The CEFC has committed $150 million to expand access to discounted finance for ANZ’s small and medium enterprise (SME) customers, as rising energy and operating costs drive demand for lower-cost, energy-efficient equipment.
The CEFC and ANZ will each annually contribute 0.4 per cent p.a. towards a total discount of 0.8 per cent for assets including electric vehicles, rooftop solar, batteries, energy-efficient technology and recycling equipment, helping businesses reduce operating costs while improving energy performance. The discounted rate can reduce total repayment costs and improve cash flow over the life of the asset, supporting investment decisions that may otherwise be deferred.
The OECD has highlighted that partnerships between public finance institutions and commercial lenders are critical to helping small businesses invest in emissions-reducing technologies, particularly in hard-to-decarbonise sectors where sector-specific expertise is essential.1
SMEs are looking for practical ways to manage rising costs while maintaining productivity. This program helps bring forward investment in equipment that can reduce energy use and improve efficiency, while lowering financing costs at a time when access to affordable capital matters.Richard Lovell
CEFC Executive Director
The commitment builds on the successful CEFC co-financing program with ANZ, which has helped bring lower-cost clean energy finance to small to medium businesses at scale and has supported more than 1,600 Australian businesses with over $444 million in discounted asset finance. In the last financial year alone, more than $90 million in finance was provided to customers through the program.
Small and medium sized businesses account for almost a third of Australia’s economy and, with many facing sustained pressure from higher energy prices, inflation and supply chain disruptions, access to discounted finance for energy-efficient equipment is critical.
CEFC Executive Director Richard Lovell said: “SMEs are looking for practical ways to manage rising costs while maintaining productivity. This program helps bring forward investment in equipment that can reduce energy use and improve efficiency, while lowering financing costs at a time when access to affordable capital matters.”
ANZ MD Product and Specialist Sales, Business & Private Bank, John Campbell said: “Australian businesses are constantly looking for ways to improve productivity and manage costs. Whether it’s installing solar panels, upgrading equipment or transitioning a vehicle fleet, these investments can deliver meaningful savings over time, but the upfront cost can be a barrier. By making finance more affordable, we’re helping businesses invest with confidence in assets that can strengthen their operations today while positioning them for future growth.
“Over the past nine years, our partnership with the CEFC has helped businesses invest in the equipment and technology they need to grow and adapt. This additional funding will allow even more Australian businesses to access the assets they need to remain competitive.”
This investment takes the total cumulative CEFC commitment to the ANZ clean energy finance program to $600 million. It has financed the installation of clean energy technologies across the economy, including more than $105 million in the agriculture sector, $72 million in manufacturing, $37 million in retail and wholesaling and $16 million in mining.
The CEFC has a strong track record of working with the Australian finance industry to unlock capital to improve sustainability. More than $3.2 billion of CEFC finance has been committed to help commercial borrowers access discounted finance to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Please note: the CEFC does not provide finance to individual borrowers and is not involved in individual financing decisions. Interested borrowers should contact ANZ directly.
1 OECD (2026), Benchmarking SME Decarbonisation Policies, OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Papers, No. 79, OECD Publishing, Paris, p. 24.
