AU Small Finance Bank Releases Sustainability Report 2024–25: Banking for People, Planet and Progress

Hyderabad, Jan 06: AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), India’s largest small finance bank and the first to receive in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for its transition to a Universal Bank, has released its fourth Sustainability Report. The report underscores AU SFB’s commitment to transparency and accountability, showcasing progress across four key pillars: Sustainable Finance, Operations, Communities, and Reporting.

The report has been prepared in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (SEBI BRSR) framework, the report has been independently assured by Intertek India. It captures the Bank’s performance for the financial year 2024–25.

As AU SFB continues to grow, it remains committed to fostering trust, resilience, and lasting sustainable impact through robust governance and ethical leadership. The report underscores the Bank’s ongoing focus on inclusive growth, climate action, and governance excellence, as AU SFB prepares to reach its next significant milestone – the transition to a Universal Bank.

What Makes This Year’s Report Special

The 2024–25 edition introduces several significant enhancements.

• First, it is structured around AU SFB’s 4S Framework – Sustainable Finance, Sustainable Operations, Sustainable Communities, and Sustainability Reporting, reflecting a holistic approach to ESG integration.
• Second, the Bank has undertaken a refreshed materiality assessment, incorporating perspectives from employees, leadership, board members, investors, and vendors, ensuring that disclosures remain relevant and stakeholder driven.
• Third, AU SFB has achieved a major leap in transparency and assurance, reporting on 90+ GRI indicators and with external assurance on 52 indicators, a milestone that underscores its commitment to credible and verifiable ESG performance.

Driving Sustainable Finance and Inclusion

AU SFB mobilized ₹1,178.52 crore through Planet First – AU Green Fixed Deposits, channelling funds entirely into climate-positive assets. Of this, ₹958.81 crore supported renewable energy projects, ₹90.51 crore financed electric vehicles, and ₹1.48 crore advanced green building initiatives.

As on 31st March 2025, the Bank continued to outperform regulatory norms on financial inclusion, with 32% of its 2,456 banking touchpoints located in unbanked rural centre’s far exceeding the mandated 25%. Priority Sector Lending (PSL) stood at 79%, and 63% of loans were below ₹25 lakh, reinforcing AU SFB’s commitment to underserved communities.

Embedding Responsibility in Operations

AU SFB’s operational sustainability initiatives include reporting of Scope 1 emissions of 317 tCO₂e, Scope 2 emissions of 28,076 tCO₂e, and Scope 3 emissions of 734 tCO₂e.

With a workforce of 50,000+ employees, AU SFB achieved an Employee Happiness Index of 86%, delivered 2.09 million training hours, and maintained an average of 32 training hours per employee per year, reflecting its focus on human capital and well-being.

Empowering Communities Beyond Banking

AU SFB invested ₹43 crore in CSR initiatives, benefiting over 2.72 lakh individuals through flagship programs such as AU Ignite (skill development for youth), AU Udyogini (women entrepreneurship), and AU Bano Champion (grassroots sports development). AU Ignite has trained 29,701 youth, achieving a 74% placement rate, while AU Udyogini has empowered 4,000+ women, including 2,245 individual entrepreneurs. AU Bano Champion nurtured 8,000+ young athletes, securing 480+ positions at State and National levels.

Governance, Assurance and Climate Risk Leadership

AU SFB’s ESG governance framework is anchored by a three-tier structure that ensures strategic oversight and operational execution led by a Board-level Sustainability Committee. The Bank has secured AA (Leader) ESG rating by MSCI with a Low-Risk score of 17.1 by Sustainalytics, reinforcing its position as a responsible financial institution. In a pioneering move, AU SFB became the first Indian bank to partner with IFC on Climate Risk Advisory, integrating physical and transition risks and financed emissions into credit and risk models, aligned with global best practices and RBI guidelines.

H R Khan, Chairman, AU Small Finance Bank, said, “For me, sustainability is a personal conviction and a principle embedded in AU SFB’s DNA by design. Development has only one path forward: it must be sustainable. As we release our fourth Sustainability Report and our first post-merger, we reaffirm our commitment to a future where financial empowerment thrives alongside environmental stewardship and social equity. As we prepare for our Universal Bank journey, we recognise that greater scale means greater responsibility, to our stakeholders, to society, and to the planet.”

Sanjay Agarwal, Founder, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank, said, “Our journey from a small finance bank to a future Universal Bank is built on a simple yet powerful belief: growth and sustainability must go hand in hand. As we scale new heights, our responsibility to people, planet, and progress only deepens. At AU Small Finance Bank, we are embedding sustainability into every decision- mobilizing capital for climate-positive projects, fostering financial inclusion, and driving transparency in governance. This is our commitment to create a future that is inclusive, resilient, and enduring.”