Part III The Conduct Crisis, 11 Sustainability, Responsibility, Public Trust, Ethical Drift, and the ‘Social Licence’ Concept

Subject(s):

Environmental liability — Equity

This chapter discusses the concept of sustainable banking and its importance in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis. Sustainability (or ‘sustainability development’) is conventionally understood as the simultaneous pursuit of three policy goals: environmental protection, social equity (and justice) and economic welfare. In the context of banking, sustainability includes aligning the financial system with sustainable development; standardizing sustainability reporting in the financial sector, and increased awareness of ‘green issues’ and a growing agenda insisting that commercial and financial activity — as well as national and local politics — have greater ‘respect for the environment’.