In our MapChange 2010 brand sustainability study, consumers gave 50% of the banking sector perceived scores lower than their actual sustainability scores. So what’s the big deal?

According to the April 2009 Mintel report on Green Marketing in Financial Services, by 2020, green practices will influence 66% of consumers when they choose a financial service provider. And those who are ahead in complying with pro-environmental legislation and consumer preference for green infused companies? They’ll fulfill an unmet need in the market faster than the competition to drive profit and take market share.

Take CitiGroup for example. CitiGroup has an actual sustainability score of 67—the highest actual score in the banking sector. Yet CitiGroup is rated 6th out of 12 by consumers in terms of sustainability with a perceived score of 49. This gap indicates that while CitiGroup is taking the initiative to go eco-friendly, their efforts are not readily recognized by consumers.

But that gap doesn’t mean their efforts are ineffective—banks that have already made strides in integrating sustainability into products, services and business models now have the opportunity to communicate those efforts to consumers. And that communication represents a sizeable competitive advantage. But for those who have yet to go eco-friendly, the opportunity to infuse more sustainability practices into innovative products, services and business models is just as large.

Capital One is a great example in this case. Capital One has an actual sustainability score of 12, and a perceived score of 57. But again, this doesn’t represent a problem—it represents opportunity. Banks like Capital One that have very positive consumer brand perception now have the opportunity to integrate more sustainability practices into their products, services and business models to capitalize on their perceived sustainability.

Whether banks are on the higher perceived or higher actual side of sustainability, the opportunity to innovate is here—and the sustainability trend isn’t going anywhere.

Yet we’re curious, do you know how green your own financial institution is? And how would you prefer to learn about and validate its sustainability practices?

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