Sustainability in the Main Spanish Banking Entities: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Social and environmental principles have been gaining an undeniable role in investment and financing decisions ever since the last decade of the last century. Various different ways of measuring the socially responsible investment (SRI) of organizations have been proposed by the ratings agencies. In general, responsible investments are understood to be those initiatives that, while bearing in mind the financial criteria, incorporate and prioritize guidelines for action relating to areas of social, environmental, and corporate management present in society. This paper shows a comparative study of the most important Spanish financial institutions included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and identifies their strengths and weaknesses in this area. The analysis of the findings has allowed general conclusions to be drawn on the management of sustainability in organizations and makes specific recommendations on areas for improvement in the companies considered in the sample.