Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environment
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduction in CO2 emission by 207 Tonnes
• Installed solar panels on the rooftop of our new corporate office building to harness solar power and reduce electricity consumption
• Going paperless initiatives

Social Achievements

• Empowering women through skill development, education and health awareness
• Community welfare initiatives including COVID-19 relief efforts
• Employee training and development programs
• Certified as ‘Great Place to WorkTM’

Governance Achievements

• Ethical business practices
• Fair Code of Conduct and Compliance
• Data Protection
• ISO 27001:2013 (Information Security Certification)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic impact on operations, loan disbursements, and collection efficiencies
• Credit risk assessment challenges due to limited customer information and dispersed data sources
• Lack of financial literacy among customers
• Geographic concentration risk

Mitigation Strategies

• Implemented cashless disbursements and collections
• Strengthened credit assessment criteria
• Launched customer service application and website payment gateway
• Geographical diversification through subsidiaries
• Focused measures to remain resilient: made a cumulative on-book provision, maintained a sturdy balance sheet liquidity, bolstered capital position by successfully closing the Rights Issue

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: IIRC, GRI Standards

Certifications: ISO 27001:2013

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
• Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Loans for solar lamps, bicycles, consumer durables, water connections, and sanitation facilities

Awards & Recognition

• Certificate of Excellence in Clean Energy Finance
• Great Place to WorkTM
• India’s 30 Best Workplaces in BFSI

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Responsible Lending
• Financial Inclusion
• Clean Energy
• Community Development
• Corporate Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Disbursed more than 1 lakh clean energy loans
• Disbursed more than 37,031 Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) loans
• Going paperless
• Switched to glass bottles from plastic

Social Achievements

• Served 28 lakh customers
• Nearly all SCNL clients are women
• Distributed ration to flood-affected areas
• Conducted health camps for employees
• Conducted vaccination drive for employees and their families
• Conducted skilling and financial literacy workshops

Governance Achievements

• 8-member Board with 5 independent directors (1 woman)
• 100% Board meeting attendance
• ISO 27001:2013 certified for Information Security Management System
• Great Place to Work certified for the third consecutive year

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Global rise in commodity prices
• COVID-19 challenges
• Lack of credit history
• Low financial literacy
• Geographic concentration risk

Mitigation Strategies

• Prudent lending strategies
• Robust credit appraisal system
• Digital technologies for data sharing
• Awareness programs
• Geographic expansion

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Procurement from local businesses/suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, Integrated Reporting Framework

Certifications: ISO 27001:2013

Awards & Recognition

• Adam Smith Awards Asia 2021
• Best payments and Collections Solution award
• Certificate of excellence in Clean energy Finance
• Great Place to Work
• India’s 30 Best Workplaces in BFSI
• Top 100 India’s Best Companies to Work for 2022
• Best in Microfinance Industry

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Sustainable Finance
• Untapped Market
• Liquidity
• Client Experience
• Data Privacy and Cyber Security
• Human Rights
• Environmental Sustainability
• Social Impact
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced CO2 emissions (Scope 1 & 2): 3261.98 metric tonnes of Co2 equivalent from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Reduction of 1,53,414 tonnes of Co2 emission & 10,45,255 households provided with green energy till date through clean energy initiatives.
• Went paperless in almost 100% of branches.
• Installed solar panels on the rooftop of the new corporate office building.

Social Achievements

• 99% of clients are women entrepreneurs.
• 76% of portfolio exposure comes from rural areas.
• 72% of portfolio supports minority, OBC and SC & ST communities.
• Implemented a Diversity & Inclusion Policy and a Worker’s Accommodation Policy.
• Established a grievance redressal mechanism called “Atoot Bandhan” for employees.
• Implemented a grievance redressal mechanism “Sparsh” for customers.
• Achieved 'Gold' level in client protection certification by Microfinanza Ratings.

Governance Achievements

• Compliance with ISO 27001:2022 Information security management system.
• Established Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy.
• Implemented policies to handle conflicts of interest involving Board members.
• Implemented a revised policy on Sexual Harassment (compliant with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013).

