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 start-up Geora, using blockchain technology.

Using the technology, farmers like Queensland’s Leather Cattle Company are able to support the reporting covenants of NAB’s Agri Green Loan, with Geora integrating the company’s existing sustainability data providers into blockchain. This creates a standardised and clear record of the environmental impact and the Leather Cattle Company’s steps to reduce emissions.

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

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

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

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

“We know that farmers are being asked by many different stakeholders to report on their…