Recognizing the growing impact of farm stubble burning as a significant cause of ecological degradation and falling farmers’ income over the long term, the CII Foundation launched a multi-stakeholder project in 2018 in Punjab to mitigate farm stubble burning. The project was conceptualized to make zero-crop residue burning a farmer movement and facilitate industry and community partnership in climate change mitigation efforts.

When the project was launched, farm stubble burning in India’s northwest, especially in the target areas of Punjab and Haryana, was considered an inevitable part of post-harvest practice due to constraints of time, cost, accessibility and lack of awareness about the damage due to burning. Today, the initiative has been instrumental in changing this narrative and bringing together government, industry, academia and the farmer community to create a zero stubble burning movement. Currently, it covers 1003 Villages and 2,65,617 Farmers in Punjab and Haryana.

Intervention Strategies
In the project villages, biomass management alternatives are given to the farmers, which can largely be clubbed into two categories, namely:

In-situ straw management:
This included mechanized in-situ management of straw – mulching, zero-till sowing and biochar conversion of crop residue for soil incorporation in the field. This is made possible through use of farm machines from Tool Banks where farmers are given access to appropriate machinery for management of crop residues.

Ex-situ straw management:
Ex-situ straw management includes methods of turning farm stubble into bio-gas and biogas plants have been set up that help convert 30-40% of surplus residue into energy or fertilizers. Additionally biomass palletisation plants have also been set up under the project to help convert organic waste into dense pellets for energy production.

Interventions also include awareness building sessions involving farmer cooperatives, gurudwaras, panchayats, schools and colleges on impacts of stubble burning and possible ecological solution. Technical training and hand-holding support to farmers in partnership with agricultural universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendra are also instrumental in helping bring a behavioural shift in farmers and motivating them to choose alternative methods of crop management.

The Results
Over the years, the initiative has reported major success, making it one of the most significant climate and community-led interventions of CII Foundation. The project is currently supported by corporate donors such as Apraava Energy, Cadence Design Systems, Fidelity International, Goodyear, HDFC Bank, JSW Foundation, PTC Foundation, PTC India Financial Services and SBI Card.

In 2024, 87% of farmland was saved from burning in the intervened 793 villages, covering 8,73,835 acres of total farmland and 1,47,736 farmers. The initiative also had strong positive environmental impact by saving 96.58 billion litres of water and avoiding 8699.2 tonnes of fine particulate matter and 18,46,222.3 tonnes of CO2.

Expanding the Initiative
With the vision to scale up to 2,500 villages by 2028, the initiative offers a practical roadmap to build robust climate resilience in agriculture. It also demonstrates how locally-led initiatives and mitigation strategies can intersect meaningfully with national and global agendas. Climate change is not a siloed problem and the project proves that with the right

Where plastics are concerned, there is a fine line to be traversed, because they are valuable and extremely useful materials, but easily accessible and low-priced enough to be poorly managed at the end-of-life stage. Municipal solid waste generation is predicted to almost double by 2050 from 2.1bn tonne in 2023, with an associated direct cost of waste management estimated at $252bn (UNEP Global Waste Management Outlook 2024).

Projections suggest that adopting a circular economy model, in which waste generation and economic growth are decoupled could help manage this waste. Strategies such as avoiding waste generation, sustainable business practices and full waste management underpin circularity and bring added economic and social value by creating livelihoods and employment opportunities.

A Persistent Problem
Circular approaches include bans, such as those on single-use plastic, which the Government of India has put in place, or targets for recycling and use of recycled content, such as those notified in the Extended Producer Responsibility Guidelines of the Plastic Waste Management Rules. Backed and complemented by the Swachh Bharat Mission, these are commendable first steps towards building a circular economy for plastics in India.

Apart from leading to better management of waste, they are intended to place better designed materials on market shelves. However, there is a long path to travel, with challenges and opportunities opening up for all stakeholders in the plastics value chain. Supporting the transition to a circular economy are infrastructure, finance, research into new and alternative materials and technologies. In India, informal workers, estimated at four million, form the backbone of collection and segregation and channel most of the municipal solid waste, with little training or infrastructural support—this is a gap but also a massive opportunity, with potential for building an entire sector of the economy focused on systematically managing waste.

