ICICI Bank’s Contribution to UN SDGs

We are dedicated to conduct an environmentally responsible business. Our constant endeavour is to reduce the environmental impact of our business by minimising energy consumption, GHG emissions, waste generation, water consumption and paper consumption for the benefit of our stakeholders and the community.

During fiscal 2022, we moved progressively towards rationalising the use of natural resources, increasing energy efficiency and implementing green activities. We took various initiatives to improve environment sensitivity in the Bank’s operations. ICICI Bank created a digital integrated maintenance platform to effectively handle essential equipment breakdowns and preventative maintenance requirements at its branches and offices. During fiscal 2022, as many as 114 branches and offices of the Bank have been certified under the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) rating, taking the total number of green branches and offices to 126. The Bank has installed 260 kWp of solar power capacity at its premises to replace conventional power with renewable energy during fiscal 2022, enhancing total on-site solar power capacity to 3,174 kWp.

We actively leveraged technology to lower our environmental footprint while boosting operational efficiencies and customer convenience. We used paperless modes of communication for corporate salary processing. We connected digitally with our customers for the purpose of KYC, bank statements, loan processing, etc. These initiatives resulted in savings of 12 million A4 size sheets of paper during the year. Rainwater harvesting has been implemented at various locations, including two of our large offices.

ICICI Foundation has been undertaking skill development initiatives through Rural Livelihood Programme, ICICI Academy for Skills and ICICI Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs).

The Rural Livelihood Programme promotes initiatives for livelihood creation in rural areas while ICICI Academy for Skills provides industry relevant, job-oriented training on a pro bono basis in 11 technical and four non-technical skills across 21 states/union territories. ICICI RSETIs creates sustainable livelihood opportunities for unemployed youth in Udaipur and Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

The total number of people trained through these three initiatives was 765,166 at March 31, 2022. Among them, 418,874 were women.

During the second wave of Covid-19, ICICI Bank took several measures to provide care and relief to its employees and the communities around its operations. To supplement the country’s medical infrastructure, ICICI Foundation partnered with several hospitals to supply oxygen plants, ambulances, ventilators and hospital beds, along with other essential medical equipment. For ensuring the well-being of its employees, ICICI Bank conducted a vaccination drive for them and their family members, among other initiatives.

ICICI Foundation's Rural Livelihood Programme is focused on livelihood creation while building sustainable village ecosystems. For supporting rural livelihood creation, it undertakes interventions for the development of local value chains and entrepreneurship. ICICI Foundation’s projects relate to renewable energy, rejuvenation of water bodies, waste management, among others. Under this programme, 447,619 beneficiaries in 3,756 villages had been enabled with sustainable livelihood till March 31, 2022.

As a part of our responsible finance activities, we finance projects in environmentfriendly sectors. Such projects have a beneficial impact on the environment and the society. We have a dedicated internal team and risk assessment tools to help us evaluate and provide financial support for such projects in various sectors. A Social and Environmental Management Framework (SEMF), incorporating analysis of Environmental and Social Risk Assessment into the overall credit appraisal, is used as a part of the credit assessment wherever applicable.

The corporate governance philosophy of ICICI Bank includes standards that seek to achieve a high level of business ethics, effective oversight and value enhancement for all stakeholders. In fiscal 2022, the Bank approved an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy, which will be overseen by the Risk Committee of the Board, and is integrating ESG and climate risk aspects into its risk management framework.

Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are the key to promoting financial empowerment and entrepreneurship in rural areas. ICICI Bank's SHG programme is dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurship in India’s rural areas. Under this programme, banking products like zero-balance savings account and term loans are provided to women entrepreneurs. Such products are made available to them at their doorstep, thus helping them save time and money on visits to the branch. We also organise financial literacy camps and have dedicated service desks at select branches to guide SHGs on banking procedures. At March 31, 2022, we had provided loans to a total of over nine million women beneficiaries through 692,000 SHGs.

ICICI Foundation’s efforts in this segment are focused largely on rural areas. It has worked on projects like installing rainwater harvesting structures at rural schools, watershed and conservation projects, afforestation, climate smart agriculture and mitigation of air pollution, among others. It had planted over 1.2 million trees till March 31, 2022. ICICI Bank also sanctions grants for projects on renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, along with other water conservation initiatives, etc. For its own operations, the Bank has 3,174 kWp total solar power installed capacity.It increased its new onsite solar capacity at 17 premises during the year.

ICICI Bank is cognisant of the significance of creating enabling frameworks and procedures that motivate its team members to uphold the desired bank culture. ICICI Group’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics lists down the ideals, ideas and standards that should guide the Bank’s employees in their decisions and activities. As an equal opportunity employer, the Bank works to eliminate all forms of harassment and unprofessional conduct from the workplace. To foster an atmosphere of respect and dignity in every interaction, extensive regulations and procedures have been established. We also have in place clearly defined information security standards and procedures, a comprehensive policy on cybersecurity, and an information security policy to define employees’ roles and responsibilities.