Title: Emergent themes of social and environmental reporting in the UK retail banks

Authors: Mohamed Saeudy; Khaled Hussainey

Addresses: University of Bedfordshire Business School, University of Bedfordshire, London, LU1 3JU, UK ' Accounting and Financial Management Subject Group, Faculty of Business and Law, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3DE, UK

Abstract: We examine current practices in the development and communication of social and environmental reporting (SER) in the UK retail banks. Empirical data was triangulated between semi-structured interviews with bank executives, bank sustainability reports, and third-party sustainability entrepreneur initiatives (termed 'SEIs') to identify current practices and growth areas. We use social contract theory to examine how these social and environmental retail banks developed their SER practices. Our findings reveal that SER practices are crucial for pursuing more positive social and environmental values. We clarify the role of SER as a form of integrated reporting (IR) to assess and improve the usefulness of the IR reporting practices. The SER practices also appear to have benefited from the presence of a number of SEIs in the sampled banks who specialise in commercialising social and environmental projects. In addition, methodical analyses of SER components assist managers and regulators in determining which components are meaningful to stakeholders.

Keywords: social and relationship capital; integrated reporting; sustainable banking; social contract; value creation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2023.132080

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2023 Vol.17 No.4, pp.416 - 442

Received: 07 Apr 2021
Accepted: 13 Sep 2021
Published online: 11 Jul 2023 *

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