European banks and environmental protection, 1970s-1990s

The project aims at conducting a historical assessment, through the use of archival sources, of the environmental strategy of European investment and commercial banks in the early stages of European environmental policy, from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s. The study will address the following research questions: how did environmental legislation at national and Community level impact on banks’ activities, and conversely how did they influence, if so, policy-making and legislation? Where did banks stand in the debate on the balance between environmental protection and economic growth, and how did it influence their investments and strategies? Who were the leading actors in the field, and how were they related to a broader network of European institutional and non-institutional actors, dealing with environmental issues?