowledges action taken under selected other farm assurance programs (including the AsureQuality Organics Programme), resulting in decreased time and costs for participation.  

We are proud to be the assurance partner for both BNZ SLL and Westpac SFL. For more information on sustainable farm loan products, we encourage you to reach out to your bank directly.