Integrating environment performance indicators with financial information

Service industries are becoming more engaged in environmental issues. A recent survey of financial institutions worldwide indicates that the sector now has a high awareness of environmental issues. Respondents to the survey believed that environmental issues will become increasingly integrated with core business activities over the next decade, and that financial institutions will be more likely to look for transactional opportunities with environmentally-related businesses (UNEP 1995). Banks and other lending institutions are now considering 'environmental risks' alongside more traditional banking risks, and many lenders now operate screening practices as part of their asset management (OECD 1998 and 1997).