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Liquidity crunch due to skewed asset-liability profile.
• Untapped market presents both opportunity and risk.
• Data privacy and cyber security vulnerabilities.
• Customer experience management in a large customer base.
• Potential for reputational damage from customer experience issues.

Mitigation Strategies

• Diversified funding profile with 76 lenders.
• Prudent asset-liquidity management.
• Robust credit scoring models using alternative data sources.
• Advanced technologies for predictive analytics and fraud detection.
• Strong governance and compliance practices.
• Regular audits.
• Staff training.
• Client education on responsible borrowing.
• Digital innovation through a “PhyGital” model.
• Enhanced IT infrastructure and Information Security team.
• Well-defined framework and policy on cyber security and data privacy.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Majority of branch procurement from local businesses/suppliers.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: ISO 27001:2022

Third-party Assurance: Not Applicable

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Solar power driven home lighting systems

Awards & Recognition

• Gold level client protection certification by Microfinanza Ratings

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Not disclosed

Environmental Achievements

• Not disclosed

Social Achievements

• Recognized as The “Dominant Microfinance of the Year Award” at the 17th NBFC & Fintech Summit Awards 2024
• Recognized among the Top 100 Companies to work for India 2024 by GPTW India

Governance Achievements

• Welcomed Mr. Joydeep Datta Gupta and Miss Jyoti Davar to the Board as Independent Directors

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Extreme heat waves across regions
• Disruptions due to general elections
• Seasonal slowdown due to harvesting season
• Temporary increase in delinquency due to heat wave, elections, and operational constraints
• Challenges in Odisha and Rajasthan

Mitigation Strategies

• Instituted a dedicated collection team for different DPD buckets
• Appointed a credit manager for each branch responsible for 100% field verification of all loans
• Maintained average FOIR per customer at Rs. 6,400
• Disbursed only one loan per client
• Did not onboard new-to-credit clients in 15% of branches (since February 2024)
• Calibrated loan officer span to enhance center meeting effectiveness
• Implemented risk-based pricing strategy

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• The “Dominant Microfinance of the Year Award”, Top 100 Companies to work for India 2024

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced emission of 27,781 tons CO2e through Clean Energy Program

Social Achievements

• Disbursed ~1,20,000 bicycles and ~4,60,000 solar products loan to women in India
• Touched over 3,00,000 lives in collaboration with DocOnline by providing them with healthcare
• Won Social Impact Awards for “Best Education Support Initiative of the Year 2022-23”

Governance Achievements

• Strong grievance redressal mechanism; over 99% of customer complaints resolved within TAT
• Strong compliance with transparent disclosures
• Board comprises of 7 members; 5 Independent directors of which 1 is a woman director

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• High GNPA in Assam (initially 5.8% of on-book AUM)
• Navigating industry downturns, political and economic changes in India, and global market fluctuations

Mitigation Strategies

• Improved asset quality through robust underwriting and strengthened collection process
• Optimizing existing infrastructure to achieve operational efficiencies
• Started disbursing to good clients in Assam; PAR 1 and PAR 90 from disbursement made in FY23 is 0.05% and 0.01% respectively
• Relief to Category 1 and 2 borrowers in Assam
• Ground work ongoing for Category 3 borrowers in Assam

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Solar lamps
• Bicycles
• Water and sanitation facilities

Awards & Recognition

• Social Impact Awards for “Best Education Support Initiative of the Year 2022-23”,
• ET Excellence Award for Best Operational Excellence,
• Top 25 India’s Best Workplaces across the BFSI Industry by GPTW, India,
• SCNL Annual Report awarded “Gold Industry Spot and ranked 35th across the world” at the Vision Awards by LACP, USA
• Company with Great Managers 2022 by People Business
• Best Education Support Initiative 2023 at the Social Impact Awards 2023
• Best Digital Transformation Initiative Award by Quantic, India
• Emerging Name in Business Transformation at the Elets Excellence Award