Corporate sustainability practices in the financial sector

: multiple case study

Abstract

Corporate Sustainability practices, reporting, and demands have been more relevant to businesses lately (Carroll, 2021; Ning et al., 2021). There has been growing attention from regulators about promoting sustainability (Espahbodi et al., 2019; European Commission, 2001). According to (Boffo & Patalano, 2020) the growing concern and increased attention to sustainability have been strong in the financial sector. Generally, this sector is considered to have significant power to influence outcomes as it can influence funding and awareness of sustainability issues unlike other industry (Bakken, 2022). And is, therefore, chosen as the focus of this dissertation.The objective of this thesis is to recognize the links between the motivations, processes, and results of engagement in corporate sustainability practices by companies operating in the financial sector. The study uses a multiple case study method, which is enriched with additional expert interviews conducted with industry experts. In total four interviews were conducted, two with industry experts and two with representatives of companies. This study finds a strong theoretical justification for sustainability measures creating value for companies. Empirical research proves the importance of the topic. However, there is a gap in literature on specific approaches how to implement sustainability strategies successfully in practice. The implementation and development of common practices in the industry are not yet established. There are significant challenges to overcome, that are hindering companies to implement sustainability strategies. These include a lack of a common understanding of the topic, the challenge in quantifying sustainability, and reliability and comparability of reports published.

Date of Award	18 Oct 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Piotr Wójcik (Supervisor)