The Ministry of Coal is introducing a new, dedicated corporate social responsibility, or CSR framework for Indian coal companies. This marks a significant step to formally link the sector’s social spending with national environmental goals, including the Green Credit Programme.
The proposal, recently emerging from a stakeholders’ consultation, mandates that coal PSUs and private players must quantify their environmental and social impact to qualify for ‘Green Credits’. This requirement effectively embeds emissions and sustainability directly into the core of their social responsibility initiatives. This moves beyond traditional CSR to make environmental stewardship a measurable business benefit.
The objective is to ensure that CSR activities not only comply with the Companies Act, 2013, but also actively contribute to the reduction of environmental impact and enhance stakeholder trust in mining-affected regions.
Focus on local needs and accountability:
The new framework will mandate a strong focus on community benefit, shifting the emphasis from mere expenditure to measured, local impact.
Prioritizing Local Communities: The ministry stressed the need to “prioritize local needs” while planning CSR initiatives, focusing on critical areas such as health, education, environment, and sanitation in mining belt villages.
Transparency and Best Practices: To ensure rigour and effectiveness, the framework will require companies to engage “credible agencies for need and impact assessment” to provide an in-depth analysis of their activities. Stakeholders present at the consultation emphasized that “Community benefit should be the ultimate objective” and that the final framework must include standard operating procedures (SOPs) for transparency, budget formulation, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of created assets.
Key framework objectives:
The consultation highlighted the growing presence of private players in the sector, necessitating a uniform and sector-specific policy to guide responsible and sustainable practices.
Additional Secretary Rupinder Brar from the Ministry of Coal, who addressed the participants, underscored the importance of this shift. She urged the companies to “converge their CSR, welfare, and sustainability efforts for the benefit of the community and also for business by quantifying these efforts to earn green credits.”
The insights gathered from Coal India Limited, NLC India Limited, Singareni Collieries Company Limited, and private sector representatives will now be incorporated to formulate the final, robust framework.
