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Environmental, Social and Governance

Integrating ESG into our core business to transform Brazil’s healthcare ecosystem.

ESG Strategy

Promoting Healthcare and Long-term Value

Afya adopts an integrated management of its ESG performance, guided by the following understandings: E - There is no Health Without a Healthy Planet: Afya invests in water and energy efficiency, renewable energy, responsible waste management, and emissions reduction, contributing to more sustainable operations and helping build a healthier future for generations to come. S - Transforming Education into Social Impact: High-quality medical education contributes to improved public health outcomes and strengthens the communities where we operate. G - Integrity and Transparency Guide our Decisions: Afya’s strategy is supported by a robust corporate governance built on ethics, transparency, risk management, and compliance.

Overview

Climate Change and Health: An Integrated Agenda

At Afya, we recognize that climate change is one of the greatest challenges to public health and well-being, exacerbating inequalities and increasing health-related risks worldwide. For this reason, we address this issue through the intersection of environmental and social dimensions, acknowledging both the physical impacts of climate change and its effects on people's health, well-being, and quality of life.

Protecting the Climate means Promoting Health

SDG 3: Our Reason for Being

Connecting climate protection with better health outcomes and positive social impact.

Climate-Ready Education

Preparing healthcare professionals to address climate-related challenges in medical practice.

Building Resilience

Strengthening communities and healthcare systems to face current and future climate challenges.

Environmental Stewardship

Reducing emissions, optimizing resource use, and promoting responsible waste management.

How we generate value

Integrated thinking provides a holistic and cross-functional approach to managing the multiple capitals that influence an organization’s ability to create—or erode—value over the short, medium, and long term. Big Numbers as of December 31, 2025

Intellectual capital

  • 4,745 international scientific publications
  • 70+ courses in the continuing education portfolio
  • 36 Projects recognized at the STHEM Brazil Academic Innovation Consortium Forum

Productive capital

  • 38 Undergraduate campuses
  • 25 Graduate campuses
  • 3,755 medical seats authorized by the MEC
  • 12 healthtechs

Human capital

  • 9,000+ employees throughout Brazil
  • 65 employees were awarded scholarships for undergraduate, language and graduate/MBA courses
  • 60% of the unit directors are drawn from the local communities
  • 52% of the teaching staff and 24% of the employees hold Masters and/or Doctorate qualifications

Natural capital

  • 17 units have solar power generation facilities
  • 22% of the total sum of the electricity required by our operations was supplied by solar energy
  • 100% of the electricity consumed by the group's operations is sourced from clean and renewable origins

Social and relationship capital

  • 25,000+ medical students enrolled
  • 86,000+ undergraduate students
  • 220,000+ active users of medical practice solutions
  • 3 million+ free healthcare consultations since 2019
  • 100+ contracts with 47 large pharmaceutical companies

Financial Capital

  • R$ 1,547.6 million in cash flow from operating activities
  • R$ 3,697.3 million in Revenue
  • R$ 1,680.2 million in Adjusted EBITDA
  • R$ 768.4 million in Net Income
Reports

ESG Reports

Since 2019, Afya has published Sustainability Reports aligned with the GRI and SASB frameworks, with all disclosures independently assured since 2023. Following global best practices in sustainability reporting, in 2026 we published our first Integrated Report fully aligned with the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework, now part of the IFRS Foundation. Access our sustainability reports and disclosures for detailed insights into Afya’s ESG performance, targets, and progress.

Commitments

Public Commitments Agreed with the United Nations

Afya contributes positively to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, since 2024, has formalized its commitment to promoting positive impact through two public commitments to be achieved by 2030.

Target

5 million free healthcare consultations by 2030

Progress

810,779 Consultations in 2024

897,793 Consultations in 2025

30% Cumulative Free Consultations (2024–2030)

1.7 million

consultations delivered to date

Target

50% women in leadership (manager level and above) by 2030

Progress

37.8% (2021)

40.6% (2022)

45.1% (2023)

48% (2024)

44.8% (2025)

Afya is also part of the “Elas Lideram 2030” initiative, promoting gender parity in leadership.

ESG Ratings & Indices

Recognitions & Afiliations

Sustainability-linked loan

Linking financing conditions to measurable healthcare and education outcomes

Afya is the first case of “sustainability-linked loan” related to social impact indicators with a focus on education and health by the IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group that works to strengthen the private sector in developing countries.

Over the course of six years, the company is committed to providing approximately 3.4 million free medical consultations by 2029 for patients in the communities where its medical schools are located, with 73% of these consultations taking place in cities of high and medium social vulnerability. In addition, the company will seek to achieve ratings of 4 or 5 from the Ministry of Education (MEC) for its medical courses.

KPI 1: 3.4 mn free medical consultations by 2029

In 2025 we achieved 667 thousand free medical consultations, an increase of 231 thousand in comparison to 2024.

