Environmental, Social and Governance

ESG focus and stakeholder engagement

Macquarie’s ESG approach is structured around eight focus areas considered to be material to our business and stakeholders.

Defining our ESG focus areas

On an annual basis, we identify the ESG focus areas and topics most material to our business and stakeholders by assessing the environmental, social (including human rights) and economic impacts of our activities and business relationships.

Materiality process

We refer to the approach of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI 3: Material Topics 2021) to determine our ESG focus areas. This involves:

Understanding the organisation’s context: gathering and analysing data and information from a broad range of external and internal sources to better understand the context in which we operate
Identifying negative and positive, actual and potential impacts and assessing their significance: analysing direct external stakeholder feedback and engaging across our Operating and Central Service Groups to identify impacts, generate a real-world perspective of stakeholder priorities and evaluate the relative importance of material ESG topics across our activities
Prioritising the most significant impacts for reporting: utilising inputs from our research and engagement to determine the most material impacts to report
Validating our ESG focus areas and material ESG topics: testing our material ESG topics with internal stakeholders and against external standards and market expectations.

Macquarie’s ESG focus areas are:

What is it?

Environmental and social (including human rights) risk management involves identifying, assessing, managing, mitigating and reporting material environmental and social risks across Macquarie.

Why is it important?

Environmental and social risks have the potential to affect our business, the environment and the communities in which we operate. Assessing and managing environmental and social risks (including work health and safety risks) is a key business priority for Macquarie. Failure to effectively manage these risks could result in harm to communities, the environment and other external parties, and expose the organisation to regulatory, reputational and financial impacts.

As a global business, we have a role to play in promoting respect for human rights in our business activities and operations. Macquarie respects fundamental human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and core International Labour Organization Conventions.

What are we doing about it?

Macquarie applies a precautionary approach to environmental and social risk and seeks to make a positive contribution to environmental and social performance, including considering our direct and indirect impacts on:

Resource efficiency and pollution prevention
Biodiversity and natural resource management, including managing the business risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity loss as a result of species extinction and/or reduction
Environmentally sensitive or protected areas
Climate risk and energy transition
Human rights.

Learn more

Climate change

Climate change | Net zero

What is it?

Climate change refers to the long-term shifts in global temperatures and weather patterns. Climate change results in physical and transition impacts, risks and opportunities, including the need to develop adaptation and mitigation measures.

Why is it important?

In its latest report , the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that “human-caused climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. This has led to widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people.” “Limiting human-caused global warming requires net zero CO2 emissions.”¹

What are we doing about it?

At Macquarie, our response is rooted in our organisational purpose – to empower people to innovate and invest for a better future.

We believe we can contribute most positively to the challenges and opportunities of climate change mitigation and adaptation through the financing of practical solutions driven by the core capabilities of our teams.

Macquarie’s approach to climate is based around four areas of action. This includes reducing the emissions of our own business operations, and aligning our financing activity with the global goal of net zero by 2050.

Macquarie’s climate strategy is set out in our Net Zero and Climate Risk Report .

IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, https://www.ipcc.ch/

Learn more

What is it?

Across our operating groups, Macquarie is supporting a range of environmental and social financing activity under the following broad categories: financing and developing; advising; managing; researching and trading.

Why is it important?

Rising temperatures, pollution, biodiversity loss, extreme weather events and social challenges are intrinsically linked, with social challenges further exacerbated by rising costs of living and international food and energy security concerns. To achieve practical environmental and social solutions, increasing volumes of finance are required.

Macquarie is seeing increasing client demands for capital, innovative financing solutions, and support for new technologies in the areas of global energy transition, energy security, transport and mobility, digital infrastructure, housing, education and healthcare. Macquarie continues to support clients seeking to manage and respond to these environmental and social challenges and capitalise on emerging opportunities.

What are we doing about it?

In response to market opportunities and client needs, we draw on our sector expertise and global network to provide a diverse range of products and services, with ESG outcomes, to our clients. Our activities span the investment cycle from research on alternative energy to tailored capital solutions for the development and construction of renewable assets and social infrastructure.

Through our business relationships, we play a role in developing and promoting sustainable products and businesses across the globe. We support our clients, providing expertise and financial capital to assist them to respond to and capitalise on ESG related opportunities including renewable energy, clean technology and social infrastructure.

Learn more

Sustainability in our own business operations

Management of environmental and social issues in our own business operations | Human rights

What is it?

The environmental and social impacts of Macquarie’s own business operations predominantly relate to the energy and resources we consume in our offices and data centres, business travel, and our procurement activities.

Why is it important?

Managing the environmental and social impacts of our own business operations supports our core business and our responsibility to clients, shareholders, employees, and the communities in which we operate.

What are we doing about it?

We seek to manage these impacts by monitoring and reducing our operational emissions, developing innovative and sustainable workplaces, being efficient with energy and resource use, and improving the sustainability and diversity of our supply chain.

