An Assessment of the Status of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Banking Practices in Relation to the Promotion of Sustainable Environmental Management in Nigeria

Abstract

The research aimed at Assessing the Status of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Banking Practices in Relation to the Promotion of Sustainable Environmental Management in five banks at Lagos Headquarters, Nigeria with the objectives of evaluating the extent to which Nigerian banks have adopted ESG practices; examining the influence of ESG practices on environmental sustainability outcomes in Nigeria; identifying challenges limiting ESG implementation in Nigerian banks; and proposing strategies for enhancing ESG integration in the banking sector. Data on ESG in Banking were also needed such as data on risk management, energy-saving, waste reduction, staff training, decision making, compliance level, and standard operating procedures. The target population comprised staff in the selected five banks (First Bank, UBA, GTB, Access and Zenith Bank) in Nigeria, particularly those recognized for implementing ESG initiatives. A sample size of at least 241 respondents out of the entire population (606 Personnel) was the lowest acceptable number of respondents to maintain a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 5%. 405 respondents answered the questions but only 358 respondents filled the forms correctly. 2-Factor ANOVA was adopted to test the null hypothesis 1 (H01) which stated that there is no significant relationship between the perception of the positive impact of the adoption of ESG practices and the promotion of sustainable environments by Nigerian banks. On the basis of the above calculation, the null hypothesis H01 was rejected and the alternative hypothesis H11 was accepted since the calculated value FOtrt1 which is 13.14 is greater than the table value FOtrt1(table value which is 6.39. and the calculated FOtrt2 = 0.013 ˂ FOtrt2 table value (224.58) at (0.05; 1, 4). It is concluded that factor 1 which is the promotion of sustainable environment through ESG by Nigerian banks significantly affects proportionately, factor 2 which is the perception of the positive impact of the adoption of ESG practices in the study area. It is concluded that the regular participation in the ESG activities by the banking institutions is of paramount importance in the protection of the ecosystem and the sustainability of the environment. The recommendations drawn from the study are that there should be regular conduction of environmental management workshop, enforcement of best work practice, and Increased participation of host community members in environmental management.