KPI 2: Medical courses rated 4 or 5 by the MEC

In 2024 and 2025 we achieved 100% of our medical courses rated 4 or 5.

Note: 73% of these consultations taking place in cities of high and medium social vulnerability

“With IFC’s investment, we will be able to meet our expansion objectives, including increasing the number of new Medicine seats by 200 this year. We are also going beyond: in addition to strengthening our capacity to train qualified doctors in the country, we plan to improve primary care health indicators and communities where we operate, confirming our commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 3”
Virgilio Gibbon Afya’s CEO
“Supporting a relevant educational player in Brazil, such as Afya, will help us contribute to the improvement of tertiary medical education in underserved areas. Afya’s goal of developing on-site learning solutions with a strong emphasis on technology is aligned with IFC’s objectives to foster quality education and strengthen healthcare services in the country. We hope that this innovative sustainability-linked loan will encourage other players to pursue social targets in the Brazilian education market”
Manuel Reyes-Retana IFC Regional Director for South America

Verification Report - Apr/2026 (only in Portuguese)

Verification Report - Apr/2025 (only in Portuguese)

Second-Party Opinion (SPO) (only in portuguese)

Afya Secures Loan Of Up To R$500 Million From IFC To Support The Company’s Expansion

Eco-efficiency and Environmental Management

Afya's environmental strategy is underpinned by a management framework that is integrated into the Company's corporate strategy and connects multiple areas of the organization and our units, driving regulatory compliance, environmental preservation, and risk management. This framework supports data-driven monitoring of our long-term targets across waste, water, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions, and identifies eco-efficiency opportunities that reduce resource consumption while generating operational and financial benefits.

100%

renewable electricity

18

undergraduate campuses with photovoltaic plants supplying 19 sites

23%

reduction in electricity consumption intensity, compared to the 2023 baseline year for the reduction target

ISO 14001

certification at Afya Itabuna

Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy​

Afya continuously advances its climate change management approach to strengthen business resilience in the face of the risks and opportunities associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy. With targets established through 2035, including the reduction of Scope 1 emissions intensity, we adopt practices aligned with leading international frameworks, obtain independent third-party assurance of our greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, and maintain transparency through public disclosures.​

Enhancing operational efficiency and technological modernization

Ongoing assessment of physical and transition-related climate risks.​

Environmental targets by 2035

-40%

electricity consumption intensity

-30%

water withdrawal intensity

–30%

scope 1 emissions intensity

-25%

waste sent to landfill

2025 Environmental Highlights

16.7% reduction in Scope 1 emissions intensity, compared to the 2023 baseline year for the reduction target.​

Zero Scope 2 emissions since 2023​

Expansion of reported Scope 3 emissions categories​

Air Conditioning Replacement Plan, targeting the replacement of more than 7,000 units by 2040​

Afya has published its greenhouse gas inventory annually since 2021 and received the Gold Seal certification under the Brazilian GHG Protocol.

Responsible and Transparent Governance

As a Nasdaq-listed company and part of the Bertelsmann Group, Afya adopts corporate governance practices aligned with leading international standards. Oversight of ESG-related matters is conducted by the Board of Directors, supported by the People & ESG Committee, the Audit, Risk & Ethics Committee, and the executive leadership responsible for managing sustainability-related impacts, risks, and opportunities.

44%

of Board of Directors members are independent

100%

of Audit, Risk & Ethics Committee members are independent

+8,700

employees trained on Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD)

* All facts from 2025

Compensation and Incentives

Instituto Afya

Every life matters. Every impact counts.

Instituto Afya is a non-profit science and technology institution dedicated to improving public health in Brazil.

About Instituto Afya

The Afya Institute is a non-profit Science, Technology and Innovation Institution (STI) dedicated to advancing quality of life in Brazil through research, innovation, stakeholder engagement, and cross-sector collaboration. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are the core cause championed by the entity. As one of the leading public health challenges worldwide and a major cause of premature mortality in Brazil, NCDs include conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases. The Institute works alongside a broad ecosystem of partners to promote prevention, awareness, and better health outcomes for affected populations.

 

Site Instituto Afya

Linkedin Instituto Afya

Our mission and purpose

Mission

Promote solutions for chronic non-communicable diseases through research, collaboration, and engagement across society.

Purpose

Transform healthcare through continuous and long-term care, creating impact on both individual lives and society as a whole.

Global context

43 Million

deaths in 2021

18 million

premature deaths (ages 30–69)

82%

of premature deaths in low- and middle-income countries

Brazil context

50%

of the population has at least one chronic condition

54%

of deaths are caused by chronic diseases

41%

of these deaths occur between ages 30–69

Our focus: Non-Communicable chronic conditions

Chronic non-communicable diseases include:

  • diabetes
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • cancer
  • chronic respiratory diseases

These conditions are long-term and influenced by lifestyle, environment, and social determinants.

Our areas of action