Table 9. ESA - Bank

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Social causes include the development of cultural spaces (such as cinemas, libraries, exhibition halls and virtual classrooms) in remote communities (Bank Sustainability Report, 2018).

Initiatives include the development of a sustainable supply chain through a capacity building program focused on SMEs. In this case, leadership style was the mechanism for the development of a green culture for product stewardship at Bank.

Table 9. ESA - Bank.

Observed environmental practices * Practice of green due diligence * Participation in voluntary programs such as Global Compact and “Protocolo Verde.” * Adoption of practices in CO2 compensation * Adoption of self-reporting initiatives such as DJSI and CDP. * Support for environmental interest groups. * Finance for cleaner production practices. * Support for voluntary programs in environmental education. * Support for social causes.

• ESA Factors

a) Business context

The influencing factors observed in terms of the business context corresponded to IFC6 norms and competitors’ best practices. IFC “works with financial institutions to introduce environmental standards to their lending practices in order to support clients in management of environmental risks and conduct finance to responsible companies” (IFC, 2019). Specifically, IFC norms establish the use of green criteria in credit risk evaluation when a bank is granting a financial loan. The relation between IFC and Bank started in 1973 with IFC as a capital investor; later, it began to offer financial advice and make additional investments (EFE, 2020).

Competitors’ best practices include participation in CO2 compensation activities, sustainable benchmarking and self-reporting initiatives. Bank has performed sustainability benchmarking since 2014, after its main competitor in Colombia was listed in 2011. Finally, Bank has been included in the

6 IFC is a capitalization fund provider that has supported Bank since the 1970s, at the beginning of its operations.