Sustainability is the long-term viability and resilience of both ecological and economic systems, ensuring that future generations can thrive in an environmentally balanced and socially equitable world. In the financial world, sustainability is the holistic and ethical synergies of environmental (ENV), social (SOC), and governance (GOV) dimensions typically abbreviated as ESG. This research abstract presents the interconnections between sustainability, education policy, and banking professionals, particularly within the socio-economic variability of India; highlight the gaps in policy for inclusion of diversity in population, equality in access to women and person with special needs. This study evaluated the ESG data for last five years, 2019-2023, of banking services in India. After detailed analysis of the ESG scores (LSEG Refinitiv Database) of Indian banking services, the results show no significant change the ESG score in the five years, varied only in range of 48-49 (out of 100). The individual pillar of ESG for 2023: ENV (28.93), SOC (52.11) and GOV (51.96); all in category C or C+ as per LSEG ESG criteria. Even after much economic growth of Indian financial market in last 5 years, this sector continues to be in the nascent phases of its sustainability trajectory. The disparity demands an immediate and concentrated intervention for an emerging large and diverse economy such as India.

Authors: Sangeeta Sharma Mehndiratta, Jyoti Mehndiratta Kappal, Amit Mehndiratta, Rishi Kappal, Sapna Kappal

• Date of Conference: 4-6 November 2024
• DOI: 10.20533/WCSNE.2024.0009
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-75-4
• Conference Location: St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK