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Environmental Social Governance -
Annual Report 2022–23

ESG Governance

Safeguarding the Future

We are ‘dil se open’ to creating a positive difference in the lives of our stakeholders, driven by our genuine concern for their well-being and progress. Our purpose statement, 'Banking that leads to a more inclusive and equitable economy, thriving communities, and a healthier planet,' serves as our compass in all our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) endeavours. As trailblazers in India's banking sector, we took the pioneering step of establishing an ESG committee of the Board in fiscal 2022. Today, we are steadfastly expanding our efforts by embedding ESG principles throughout our organisation, aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and India's climate targets.

Leadership-driven ESG Governance

Axis Bank is the first Indian Bank to constitute an ESG Committee of the Board

  • ESG Steering Committee at the Management level to champion ESG across Bank
  • DEI Council providing oversight on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • ESG Working Group aligning ESG to lending and financing activities
  • ESG Commitments announced for Retail and Corporate businesses
  • Sustainable Financing Framework in place to guide future ESG-aligned issuances and lending activities

The Progress Against Our Goals

ESG-aligned commitments

Progress in fiscal 2023

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

ESG-aligned commitments

Incremental financing of ₹30,000 crores under Wholesale Banking to sectors with positive social and environmental outcomes, by fiscal 2026

Progress in fiscal 2023

Achieved incremental exposure of ₹20,400 crores cumulatively as of March 2023

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Continue the current pace of incremental exposure towards the final target


ESG-aligned commitments

Making 5% of its retail two-wheeler loan portfolio as electric by fiscal 2024

Progress in fiscal 2023

Achieved EV penetration of 2.5% in overall retail two-wheeler loan portfolio as of March 2023

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Achieve targeted penetration of 5% by March 2024


ESG-aligned commitments

Incremental disbursement of ₹10,000 crores by fiscal 2024 under Asha Home Loans for affordable housing, increasing share of women borrowers from 13.9% to 16.9%

Progress in fiscal 2023

Achieved cumulative disbursement of ₹7,970 crores as at March 2023
Share of women borrowers reached over 18% as of March 2023

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Achieve incremental disbursement of ₹10,000 crores by March 2024


ESG-aligned commitments

Scaling down exposure to carbon-intensive sectors

Progress in fiscal 2023

Glide path up till 2030 finalised and being tracked internally by the ESG Committee of the Board

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Continue on the internal glide path


ESG-aligned commitments

Reaching 30% female representation in workforce by fiscal 2027

Progress in fiscal 2023

Overall diversity at 26% as of March 2023

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Achieve 27% overall diversity


ESG-aligned commitments

Planting 2 million trees by fiscal 2027 across India towards contributing to creating a carbon sink

Progress in fiscal 2023

0.83 million saplings planted as of March 2023 across 5 states

Aspirations for fiscal 2024

Plant 1.5 million saplings cumulatively by March 2024


UN SDGs aligned

ESG Recognition

Steady Performance on Global ESG Benchmarks

Above 80th percentile among global banks on Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2022

6th Consecutive year on FTSE4Good Index in 2022

MSCI ESG Ratings at A in 2022

CDP Score at C in 2022