EXPLORING SOCIAL DRIVERS OF CORPORATE CARBON EMISSIONS:A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This research investigates the role of social sustainability goals in determining environmental sustainability initiatives. For this purpose, qualitative data for various SECP-based social indicators and emission reduction initiatives (ERI) from 19 listed banks of Pakistan were extracted and converted to quantitative ones using the word count approach and binary technique, respectively. fsQCA was employed to analyze the results, which showed that setting social sustainability in banks does not necessarily mean that they will also plan ERI. Theoretically, it challenges the stakeholders’ theory, legitimacy theory, and resource-based view while supporting the institutional theory by stating that banks do not set carbon management goals because that is in their social strategy, but could be due to institutional pressures. The findings have implications for regulators, policymakers, banks, and investors. The scope of the study is limited to the banking sector of a developing nation, i.e., Pakistan, and the employed methodology. Future directions include cross-country analysis, integration of linear models, and investigation of exogenous factors leading to carbon mitigation goals.