The Chaser partnered with Market Forces to take the piss out of NAB’s rebrand to Jab, by giving them a new one: NOB.
More than that, the rebrand draws attention to the bank’s billion dollar fossil fuel portfolio. According to The Chaser, since 2016, NAB has loaned $2 billion to major Australian companies expanding the scale of the fossil fuel sector. They’ve also previously loaned money to two of the biggest coal mining companies in Australia: Wser hitehaven Çoal and New Hope Corporation.
“When it comes to climate action, NAB really are behaving like nobs. Pouring money into expansion of the fossil fuel industry while pretending to support climate action is about as bad as greenwashing gets,” campaigner at Market Forces Christian Slattery said in a statement.
“Since 2016, NAB has loaned $2 billion to big climate-wrecking Australian companies expanding the coal, gas and oil sectors. This includes the likes of Whitehaven Coal and New Hope Corporation, two of the most notorious climate-wrecking coal companies in Australia.
“If NAB actually wants to walk the talk on climate action, it should rule out funding for companies and projects that are expanding the scale of the fossil fuel industry.”
The kick in the teeth here, is that NAB has publicly stated that it supports the Paris Agreement and net zero emissions by 2050. They also recently made a loan to Australia’s biggest coal port and called it a “sustainability loan”. As co-founder of The Chaser Charles Firth puts it, it’s a clear example of “greenwashing” and is performative as fuck.
“When we first found out about NAB giving a “sustainability loan” to the biggest coal port in the world, we thought it was a joke. We actually looked into hiring whoever was behind it,” Firth said.
“You have to admire the sheer scale of the greenwashing. It makes the Federal government look like rank amateurs in comparison.
“The weirdest thing is that there are real people behind the decision to pretend to be green while fuelling the problem. Presumably these bankers have kids who are going to live in the uninhabitable hellscape their own parents helped create. It’s going to lead to a lot of awkward Christmases.”
Last month, NAB rebranded to jab in the hopes of encouraging people to get vaccinated. It angered many anti-vaxers, which was a fun bonus. But at the end of the day, it was still extremely performative. We need to push brands to do more than just rebrand, or call something a “sustainability loan” — they need to do actual good.
Have a peep at the rebranded website here.
