Hållbarhetsarbete inom banksektorn : En analys av hur Banken AB identifierar och hanterar miljömässiga och sociala hållbarhetsrisker

Sammanfattning

Sustainability practices have become increasingly central within the banking sector due to growing regulatory requirements, climate-related risks, and rising expectations from customers, investors, and society. Banks influence sustainable development indirectly through lending and investments, making their management of sustainability risks particularly significant. At the same time, it is often difficult to gain insight into how sustainability work is carried out in practice within banks. The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze how Banken AB manages sustainability risks, with particular focus on the bank’s strategies, policy documents, and concrete measures. The study explores sustainability work from both an organizational perspective and the perspective of employees. To fulfill this purpose, a qualitative study with an abductive approach was conducted, combining semi-structured interviews with employees and document analysis of sustainability reports, policy documents, and risk reports. The findings show that Banken AB faces both environmental and social sustainability risks, which mainly arise indirectly through lending, investments, and customer relationships. Environmental risks are primarily related to physical climate risks and transition risks, while social risks are associated with issues such as working conditions, human rights, customer relations, and reputational risks. The study demonstrates that sustainability risks are integrated into the bank’s traditional risk management, where the credit process constitutes a central tool alongside policy documents, training, scenario analyses, and customer advisory services. Furthermore, the study shows that sustainability work involves both opportunities and challenges. Banken AB identifies opportunities in sustainable products and long-term customer relationships, while challenges are linked to risk measurement, organizational implementation, and balancing transparency with the risks of greenwashing and greenhushing. Overall, the study demonstrates that sustainability work has become an integrated part of the bank’s operations, although the work is still evolving, particularly in relation to social sustainability.