Green Banking – A Pathway to Sustainable Development

Abstract

It is well known fact that our ecosystem has undergone a rapid change due to climate change and other reasons. It is the concern and duty of human beings to see that our planet is protected and would provide a safe place to live for our future generation. Banks and financial institutions can also play a major and decisive role to make our planet a better place to live in. As providers of finance, banks can ensure that businesses adopt environment-friendly practices. Incentives by way of offering cheaper funds for adopting green technologies will have a long term beneficial impact on the environment. As major implementers and users of technology, banks themselves can adopt green practices and thereby lead the way in this global initiative of protecting the planet. With this background the present studies aims at analyzing the role of Reserve Bank of India in initiating green banking practices and describe steps taken by State Bank of India (SBI) in promoting green banking.