A materiality analysis framework to assess sustainable development goals of banking sector through sustainability reports

The increasing demand of stakeholders for information on sustainability, the effects of the recent financial crisis and the role of the financial sector in sustainable development have compelled many banking institutions to provide sustainable disclosures in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030. The purpose of this study is to examine the materiality of the banking sector disclosures. The materiality implies the identification of economic, social and environmental issues that are relevant to the organization itself but also to stakeholders. Thus, an SDG Materiality Analysis Framework (SDGs_MAF) has been developed and applied on a sample of 37 European banking institutions. This framework is based on the SDGs and scoring/benchmarking techniques to analyze the content of sustainability reports. The results show the high priority of the banking sector for SDGs regarding the promotion of economic growth and decent work, the promotion of fairness and transparent processes at all levels. In addition, it is pointed out that the rather low alignment of materiality issues with SDGs oriented to environmental matters, as well as several managerial implications in relation to its strategic planning and the communicating of sustainability disclosures. (C) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.