Green Banking – The Path Leading to Sustainable Economic Growth

Abstract

Introduction: Banking institutions are instrumental for lending support and steering the economy in the planned direction to achieve long-term goals. Sustainable development has become the focal point of new policies so that the economies attain inclusive growth. This needs substantial funding to accelerate industrial activity; hence, banks have to play a dominant role in helping such plans succeed. Banks need to look beyond their current framework and play a proactive role in promoting sectors focussed on sustainable development. Banks can prioritise lending to green initiatives to reduce carbon footprint, which will provide impetus to the goals laid out in the COP 26 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference. The chapter aims to identify the gap in investment for sustainable development and the funding support required from banks to help India achieve the desired sustainable goals. The chapter recommends that banks increase their green financing to provide the impetus for creating sustainable infrastructure.

Purpose: The present study aims to understand the banking sector’s importance in developing sustainable economic growth through lending practices. The study recommends certain practices for increasing focussed lending towards sustainable projects.

Methodology: In this study, the authors developed prepositions based on a literature review. Significant issues were raised based on the lending policies per the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and a solution was proposed by preparing a conceptual model.

Findings: The study offers a lending technique that can assist the financial sector in supporting sustainable economic growth.

Citation

Mittal, S., Chaudhry, S. and Bhadauria, S.S. (2023), "Green Banking – The Path Leading to Sustainable Economic Growth", Tyagi, P., Grima, S., Sood, K., Balamurugan, B., Özen, E. and Eleftherios, T. (Ed.) Smart Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Performance Management in a Global Digitalised Economy (Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis, Vol. 110B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 199-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1569-37592023000110B013