As per the Climate Risk Index of 2026, India is the 9th most climate vulnerable nation in the world, according to the Climate Risk Index 2026. Under Viksit Bharat 2047 and India’s Net Zero 2070 commitment we need to work towards a climate-resilient, inclusive economy, a transition that will require an estimated $10 trillion in scalable climate solutions. Corporate India has a critical role to play in closing that gap. So how far along is the journey?
A decade of green spending: What ₹17,000 crores of environmental CSR reveals about corporate India
Read the full report by Sattva Consulting & India Data Insights · July 2026
A decade of environmental CSR, in numbers
Sattva Consulting and India Data Insights (IDI) came together to examine how environmental spending across India’s corporate sector measures up against the country’s real, on-ground environmental needs. Environmental CSR itself has followed an uneven path over the past decade, dipping sharply through the pandemic as companies understandably redirected funds towards health and relief efforts. Since then, environmental CSR has staged a steady recovery, driven by rising ESG expectations, tightening regulation, and growing market momentum around renewable energy and climate-resilient practices. As climate risk intensifies, environmental CSR is well placed to support local resilience on the ground, particularly where public systems face capacity constraints.
Growth is driven by a rise in project volume, not larger individual investments
Only 22% of all companies direct their CSR towards environment-focused initiatives. Participation increases with budget size and the current CSR spending is anchored by a relatively small group of large contributors accounting for nearly half of it. However, allocation intensity is more pronounced among smaller companies.
Despite the expansion in the overall volume of environmental projects, the aggregate spend on projects has grown slower. The pattern is dominated by small-ticket, multi-location interventions rather than large-scale or place-based solutions, with the average project sized at ₹45 lakh.
Industry participation doesn’t track environmental footprint
While environmental CSR participation is influenced by industry exposure, CSR spend does not yet consistently align with the intensity of environmental footprint. Sectors with large environmental footprints are not always the biggest environmental CSR spenders. Some consumer-facing industries, with comparatively lighter direct impact, allocate more.
Similarly, a closer look at how environmental CSR funding is distributed across Indian states reveals a disconnect between where the money flows and where climate vulnerability is highest, a gap that becomes especially stark at the district level. Environmental CSR funding is dispersed with a preference for multi-state implementation over targeted, localised interventions leaving some states receiving less than ₹25 per capita.
A sector in transition
Environmental priorities have also been embedded with non-environment CSR sectors reflecting a shift in how environmental outcomes are delivered with clearer social outcomes attribution and more immediate impact visibility. At the same time, over the past three years, environmental CSR spend has been directed towards less conventional areas, indicating efforts to engage with more systemic environmental challenges.
Together, these trends describe a sector in transition. Intent is visible and growing, but the alignment between capital and need still has considerable room to improve, in where funds are directed, how they are distributed, and which sectors step up.
A Decade of Green Spending, the full report from Sattva Consulting and India Data Insights, unpacks exactly where the ₹17,000 crore has gone, which companies and sectors are leading, and where the biggest opportunities for corporate India lie next.
A decade of green spending: What ₹17,000 crores of environmental CSR reveals about corporate India
Read the full report by Sattva Consulting & India Data Insights · July 2026
