Managing Corporate Environmental Sustainability Reporting in the Nigerian Banking Sector

This study examines the management of corporate environmental sustainability reporting in Nigerian banking institutions, evaluating the scope, quality, and assurance of environmental disclosures in the context of the Central Bank of Nigeria's Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles and growing investor interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance performance. The banking sector's role in financing environmental externalities makes its own environmental management and disclosure performance an indicator of the sector's commitment to sustainability transition. Environmental sustainability disclosures from the most recent annual or sustainability reports of twelve publicly listed Nigerian banks were systematically reviewed against the Global Reporting Initiative Standards and the Carbon Disclosure Project environmental reporting framework. Assessment dimensions include completeness of environmental performance data, forward-looking target setting, supply chain and financed emissions disclosure, third-party assurance level, and consistency of reported data across multiple years. Results show significant variability in reporting quality between larger and smaller banks. Four major banks produce internationally benchmarked sustainability reports with partial third-party assurance. Eight banks include environmental sections in annual reports that are largely narrative without quantitative performance data. Financed emissions disclosure is absent from all twelve bank reports despite being required under the CBN Sustainable Banking Principles. No bank reports credible scope 3 emission reduction targets. Recommendations include a Central Bank of Nigeria mandatory environmental performance disclosure standard with phased implementation requirements proportionate to bank asset size. Keywords: sustainability reporting, banking sector, environmental disclosure, ESG, Nigeria.