The integration of sustainability in the banking sector: from a “greed†to a “green†finance

This work is part of the literature that recognizes the crucial role of an ethical evaluation in the financial sector and investigates the aspects related to the social and environmental impact of economic activities. Those must be strictly complementary to a traditional evaluation, which cannot be the sole parameter of reference for the investor, and intended to make a point on the state of the art of impact finance, in Italy and in Europe, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interest for the issue was validated by the recent transition of mainstream finance towards a model compatible with the urgent emerging environmental and social challenges, which has caused a rethinking of management models and aims to generate social, as well as economic value, restoring a more positive relationship with society, communities and the environment. In this context, Europe plays a leading role on the basis of a consolidated social culture and a growing attention to innovation in the field of inclusive finance regulation: it has turned out to be by far the most important developed and diversified ESG (environmental, social, governance) market and which continues to dominate sustainable investments and hosts the majority of sustainable funds and assets.