Corporate sustainability assessments as a tool for integrating SDGs into MNE practices: an investigation into the financial sector in Malaysia

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the financial sector adopts systematic management practices to address sustainability within an emerging market context. Drawing from corporate sustainability literature, this study utilises a corporate sustainability assessment procedural framework to investigate the sustainability practices implemented by a financial institution within Malaysia. The systematic processes implemented to address sustainability within this company are examined across their governance systems, performance measurement and reporting structures. This study highlights the value of the corporate sustainability assessment procedural framework in explaining how the financial sector implements systematic processes for addressing sustainability. This moves beyond extant literature which has focused on the indirect impacts associated with financial lending, and provides a holistic perspective on understanding how financial institutions incorporate sustainability within their operations. It also highlights that despite commonly perceived institutional voids for sustainability within emerging markets, international standards and guidelines for sustainability have a key role in influencing the processes being implemented voluntarily by emerging market multinationals. This study fills a void in research examining the financial sector and their systematic processes to address sustainability, both globally and more specifically within an emerging market context.