How Major Banks and Green Banking Practices Can Help Attain Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) in Low-Income Economies

ENGLISH

This thesis examines how major banks’ green-banking practices can advance Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) in low-income economies through comparative case studies of nine banks across Pakistan (SBP, Bank Alfalah, MCB), India (SBI, ICICI), Bangladesh (Dutch-Bangla Bank, BRAC), and Italy (Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit). The study used a qualitative comparative case-study design with semi-structured interviews (planned n = 8-10; actual respondents = 5: 3 bank officials, 1 government representative, 1 NGO professional) and secondary data (annual/ESG reports); thematic analysis produced three core themes: (1) green banking’s contribution to sustainable educational infrastructure, (2) comparative impacts between Italy and South Asia, and (3) barriers and opportunities in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Financial snapshots reveal large variation in scale and commitment in Pakistan SBP reports net interest income of 1,200,000, net profit 500,000 and total assets 60,000,000 while allocating ~50% of assets to green investments and $20M in CSR for education; Bank Alfalah and MCB report net interest income of 850,000/920,000, net profit 350,000/400,000, assets of 25,000,000/30,000,000, and green allocations of ~35%/40% (CSR education funding $15M/$18M; infrastructure spends $3M-$5M; microfinance for education $2M-$3M). In India, SBI shows net interest income 1,282,000, net profit 550,310 and total assets 57,469,470 versus ICICI’s 716,615, net profit 226,212 and assets 19,247,403; in Bangladesh DBBL and BRAC report net interest income ~1,045,000/1,100,000, net profits 324,000/295,000 and assets 25,300,000/18,200,000. These figures indicate that large public banks hold dominant asset bases and can mobilize larger green allocations, whereas commercial banks rely more on CSR and microfinance channels. Qualitative results show green loans (solar, water conservation, green buildings) and green bonds as promising instruments, while key obstacles include lack of tailored financial instruments, political instability, regulatory gaps, and low stakeholder awareness. This thesis concludes despite global education gaps (UNESCO: >260 million out-of-school children cited as context) targeted regulatory incentives, green financial instruments (e.g., bonds, PPPs), and capacity building are needed to redirect the tens of millions in current CSR and green-investment flows.