Banking on sustainability : exploring the antecedents, barriers and enablers to action

Abstract

Taking action on sustainability is key if the ideals of the South African national development plan, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the global sustainable development goals are to be achieved. However, evidence suggests that despite global buy-in from the private and public sector, limited progress has been made to date. The literature revealed that little has been done to understand why organisations adopt a weak position on sustainability and maintain low levels of action. The financial services sector has been identified as a critical enabler of sustainability action. The research set out to develop insight and understanding into the antecedents, barriers and enablers of sustainability action within the South African banking sector. The aim was to develop a conceptual model of the key constructs that may accelerate sustainability action in the sector, as well as the barriers that may impede action. A qualitative research methodology was used to gather data through in-depth interviews with 13 participants knowledgeable about sustainability action in the South African banking sector. Participants included banking sector professionals as well as experts working in the field of business strategy and sustainability consulting in the sector. The study identified five constructs that explain how sustainability action is affected in the banking sector and where the potential barriers and enablers of accelerated action may be located. The constructs are: management orientation; organisation characteristics; sustainability embedment; influential stakeholders; and sustainability action. The key outcome of the research is a conceptual model for sustainability action in the banking sector. This model incorporates both expected constructs found in the literature, as well as potentially new constructs that contribute to the strategy and management literature.