Out of total CSR only 8.4% spent on environment in FY-2023-24: Report

While the amount deployed in environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) has steadily increased in recent years, only 8.4 per cent of the total CSR was spent on it in the financial year 2023-24, according to a report.

It also stated that among India’s 50 most climate-vulnerable districts, 30 of them received only 1 per cent (Rs 106 crore) of total environmental CSR spending over the past three years.

The report, ‘A Decade of Green Spending: What `17,000 Crores of Environmental CSR Reveals About Corporate India’, was released by Sattva Consulting, a global impact consulting firm, on Monday.

It also revealed that sectors with some of the largest environmental footprints, including energy, mining, and oil, gas, coal and petroleum, show relatively low participation in environmental CSR.

“Sectors with high pollution intensity, including oil, gas, coal and petroleum, mining, and energy, allocate only 5-7 per cent of their CSR budgets to environmental initiatives... By contrast, consumer-facing sectors such as FMCG and automotive allocate over 10-15 per cent of CSR to environmental themes,” said the report.

The analysis highlighted that high-value environmental CSR projects (`50 lakh and above) in FY 2023-24, water management (15 per cent), renewable energy (12 per cent), and biodiversity (11 per cent) together account for 38 per cent of all high-value project funding.

However, air quality, despite its acute public health relevance, received just Rs 14 crore, around 5 per cent of the high-value project pool.

In a statement, Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, co-Founder and CEO of Sattva Consulting, said, “India’s climate ambitions will require every form of capital to work more strategically. As climate risks increasingly affect business operations, supply chains and communities.”