Backed by another circular economy tenet, designing for end-of-life, a valuable material resource can find its way back into the economy via recycling and reuse systems and stay out of the environment and waste streams, incineration or landfill.

For materials to be channelled back into the product life cycle, large capacities and advanced mechanical and other recycling technologies distributed across the country will be needed. However, although India is a large recycler of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with about 85% of PET waste being collected and even higher amounts recycled, this is not true of other resins of plastic, even though they are widely used.

In a clear example of the impact of strong and consistent policy, recycling capacity in India is rising, with increasing investments in high-quality recycling equipment supporting closed-loop recycling. As of December 2024, it was reported that investments worth over ₹10,000 crore have been made in the recycling sector over the past three years.

India’s large consumption of flexible packaging is a challenge, with limited capacity currently available and a wide range of compositions in the market, which hampers high-quality recycling.

Sustainable Solutions
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is addressing some of these gaps through voluntary business actions and by working collaboratively with stakeholders across the plastics value chain on challenges faced by producers and brand owners in meeting EPR requirements. We are placing baseline and landscape assessments in the public domain which help document current practice/ capacity and identify gaps.

COP29 Recap
Developed countries agreed to a new climate finance target to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. This new goal is known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) and it aims to triple the previous $100 billion annual target. COP29 also made significant advancements in establishing standards for carbon markets and carbon credit transfers through Article 6. The operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF), which was established in COP27, was also a significant milestone for developing nations vulnerable to climate change impacts.

COP30 Expectations
COP29 was the first time ever that developed countries agreed to contribute such a large sum of money to the developing countries for financing climate transition. Similarly, climate finance will remain a key topic at COP30 and countries must formally start working towards the ambitious goal.

After almost 10 years in the pipeline, Article 6 was finally discussed and concretised in COP29, allowing private sectors to enter the sector and facilitate green transition. COP30 aims to keep carbon markets as a priority and agree on rules to ensure transparency and credibility in the global carbon market.

COP30 will play a major role in responding to the new national climate plans that countries will submit this year and charting the course for the next decade to meet commitments and targets under the Paris Agreement. The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by countries will focus on deeper emission cuts and increased resilience.

There should be a major focus on the Global South as people are still living in energy poverty. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 600 million live without electricity and 2.3 billion people across the globe do not have access to clean cooking. Numbers like this make it extremely difficult to hit the goals in our climate agreement.

As COP30 will take place in Brazil, it also warrants a critical discussion on balancing environmental harmony vs the needs of the growing nation and including traditional people into the decision-making processes.

Where does India stand?
According to the statement by Permanent Representative to the United Nations, India will push for enhanced climate finance at the COP30. The developing world requires trillions of dollars for transitioning to a just climate system, but the developing world has fallen short of their financial obligations. This failure has led to significant economic, social and environmental repercussions that are borne disproportionately by the developing countries. India would also urgently need unrestricted access to affordable and climate technologies for developing nations and innovation must not be held hostage by artificial barriers imposed by developed nations. Access to these resources is instrumental in the global fight against climate change.

India is also on track to fulfil its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. Two of its targets, namely ‘to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 level’ and ‘to achieve about 40 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030’ has already been achieved well ahead of time.

While the Governments will play a major role in pulling together the successes of COP, it is the private sector that has to commit trillions towards the energy transition. To achieve neutralization of emissions, investments in energy transition, valuing our natural resources and utilising more inclusive policy mechanisms are essential. Discussions and actions from COP30 will lead to more and better jobs, higher wages, stronger economies, energy security and addressing the cause of climate change- all of which will help create a greener and better tomorrow.

Global reporting frameworks
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) from the EU mandates companies to publicly declare their Environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts. The goal is to allow transparency that will help investors, analysts, consumers and other stakeholders better evaluate EU companies’ sustainability performance.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) formed at COP26, also issues its inaugural IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, designed to be the global baseline of sustainability related disclosures focused on the needs of investors and financial markets.

The GRI standards provide global standards for sustainability impacts by enabling any organization ‘to understand and report their impacts on the economy, environment and people in a comparable and credible way.’

Other than these, countries across the globe are also increasing emphasis on due diligence. Laws in South Korea, Brazil and Australia also require businesses to identify and manage impacts on human rights and environment.