We are continuing to purchase carbon credits to offset residual Scope 1 emissions that are difficult to abate and we continue to offset our Scope 3 Category 6 business travel emissions.¹We have also sourced the equivalent of 100% of our electricity consumption from renewable sources through a combination of renewable energy from building owners or utilities and energy attribute certificates.

Macquarie’s 2025 Sustainability Plan articulates our corporate sustainability commitments with specific and measurable targets across environmental and social pillars.

Emissions Scopes and Categories are defined under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard.

Learn more

Client and customer experience

Client and customer satisfaction | Financial crime | Innovation and digitalisation | Transparent information and fair advice and dealing

What is it?

Macquarie’s relationships with our clients and customers, and their trust in us, is central to our business and future success. Macquarie focuses on delivering exceptional outcomes, services and customer experiences, continuously building on the trust and confidence in our organisation.

Why is it important?

Macquarie relies on building and maintaining enduring relationships with our co‑investors and corporate, institutional, government and retail clients across all our Operating Groups. In meeting the responsibilities that come with owning and managing public assets, we seek to manage our investments and managed funds’ portfolio companies for long term success for the benefit of our clients.

What are we doing about it?

We are committed to ensuring that our products are marketed appropriately and that our clients are treated fairly. We have implemented policies and procedures to ensure that consumer complaints are handled in an appropriate and time efficient manner and agreements do not contain provisions that may be considered unfair. We have a Customer Advocate responsible for promoting fair and reasonable customer complaint outcomes, reviewing and assisting with determining escalated customer complaints, and providing a customer-centric voice when making recommendations to improve customer experience.

Learn more

People and workplace

Talent attraction and development | Remuneration | Work Health and Safety and wellbeing | Human rights | Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

What is it?

We foster a culture that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives and empowers individuals to challenge what’s possible in an environment that values inclusion, collaboration, innovation and creativity. Macquarie continues to meet our stakeholders’ evolving expectations, by equitably supporting employee development and wellbeing.

Why is it important?

By supporting our people’s development and wellbeing, we ensure Macquarie continues to meet the highest standards and serves the evolving needs of our stakeholders.

As a services business, the diversity of our people is one of Macquarie’s greatest strengths. An inclusive, equitable workplace enables us to deliver more innovative and sustainable solutions for our people, clients, customers, shareholders and communities. Our inclusive culture and equity commitment support our purpose of ‘Empowering people to innovate and invest for a better future’.

What are we doing about it?

Our focus is on attracting, engaging, developing and retaining talented individuals, providing opportunities for career-long learning and development and providing safe workplaces within an inclusive culture that values diversity, equity and inclusion.

Macquarie strives to create an environment where continuous learning is part of an employee’s career development and recognises the benefits to the individual and the wider organisation of such investment.

We are making positive progress to increase diverse representation at all levels of Macquarie and sustain an inclusive workplace for all our people but we still have work to do.

Learn more

Business conduct and ethics

What is it?

As a global financial services provider we operate in a highly regulated environment. We are committed to conducting our business in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations and in a way that enhances our reputation in the market and supports local regulators in achieving their objectives.

Why is it important?

A failure to manage legal and regulatory risks can have a material impact on our clients and the markets in which we operate, and on our business and reputation.

What are we doing about it?

Macquarie’s organisational culture drives the way we do business, and our expectations of our people are outlined in Macquarie's Code of Conduct. Our principles of Opportunity, Accountability and Integrity determine how we conduct business.

Macquarie’s purpose ‘Empowering people to innovate and invest for a better future’ represents why we exist and what we do. We believe that by empowering people – our employees, clients, communities, shareholders and partners – we will achieve our shared potential.

Learn more

Community

Social impact

What is it?

The Macquarie Group Foundation (the Foundation) drives social impact work for Macquarie Group, supporting our people, businesses, and communities to build a better future.

Why is it important?

Supporting the communities in which we live and work has been an important part of Macquarie’s activities since our inception in 1969. In that time, our people have devoted their time and skills to supporting non-profit organisations around the world, to drive social change at the local community level. This remains an important part of our culture today.

What are we doing about it?

Our people

The Foundation encourages our people to give back to the community by contributing service, financial support and leadership to the causes that matter to them. Macquarie provides a range of benefits for our people including:

Matching staff donations and fundraising up to $A50,000 per person per year.
Providing paid volunteer leave and charitable donations in recognition of time spent volunteering.
Providing donations to a community organisation with a Macquarie staff member on its board.
Donating to a staff-nominated organisation for 10 and 25-year employee anniversaries.
Financial awards to community organisations recognising outstanding Macquarie staff contributions.

Our businesses

As well as providing advice on philanthropic giving, the Foundation is partnering with Macquarie businesses to integrate a shared value approach into existing business models and identify upcoming projects that can deliver both increased social impact and enhanced commercial advantage.

Our communities

The Foundation supports community organisations through its global focus on breaking down barriers to employment, its commitment to promoting a more equitable and just society for underrepresented people and its special grants programs.

We recognise that many people around the world face systemic barriers to employment and as such, the majority of the Foundation’s grantmaking and social impact investment focus on breaking down these barriers and building pathways to economic security.

