Key Drivers of Sustainability Practices in the UK Banking Sector: implications for Sustainable Development Goals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64420/jgmds.v2i1.161Keywords:
Sustainability Practices, UK Banking, Development GoalsAbstract
Background: This study investigates the key drivers influencing sustainability practices in the UK banking sector amid increasing global expectations aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Objective: To explore stakeholder perceptions regarding banks’ sustainability efforts. Method: A quantitative research design was employed using an online survey administered to 191 randomly selected respondents from a population of 2.5 million stakeholders, including bank executives, employees, customers, investors, regulators, and advocacy groups. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests. Results: The findings indicate that community engagement, corporate social responsibility, credible sustainability reporting, and financial performance significantly influence stakeholder perceptions. Conversely, transparency in reporting was not widely perceived as impactful. T-test results revealed no statistically significant factors, thereby supporting the null hypothesis. Conclusion: While UK banks exhibit alignment with SDGs 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 16, weak governmental influence underscores the need for stronger policy frameworks and intersectoral collaboration. Originality/Value: This study provides novel empirical insights in the field of sustainable finance, corporate governance, and banking management by uncovering key drivers of sustainability practices, such as community engagement, corporate social responsibility, credible reporting, and financial performance, alongside the observed weak governmental influence regarding multistakeholder perceptions toward environmental, social, and governance integration within the context of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals across the United Kingdom banking sector, which remains understudied. These findings enrich the existing literature and serve as a strategic reference for financial regulators, bank executives, and public policy architects in strengthening institutional policy frameworks, advancing stakeholder education, and embedding sustainability imperatives into core banking operations.
References
Amole, O., & Emedo, M. (2025). Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Principles into Financial Planning for Sustainable Corporate Growth. Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports, 19(1), 56-64. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajarr/2025/v19i1861
Anagnostopoulos, I. (2018). Fintech and regtech: Impact on regulators and banks. Journal of Economics and Business, 100, 7-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2018.07.003
Calomiris, C. W., & Carlson, M. (2016). Corporate governance and risk management at unprotected banks: National banks in the 1890s. Journal of financial economics, 119(3), 512-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.01.025
Chen, S., Wang, K., & Liu, H. (2022). The impact of the Equator Principles on carbon financial markets: A case study based on China's green credit data. Energy Strategy Reviews, 44, 100999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2022.100999
Cromwell, R. S., & Peprah, J. A. (2025). Banking Business Models and Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities. Strategic Approaches to Banking Business and Sustainable Development Goals, 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-80744-2
Dörry, S., & Schulz, C. (2018). Green financing, interrupted. Potential directions for sustainable finance in Luxembourg. Local Environment, 23(7), 717-733. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2018.1428792
Elansari, H., Alzubi, A., & Khadem, A. (2024). The Impact of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Customers’ Perceptions and Loyalty in the Banking Sector: A Multi-Mediation Approach. Sustainability, 16(18), 8276. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188276
Grijalvo, M., & García-Wang, C. (2023). Sustainable business model for climate finance. Key drivers for the commercial banking sector. Journal of Business Research, 155, 113446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113446
Gunawan, J., Ambarita, I. O., Putri, A. N. A., & Lee, J. C. G. (2024). Greening the Bottom Line: How Do Banking Sectors Implement Technology to Support Sustainable Development Goals in Innovation?. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Studies, 4(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.31098/ijeass.v4i1.2316
Hart, P. F., & Rodgers, W. (2024). Competition, competitiveness, and competitive advantage in higher education institutions: a systematic literature review. Studies in Higher Education, 49(11), 2153-2177. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2293926
Hossain, A., Sobhani, F. A., Omar, N., Mohamad, N., & Said, J. (2019). Corporate governance, risk management and ethical investment: Evidence from banking industries. International Journal of Financial Research, 10(5), 126-137. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijfr.v10n5p126
Lauren, F. A. H. Y. (2022). Regulator reputation and stakeholder participation: A case study of the UK’s regulatory sandbox for fintech. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 13(1), 138-157. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2021.44
Lian, Y., Gao, J., & Ye, T. (2022). How does green credit affect the financial performance of commercial banks?-evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 344, 131069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131069
Long, T. B., Looijen, A., & Blok, V. (2018). Critical success factors for the transition to business models for sustainability in the food and beverage industry in the Netherlands. Journal of cleaner production, 175, 82-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.067
Marzuki, M. M., Majid, W. Z. N. A., & Rosman, R. (2023). Corporate social responsibility and Islamic social finance impact on banking sustainability post-COVID-19 pandemic. Heliyon, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20501
Mukhtar, S. M., & Bahormoz, A. (2022). An integrative framework for stakeholder engagement: Reconciling and integrating stakeholders’ conflicting CSR priorities in management decision-making. Journal of Decision Systems, 31(4), 407-432. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2021.1950115
Park, H., & Kim, J. D. (2020). Transition towards green banking: role of financial regulators and financial institutions. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility, 5(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41180-020-00034-3
Pucci, T., Casprini, E., Galati, A., & Zanni, L. (2020). The virtuous cycle of stakeholder engagement in developing a sustainability culture: Salcheto winery. Journal of Business Research, 119, 364-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.11.009
Raihan, A., Muhtasim, D. A., Farhana, S., Pavel, M. I., Faruk, O., Rahman, M., & Mahmood, A. (2022). Nexus between carbon emissions, economic growth, renewable energy use, urbanization, industrialization, technological innovation, and forest area towards achieving environmental sustainability in Bangladesh. Energy and Climate Change, 3, 100080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egycc.2022.100080
Schulte, J., & Knuts, S. (2022). Sustainability impact and effects analysis-A risk management tool for sustainable product development. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 30, 737-751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.01.004
Seele, P. (2016). Digitally unified reporting: how XBRL-based real-time transparency helps in combining integrated sustainability reporting and performance control. Journal of Cleaner Production, 136, 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.01.102
Shaikh, I. (2022). Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice and firm performance: an international evidence. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 23(1), 218-237. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2022.16202
Tripathy, A., Mok, L. W., & House, K. (2020). Defining climate-aligned investment: An analysis of sustainable finance taxonomy development. Tripathy, Aneil and Mok, Lionel and House, Katie, Defining Climate-Aligned Investment: An Analysis of Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Development (September 2, 2020). The Journal of Environmental Investing, 10(1). https://ssrn.com/abstract=3684926
Tsindeliani, I. A., Proshunin, M. M., Sadovskaya, T. D., Popkova, Z. G., Davydova, M. A., & Babayan, O. A. (2022). Digital transformation of the banking system in the context of sustainable development. Journal of Money Laundering Control, 25(1), 165-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-02-2021-0011
United Nations, (2015). The 17 Goals. retrieved 03/05/2025 from https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ekene Ekemezie, Kaodilichukwu Augustine Echem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Journal of Gender and Millennium Development Studies (JGMDS) agree to the following terms:
(1) Copyright Retention: Authors retain the copyright of their work without any restrictions.
(2) Publishing Rights: Authors retain full publishing rights without restrictions and grant the Journal of Gender and Millennium Development Studies (JGMDS) the non-exclusive right of first publication.
(3) License Agreement: By publishing with the Journal of Gender and Millennium Development Studies (JGMDS), authors agree that their work will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) 
. This license allows others to share and adapt the work, provided that appropriate credit is given, any changes are indicated, and the new creations are licensed under the same terms.
