Our commitment to sustainable farming
Meet our sustainability team
Courtney Bidois
Chief Sustainability Officer
Courtney joined Rabobank in July 2023 to lead New Zealand’s sustainability activities. She is responsible for developing and driving delivery of Rabobank's sustainability strategy and objectives, in alignment with the bank’s global strategy and goal to be net zero by 2050.
With a MBA and a MSc in environmental management, specialising in climate change mitigation and adaptation policy development, Courtney is currently in her final year studying part-time for a PhD. Her study includes researching the role of carbon markets in New Zealand’s transition to net zero.
Blake Holgate
Head of Sustainable Business Development
Blake joined Rabobank in 2012 and was appointed as the Head of Sustainable Business Development in early 2021. In this role, he leads the Sustainable Business Development team which is focused on ensuring the bank’s clients are in the strongest position to manage increasing environmental, societal and market risk.
In addition to leading this team, Blake also contributes to Rabobank government policy submissions on regulations affecting the sector as well as providing public commentary on key industry issues. Hailing from a sheep and beef farming family, he has an MBA from Otago University and practised as an environmental lawyer specialising in resource management before joining Rabobank.
Katie Rodwell
Sustainability Manager
Katie joined Rabobank in June 2022 following eight years with Farmlands Co-operative Society, most recently as the Head of Sustainability and Land Use. In 2020 she was awarded the NZ Co- operative Emerging Leader of the Year award, and she was also a finalist for the 2022 Zanda McDonald Award.
In her role with Rabobank, Katie is responsible for providing our staff with the learning and development required to enable them to have meaningful sustainability discussions with clients, as well as the development and delivery of our client knowledge programmes.
Gavin Marshall
Sustainability Manager
Gavin joined Rabobank in August 2022 and brings 15 years’ experience in the agriculture sector, with the last six years spent as an Environmental Programme Lead at Fonterra. In that role, Gavin designed, developed and managed the implementation of programmes focused on supporting farmers to reduce their environmental footprint (primarily around freshwater and climate).
In his role with Rabobank, Gavin is responsible for further developing an online tool that builds a picture of the non-financial aspects of client operations, with the aim of advancing the insights this tool provides for our clients.
Robert Siveter
Senior Manager, Sustainability Risk
Rob has 20 year’s experience in sustainability, gained in the primary sector, financial services and local government. He brings a passion for food and produce, alongside his enthusiasm for creating environmental, social and economic value.
As the Bank’s sustainability risk manager, Rob oversees the work we do on identifying and addressing opportunities and risks around sustainability, focused on our clients. Rob also explores resiliency to potential environmental or policy shocks and helps develop no-regrets strategies to see that our clients are prepared and we remain a rock-solid bank, whatever the future.