Meridian Energy Ltd

Meridian's Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the management of risks and opportunities for the organisation, including those related to climate change. Two Board committees support the Board in this function for climate change: 1. The Audit and Risk Committee by performing reviews of Meridian's primary business risks and its Risk Management Policy. 2. The Safety and Sustainability Committee by performing reviews of Meridian's primary sustainability impacts and performance and its Sustainability Policy. Both committee's meet on a quarterly basis, where they review progress against goals and targets for addressing climate-related issues. For example, a standing Safety and Sustainability Committee agenda item is the 'Sustainability update', which contains a summary of the Group sustainability initiatives including progress and outcomes per initiative for the quarter to date (with tracking against targets where relevant), and plans for the quarter ahead. Both Committee proceedings are reported back to the Board. Additional Committee and Board disclosures occur for specific issues as required – for example, as climate-related policy changes. The Board sets objectives and targets for climate-related issues annually and holds Management accountable for implementing these via: • policies – including annual reviews of Meridian's Risk Management Policy, Sustainability Policy and Remuneration Policy • strategic objectives and performance incentives that are set in the Executive Scorecard each financial year. Objectives are for both short- and long-term objectives. The Board accesses climate-related expertise from within Meridian, and externally where specialist advice is required. For example, Meridian seeks independent external climate scientist advice for the purposes of informing short-, medium- and long-term assumptions about the physical impacts of climate change on its operations, such as on hydro inflows. A number of Meridian Board members are also actively involved in Chapter Zero New Zealand – a global network of board directors committed to taking action on climate change and hosted in Aotearoa by the Institute of Directors. The Board assigns climate-related responsibilities to management-level positions using the mechanisms outlined above, such as policy and the shared Executive Scorecard. Management reports quarterly via the Board committees on a range of matters consistent with the committee charters. As an example of how Management tables climate-related issues with the Board, during FY22, Management tabled an implications and choices paper with the Safety and Sustainability Committee on the impacts of policy change (the treatment of exotics in the Emissions Trading Scheme [ETS] permanent forestry category) on Meridian's Forever Forests programme. Meridian Management is responsible for ensuring the business is identifying, assessing and monitoring climate-related risks and opportunities. Meridian's annual climate-related disclosure process is prepared by Management with a primary governance pathway via the Audit and Risk Committee to the Board.

Meridian prepares submissions and engages with government bodies on a range of subjects. Management will ensure that all Meridian engagements and submissions in any jurisdiction are aligned with: * Meridian's purpose of Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world; and * Global effort under the Paris Agreement to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5° Celsius above preindustrial levels and increase the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. As a renewable energy company, alignment with the Paris Agreement is in our interests. However, management scrutinises all submissions and engagement material through the sign out process to ensure alignment and governance and oversight ultimately sits with Meridian's executive management team. Meridian is also a member of various trade associations and contributes to submissions and government engagements by those associations. Meridian's spending on trade associations is disclosed in our annual reports. Meridian will advise trade associations when their activities do not appear to align with Meridian's purpose or the Paris Agreement goals and will seek better alignment, acknowledging that associations must consider a range of views from members. In cases of significant ongoing misalignment, management will consider changes to Meridian's membership of trade associations.