Learn more

Engaging our stakeholders

Clear dialogue with stakeholders is important for building strong relationships, understanding external dynamics, earning and maintaining trust, enhancing business performance and evolving our ESG approach. We regularly engage with a broad range of stakeholders including clients, customers, shareholders, investors, analysts, governments, regulators, employees, suppliers and the wider community.

Our engagement with stakeholders helps identify and validate the ESG focus areas described above. Our eight overarching ESG focus areas are comprised of more specific material topics. The ESG focus areas and material topics that sit under them were identified during Macquarie’s materiality assessment.

The following section sets out a list of our key stakeholders, how we engage with them, the key topics that they tell us matter most to them, and how this translates into our ESG focus areas.

The previous section, which lists Macquarie’s focus areas, also includes further details on how we respond to them.

Clients (corporate, institutional, government and fund co-investors)

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
One-to-one contact (via phone, emails, letters etc.) Webcasts and teleconferences Knowledge-based conferences and events	Service and experience Transparency and disclosure Regulatory compliance Market volatility and business resilience Global and sectoral insights and research Our purpose and ESG focus areas Climate change Greenwashing Net-zero targets Nature and biodiveristy	Refer to the following sections of the ESG Report: Managing environmental and social risk, Climate change, Environmental and social financing, and Client and customer experience

Retail customers

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Digital platforms (E&M banking) Dedicated customer support teams and relationship managers (via phone, emails, chats and letters) Online forums, surveys and focus groups Social media Complaint management systems Macquarie’s Customer Advocate	Service and experience Innovation and digitalisation Product information including fees, charges and interest rates Information security, data privacy and financial crime (incl. scams) Supporting customers experiencing vulnerability (incl. cost of living pressures) Financial education and literacy	Refer to the following sections of the ESG Report: Environmental and social financing, Client and customer experience, and Business conduct and ethics

Shareholders, analysts and investors

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Direct engagement through our Investor Relations team Results Announcements and Operational Briefings Annual General Meeting Domestic and international investor roadshows, seminars and conference attendance	Market volatility and business resilience Financial performance Approach to financial and non-financial risk management Dividends ESG risk management and ESG financing Supporting the decarbonisation of our clients ESG approach, including our net-zero target Nature and biodiversity	Refer to the following sections of the ESG Report: Managing environmental and social risk, Climate change, Environmental and social financing, Sustainability in our own business operations, and Client and customer experience

Employees

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Annual ‘Macquarie Voice’ survey Interactive in-person and virtual events with the CEO and Executive Committee Internal communications channels, including Workplace, SharePoint and Slack In-person and virtual training Internal employee networks and committees Internal employee focus groups and pulse surveys	Future of work Flexible working arrangements and return to office Diversity, equity and inclusion Professional growth and development Risk culture and conduct Work Health and Safety and wellbeing Talent attraction and development Remuneration Our purpose and ESG focus areas	Refer to the following section of the Annual Report: Diversity, equity and inclusion and the following sections of the ESG Report: People and workplace, Business conduct and ethics,

Governments and regulators

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Engaging with parliamentarians and policy makers through avenues such as formal meetings, attending events, speaking in public forums and appearing before parliamentary inquiries where appropriate Making submissions to industry consultation processes and inquiries, where appropriate Participating in government and other policy advisory panels when invited to do so, and where we can make a differentiated contribution based on our expertise	Legal and regulatory environment Stability of the financial system Fair and effective markets Investor and customer protections Transparency and disclosure Information security and data privacy Financial crime and cybersecurity Energy transition and ESG	Refer to the following sections of the ESG Report: Managing environmental and social risk, Climate change, Client and customer experience, and Business conduct and ethics

Suppliers

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Dedicated Group Procurement team In-person and virtual meetings, conferences and workshops ESG questionnaires Risk-based assurance programme which involves in-depth assessments and onsite meetings with suppliers exposed to high human rights risks based on country of operation and service category	Supplier diversity Product sustainability Payment terms and times Human rights and modern slavery Supplier science-aligned emission reduction targets	Refer to the following sections of the ESG Report: Managing environmental and social risk, Human rights, Climate change Environmental and social financing, and Sustainability in our own business operations

Community

Key engagement channels	Key matters raised	How we responded
Long-term partnerships with community organisations globally Annual Foundation Week, a week-long celebration of employee-led volunteering and fundraising initiatives Regional programs designed to encourage employee participation in the community including opportunities to work on a skilled volunteering project, mentoring or being placed on a non-profit board. Macquarie Shared Value Award and Seed Grants Providing matching to employees for their donations and fundraising efforts through the Foundation’s Non-Profit Support Policy	Supporting local communities Creating employment opportunities, and social and economic mobility Barriers to training, education and employment; humanitarian crisis relief	Refer to the following section of the ESG Report: Managing environmental and social risk Refer to the following section of the Annual Report: Macquarie Group Foundation

Learn more

More information on each of the focus areas is available on the Environmental, Social and Governance pages of our website and in Macquarie Group’s ESG Report which can also be downloaded from the website.

Learn more