Managing sustainability in banking: extent of sustainable banking adaptations of banking sector in India

A healthy, robust and sustainable banking system is the key for achieving inclusive growth in Indian economy. This paper is aimed at determining the status quo of banking sector in India towards adoption of sustainable banking practices. The findings reveal that Indian banking industry has responded relatively slowly to sustainability issues. The public sector banks are more involved in addressing the social dimensions of sustainability through various microfinance schemes, gender-specific loan schemes, community development programme, etc., whereas the private sector banks in India have adopted relatively more comprehensive approach in addressing environmental care dimension like green building, ISO 14000 certification, innovative products and services, etc. They are more active in subscribing to the voluntary international guidelines and framework on sustainable development like UNEP FI, EPs, GRI, CDP, etc. For integrating sustainable banking, the Indian banking industry has to be more proactive in its approach and should adopt at least the established sustainable banking code of conducts.