EVALUATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT TO FINANCING INVESTMENT PROJECTS AN APPLIED STUDY ON A COMMERCIAL BANK

The research aims to set a system for evaluating the environmental commitment for investment projects through the process of bank financing of these projects and highlighting the direct and indirect environmental impacts resulting from them. Consequently, a proposed framework for limiting the pollution resulting from these projects, avoiding the loss or closure of these projects, reducing the percentage of financing risks to banks, and preparing an appropriate scenario through which it is possible to rationalize the financing of these projects and reduce the risk ratio. The research was based on the (descriptive analytical) approach, in describing environmental risks and environmental compliance policies and in determining the mutual impact between investment projects and environmental pollution resulting from these projects, and then developing solutions and mechanisms to overcome obstacles and reduce the percentage of financing risks to banks by applying environmental compliance requirements and environmental standards. This study also focuses on the (descriptive, meta-descriptive) approach, to infer the resulting application of commercial banks and their role in financing environmentally friendly investment projects, and the consequent protection of the environment from pollution, the preservation of natural resources and the right of future generations in a clean environment, and through research tools: surveying the collection of information and data from commercial banks and some environmental investment projects and analyzing these data and information obtained using statistical measures and statistical analysis program SPSS; The most important explanation for the use of the "extrapolation" in this study is the work of the proposed framework, which outlines the way to apply the environmental commitment assessment.
The study reached several conclusions: the applied study proved the lack of clarity of the concept of environmental responsibility in banks, and the lack of environmental awareness among the majority of managers and officials of banks and their belief that the responsibility to address most of the environmental problems facing investment projects lies solely with the government.
The study recommends that the government should adopt, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt CBE, a national campaign aimed at changing concepts and enhancing the principles of environmental economic culture. And in order to set a clear and specific strategy for the development process with specific sources of funding and distribution of roles and to determine the powers and levels necessary for implementation. This is what Egypt has already begun to implement with the development of the Egyptian Vision 2030.