Where it All Comes Together – Sustainability and Impact

Five years ago, when we began building Vivriti’s Sustainability & Impact function, our ambition was never to create just another vertical. We wanted to demonstrate that sustainability could be a strategic enabler of business, strengthening decision-making, unlocking capital, building resilience and delivering better outcomes for businesses, investors and communities. Our journey began by looking inward, strengthening our own foundations through governance, policies, impact frameworks and accountability mechanisms. We then moved from frameworks to practice, developing the Vivriti Sustainability Assessment Model (VSAM) to bring ESG into investment decision-making and reflect the realities of India’s mid-market businesses. As our approach matured, it helped build confidence among our capital partners and enabled us to translate sustainability into opportunities from launching VIRAF, the first fund in Asia to qualify under the 2X Challenge, to raising one of the first climate bonds by a private financial institution in India, certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative and supported by the Asian Development Bank. We also learnt that deploying capital is only the beginning. Lasting impact requires stewardship - working alongside our borrowers and portfolio companies to strengthen governance, improve ESG performance, enhance disclosures and build organisational capability. Over the last three years, our own S&P Global ESG Score has improved from 44 to 66, reflecting progress in governance, ESG integration and disclosure. Being recognised as the only unlisted company featured in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook further affirmed the standards we have set for ourselves. These five years led us to a fundamental question: if we could build these capabilities ourselves, could we help others do the same? That question gave rise to Sustainability & Impact Advisory - a platform built by practitioners, grounded in what we have implemented, tested and refined across our own institution and financing and investment portfolio. For us, this is the natural next chapter of the journey: bringing together capital and impact, strategy and execution, investor expectations and business realities to help businesses strengthen their sustainability journey, build credibility and unlock access to capital. This is where we stand today - with five years of experience behind us, and a clear ambition for what comes NEXT.