India’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) legislation under the Companies Act, 2013 mandates certain companies to allocate a portion of their profits toward social and environmental causes. While this has catalyzed significant funding for development initiatives, the intersection between CSR spending and climate mitigation—particularly through carbon offsetting projects—remains underexplored.
As India pushes toward net-zero by 2070, the convergence of CSR and carbon markets could unlock new financing models for afforestation, clean energy, agroforestry, methane reduction, and community-based climate solutions. However, regulatory ambiguity, eligibility constraints, verification standards, and questions of additionality, ownership, and permanence hinder wider uptake.
This panel will bring together experts to explore the opportunities and challenges of using CSR funds for carbon offset projects, addressing key concerns around regulation, additionality, verification, and ownership, and to discuss what enabling frameworks are needed to make this convergence meaningful and effective.
Objectives of the Panel
To explore the legal and policy landscape linking CSR laws with carbon market opportunities. To assess how CSR-funded projects can be structured to generate high-quality carbon credits. To identify barriers faced by companies and project developers in aligning CSR and carbon finance. To discuss models for ensuring community benefit, environmental integrity, and transparency. To make recommendations for aligning CSR guidelines with India’s voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
Guiding Questions
What does the current CSR policy framework say about carbon offsetting or climate mitigation?
Can CSR-funded projects be designed to generate carbon credits while meeting CSR compliance?
How do concepts like additionality, double counting, and benefit sharing apply in CSR-funded carbon projects?
What safeguards are needed to ensure CSR-based carbon projects are ethical, inclusive, and verifiable?
What role can the government, regulators, and carbon standards play in clarifying this space?
About the session speakers
Mr Taarush Jain
Founder and CEO, Saarthak Collective
Panelist
Taarush Kishore Jain is the Founder and CEO of Saarthak Collective and also leads Gyann Globe, bringing over eight years of cross-sector experience in strategy, governance, and institution building. His work focuses on strengthening organisations by helping them define their purpose, design effective strategies, and build long-lasting institutional structures. Alongside his consulting and leadership work, he writes analytically on public policy and governance, contributing thought-pieces on issues such as tax regulation, digital governance, and the Aadhaar Bill. His broader interests and reflections are also captured in his writing platform, The Underage Pragmatist.
Mr Prabhat Kumar Jha
Team Lead, Climate Resilience & Sustainable Development, Reliance Foundation
Panelist
Prabhat Kumar Jha is currently leading Climate Resilience & Sustainable Development (CR4SD) initiatives at Reliance Foundation (as Team Lead). He brings to this role a background in coordinating large-scale development programmes—he previously served as the Team Coordinator for the National Resource Centre for Livelihoods (NRCL).
Mr Navin Vivek Horo
Country Project Lead, GIZ India
Panelist
-
Mr Mahesh Gupta
Company Secretary, M. C. Gupta & Co.
Panelist
Mr. Mahesh Gupta has an excellent academic record, ranking among the Top 10 in both the Rajasthan Higher Secondary Board and Rajasthan University. He completed his MBA (Finance) in 1981 and, while working in Corporate Finance at Calico Mills, Ahmedabad, completed ICWA and CS together in 1985, followed by LL.B. and LL.M. (Commercial). He has been practicing as a Company Secretary since 1986 and is a certified CSR Professional. Beginning his teaching journey in 1984 at the same CS coaching institute he once attended, he has trained thousands of students in CS, ICWA, and CA over the last 40 years. He is a popular faculty at leading institutes such as Nirma Institute of Management, IRMA, EDI, CEPT, MICA, NirmaLabs, IIMA–CIIE, and Amity Business School, and has also trained government officers and senior bureaucrats. He has served in key positions in ICSI, including Chairman of the Ahmedabad Chapter (1991), Regional Council Member (1992–94), and Treasurer of WIRC (1994). He also led the Gujarat Investors and Shareholders Association and chaired major committees of GCCI. Mr. Gupta is a promoter, founding team member, and Board Member of iCreate, a world-class incubation center dedicated to the nation in 2018 by the Prime Ministers of India and Israel. With 38 years of high-quality professional practice, he has been ranked first for three consecutive years in an All-India Cimplyfive survey for conducting the highest number of Secretarial Audits among Gujarat-based companies in India’s Top 500. He continues to mentor startups and technocrats at IIMA, NirmaLabs, EDII, and MICA and remains actively involved in several social organizations.
%202.jpg)
Mr Naveen Patidar
Chief Executive Officer, AKRSP‑India
Moderator
Naveen Patidar is the Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), a pioneer development agency in rural livelihoods. He has national and international-level exposure to development-related works, particularly in the field of rural livelihoods. He has professional experience of over 15 years in designing and managing large development projects in the areas of Sustainable Agriculture, Youth Empowerment, Livelihoods, Financial Inclusion, and Women Empowerment. He has expertise and experience in working with communities living in extreme poverty. During his tenure as program head of the organisation, he led the transformation of programs through promoting innovations, better designing programs, and the use of digital technologies. His current interests include climate change, work & enterprise, and civil society development. He is a computer engineering graduate, followed by post-graduation from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).