Triple bottom line reporting and its impact on financial performance of banks in India

Information requirements of diverse range of stakeholders has lead to dramatic shift in reporting practices from traditional financial reporting framework to encompass financial, environmental and social dimensions in performance measurement by adopting ‘Triple Bottom Line ’approach. Triple bottom line (TBL) endeavors at moving beyond conventional performance measurement systems based on profits to integrate environmental and social parameters to measure corporate performance. Considering the paramount role financial institutions play in an economy, banking sector must account for environmental and social impacts of their activities through triple bottom line approach. In this context, this paper attempts to identify triple bottom line reporting practices on a sample of 83 banks operating in India through content analysis. Further, Mann Whitney U test was conducted to analyze impact of triple bottom line reporting on financial performance of banks. Research provides an insight to banking sector on financial indicators that can lead to enhanced financial performance by adopting triple bottom line and drive towards sustainability.