Committed To Long-Term Sustainability

The financial services industry has a very important role to play in facilitating the necessary transition towards a more environmentally sustainable world, and in bridging socio-economic divides through financial inclusion. The need of the hour is to build and empower institutions that can accelerate such positive changes at scale, sustained with good governance and an enabling policy ecosystem.

In this context, IDFC FIRST Bank is working on multiple initiatives to drive this change. Across metrics of financial performance, customer delight, business growth, portfolio quality and others, the Bank continues to see well balanced progress, as validated by its  results . Central to this has been our core ethos of being Digital, Ethical and to be a force for social-good. At IDFC FIRST Bank, we are inherently committed to long-term sustainability, and aligned to well-accepted norms of Environmental, Social and Governance.

Serving a market as dynamic as India, we are powered by immense opportunities to cater to a significant and growing base of customers, with relevant products offered with transparency. For instance, some of our product and service lines such as EV financing,  and MSME lending directly contribute to larger sustainability goals; our rural business helps drive the financial inclusion objective. Together, they help achieve positive environmental impact, foster financial inclusion and drive overall economic development.

Our offerings cater to a diverse customer base across different regions and socio-economic backgrounds. We place a non-negotiable emphasis on customer centricity, which is manifested through transparent communication and innovative offerings such as fee-free banking services and never expiring reward points on our credit card offering. Similarly, our “near and dear test” when launching new products reflects our commitment to treating our customers  as we would like to be treated ourselves.

On the social front, our efforts are further accentuated by our CSR program that drives measurable impact in our areas of intervention. For our employees apart from being an equal opportunity employer, we execute dedicated initiatives across learning and development, people engagement and holistic wellbeing. From an environmental perspective, we recycle our e-waste, eliminate paper in customer journeys, and opt for green-certified infrastructure.

Central to our approach is a strong governance mechanism, steered by a highly independent and engaged Board. From an ESG standpoint, our efforts are driven by dedicated Board and Management Committees and executed by a dedicated ESG team. We are integrating all our ESG initiatives under the FIRST ENSURE program and are actively encouraging employee participation in building a more sustainable Bank. We are a voluntary participant/supporter in multiple global initiatives such as UNGC and TCFD and we continue to proactively adopt multiple disclosure practices as per global standards to drive higher transparency. We are also in the process of developing our climate action roadmap.

Our journey towards sustainability is an ongoing one. ESG demands continuous attention and a relentless pursuit of improvement. At IDFC FIRST Bank, our commitment to ESG is not only about responsible banking but also about securing the long-term success of our institution. To this effect, our actions and decisions will continue to reflect our dedication to ESG. Together, we strive to harness the power of ESG to drive positive change  and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.

(The author is Head-ESG & Consumer Lending, IDFC FIRST Bank.)