ICRA ESG Ratings Ltd. on Saturday assigned its first environmental, social and governance rating to InCred Financial Services Ltd., a nonbanking finance company.
According to a press statement, InCred Financial Services Ltd., a company focused on personal, student, and business loans, etc., has been assigned a rating of ICRA ESG Impact 57, Moderate.
In specific categories, the company achieved a moderate score of 57 for environmental and 46 for governance, while it secured a good score of 71 for social activities.
Rating Summary
The environmental score of 57 Moderate reflects the early stage of its sustainability journey. It acknowledges the backing of a well-rounded ESG policy, but the entity lacks a focused approach backed by accurate data to reduce carbon footprint.
The statement said that the assigned social score of 71 mirrors InCred’s focus on ensuring employee well-being, complying with human rights standards, maintaining customer satisfaction and making positive contributions to the community.
All its permanent employees are covered under a group insurance policy, including benefits such as health, term life, and personal accident insurance, with provisions for adoption, maternity and paternity leaves.
Finally, InCred’s Governance score 46 favorably incorporates a dedicated regulatory technology system. The entity has been an early adopter of a dedicated reg-tech system that has been comprehensively implemented and strengthened its internal controls.
The score also gains from InCred’s board structure and performance parameters. These include good board attendance, vast experience of the members and healthy participation of women. Yet an absence of a dedicated ESG committee and a lack of assurance on sustainability parameters weighed on the score.
Green Goals
ICRA ESG, formerly Pragati Development Consulting Services Ltd., was registered as a Category-I ESG Rating Provider from the Securities and Exchange Board of India earlier this fiscal year.
The ratings help investors assess the non-financial risks and opportunities associated with entities and facilitate making better investment decisions, paving the way for a more sustainable and responsible investment landscape.
These ratings also help the rated entity to gain a better understanding and diagnostics of its ESG impact and accordingly plan and execute its future sustainability actions.
ICRA ESG offers Impact, Transition, and Combined ratings to entities as per the regulatory framework prescribed by SEBI on a rating scale ranging from 0 to 100.
