Multidimensional Sustainability Performance Measurement in the Banking Industry: A Data-Driven Grey Decision-Support Framework

Given the critical role that banks play in sustainable development through their financial intermediation and capital allocation functions, assessing their sustainability performance has become an increasingly important research issue. In response, this research introduces a data-driven grey decision-support framework for assessing multidimensional sustainability performance in the banking industry. Sustainability indicators are systematically identified through text-mining-based content analysis of banks' sustainability reports and annual activity reports. The empirical analysis covers nine banks continuously included in the BIST Sustainability Index over the 2020–2024 period. To reflect temporal variability in sustainability disclosures, the assessment is formulated under grey interval numbers. Within this decision-support framework, Grey LODECI is employed to identify criterion importance, while Grey SWI is utilized to rank bank performance in terms of sustainability. This manuscript also offers useful implications for bank managers, regulators, investors, and sustainability rating agencies by supporting more comprehensive sustainability benchmarking and more informed strategic and regulatory decision-making. © 2026 The Author(s). Business Strategy and the Environment published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.