Do Bank Characteristics Really Matter for its Environmental Reporting?

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING AND BANK CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The last few decades have seen an increasing number of researches in the area of environmental reporting. Institutions across the globe have been extensively reporting their environmental initiatives through their annual reports. There is a dearth of research on environmental reporting in the Indian context. Thus, this study comprehensively analyzes the environmental reporting practices of scheduled banks in India. It further attempts to explore the association between environmental reporting and bank characteristics. The secondary data is collected from the annual reports, sustainability reports, and business responsibility reports for the period 2017–2022. The sample consists of ten top-rated commercial banks chosen based on market capitalization during June 2022. The content analysis technique is used to extract information on environmental practices under twelve major categories. This study employs correlation analysis to examine the association between environmental reporting and bank characteristics. The findings of this study reveal that Indian commercial banks are increasingly reporting environmental information in their bank reports and websites. Further, the results of correlation analysis revealed a significant association between environmental reporting and the banks’ age, size, and profitability. Further, this study recommends policymakers and concerned professional bodies introduce additional environmental guidelines and widen the scope of reporting in the banking industry.