Rabobank New Zealand
New Zealand’s only specialist food and agribusiness bank, Rabobank have long supported our mahi and officially became a major sponsor in February 2020.
Todd Charteris, Chief Executive at Rabobank NZ, says “The seeds of Rabobank were sown by farmers in the Netherlands in 1898. They set up a banking cooperative to help farmers support each other in business and make sure that rural communities were treated fairly when it came to getting the finance they needed. Rabobank now operates in 38 countries around the world, and we’ve been in New Zealand since the late 1990s. Proudly New Zealand’s only specialist food and agribusiness bank, we have around 500 staff working from almost 30 locations around the country. Our mission is all about ‘Growing a better New Zealand together.’ That’s what our partnership with KiwiHarvest is all about.
What made you decide to sponsor KiwiHarvest?
Our partnership with KiwiHarvest is a perfect fit for Rabobank. It builds on our shared values around sustainable food production, community engagement and thought leadership on the vitally important issue of reducing food waste at a time when many Kiwi families do not have enough food on the table. Importantly for us, our partnership with KiwiHarvest provides our employees with a valuable opportunity to contribute through our community volunteer days and supporting KiwiHarvest at public events.
What have been some key highlights of this experience so far?
Our partnership with KiwiHarvest has brought a number of highlights, including valuable opportunities for our employees across New Zealand to contribute through community volunteering and team building. We’ve launched our annual Rabobank-KiwiHarvest Food Waste Report examining Kiwis’ attitudes to food waste. And we’ve added KiwiHarvest to our New Zealand workplace giving programme, which means that for every dollar donated by our staff, Rabobank matches it dollar for dollar. We’ve also hosted KiwiHarvest at some key events – for example National Fieldays – to help spread the word about reducing food waste.
On behalf of our team at Rabobank New Zealand, I congratulate KiwiHarvest on its first 10 years of incredibly valuable work in reducing food waste and helping to put food on the table for vulnerable families. Rabobank looks forward to continuing working alongside the KiwiHarvest team through our exciting partnership.