Sustainability reporting in India
In India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandates businesses to disclose sustainability- related metrics in their Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR). This mandatory reporting has made ESG consider strategic priorities in business discussions. The BRSR has taken references from many global standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

In order to strengthen India’s ESG ecosystem, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has also initiated the IICA Certified ESG Professional - Impact Leader Programme. This initiative will help build ESG leaders and regulatory expertise, allowing for better business conduct and reporting.

Challenges to sustainability reporting
Better governance is required as there needs to be a clear definition with institutions about the processes and ways in which companies are monitoring, managing and evaluating their sustainability and climate related practices. As these disclosures might highlight some risks for businesses, the companies must also be adept in risk management and creating opportunities from these shortfalls. According to a report by PwC, insufficient ownership and accountability at the business level, inconsistent data entry, absence of SOPs for data collection and lack of clear communication are also major people and process challenges when it comes to reporting.

However, despite these challenges, sustainability reporting has seen a major push in the past few years. According to KPMG’s Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2024, many companies are conducting double materiality assessments and aligning voluntary reporting, instead of waiting for legal mandates. According to their research, 96% of the world’s largest 250 companies and 79% of the top 100 companies in each country report on sustainability. Furthermore, all the top 100 companies in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea and the US report on sustainability. Three quarters of G250 companies also report on climate-related risks, in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

With proper guidelines from the Government and companies taking ownership of these reporting, businesses can make ESG reporting a part of their short-term and long-term business objectives. A robust sustainability reporting not only helps businesses measure progress, but also drive more value while mobilising capital and support developmental needs of our

While rising air pollution is a pan-India challenge, Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) grapples with severe forms of it, especially in the last quarter of the year. The reasons are many: vehicular pollution, industrial pollution, construction dust, but the burning of crop residue in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana is seen as a key aggravator of air pollution during this period.

To address the complex and multifaceted challenge of rising air pollution, there is a pressing need for comprehensive strategies and solutions involving government, industry and civil society.

The Government has taken a multi-pronged approach to address this challenge. Policy action is supplemented with regulatory frameworks/on-ground initiatives such as imposing Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which includes restrictions on construction activities, implementation of the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme, and bans on diesel generator sets during severe pollution episodes, apart from bans on firecrackers during Diwali and exploring options such as cloud seeding for artificial rain.

Indian Industry has also been playing a key role in reducing air pollution levels, directly as well as indirectly. Industrial operations typically lead to significant emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants, but the adoption of sustainable and environment-friendly practices such as shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency through technology are helping industry reduce its carbon footprint and the environmental impact of its operations.

Industry is also supporting initiatives to combat air pollution. One such notable initiative is the CII Foundation’s crop residue management (CRM) project launched in 2018 in 19 villages in Punjab. Developed under the aegis of CII’s Cleaner Air – Better life. Initiative, the project aims to mitigate farm stubble burning and promote sustainable agriculture practices. The project was based on a field study which highlighted that farmers, especially small and marginal, burn farm stubble due to a lack of awareness, access to viable alternatives to stubble burning and the mounting time pressure to clear the field in a short window period so as to be able to sow the next crop. Crop residue burning not only worsens air pollution, but it also has a deep and lasting impact on the health of people and leads to soil degradation.

In view of these on-field learnings, the project was designed using a collaborative approach with Government, industry, agricultural universities, experts and the farmer community as key stakeholders. The project leveraged the expertise of each stakeholder to drive behavioural change and create a zero-stubble burning movement.

Encouraged by the results in 2018, the project was expanded to cover more geographies and farmers with a focus on supporting farmers for in-situ (on the field) and ex-situ (off the field) farm stubble management. In-situ straw management solutions support farmers technologically with upgraded machinery, training and technical support. Under ex-situ solutions, the focus is on transforming paddy straw into valuable resources such as bio-gas and bio-compost.

In 2024, the crop residue management project covered 793 villages; 1,47,736 farmers and 8,73,835 acres of farmland across Punjab and Haryana. Under the project, 450 Tool Banks which house the machinery have been set up across Punjab and Haryana to support farmers and 9 paddy straw-based biogas plants, 3 paddy straw-based bio compost plants and 3 bio-pelletization units have been set up till now.

Due to project interventions, 87% of the intervened farmland was saved from burning.

The challenges of climate change and air pollution require coordinated efforts from different stakeholders. Initiatives like the