Green Credits vs Carbon Credits vs CSR vs BRSR: Which Applies to Your Company?

7 October 2026 5 min read Grow Billion Trees team

CSR is a spending obligation under the Companies Act, BRSR is a SEBI reporting format, Green Credits are a MoEFCC record of restoration on degraded forest land, and carbon credits under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme are tradable certificates for tonnes of CO2. One tree plantation programme can touch all four, but each has its own rules, evidence and timeline.

Sustainability, CSR and finance teams in India now hear about four different frameworks that all seem to involve trees. They are often mixed up in conversations, and sometimes in reports. This guide puts them side by side so you can see which ones apply to your company and how a plantation programme fits each one.

The four frameworks at a glance

	CSR	BRSR	Green Credits	Carbon credits (CCTS)
What it is	A duty to spend on social and environmental causes	A sustainability disclosure in the annual report	A government record of environmental action, starting with forest restoration	Certificates for tonnes of CO2e reduced or removed
Law or rule	Section 135, Companies Act, 2013, and the CSR Rules	SEBI Listing Regulations and BRSR circulars	Green Credit Rules, 2023 (Environment Protection Act)	Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023 (Energy Conservation Act)
Run by	Ministry of Corporate Affairs	SEBI	MoEFCC, with ICFRE as Administrator	Bureau of Energy Efficiency, with Grid-India as registry
Who it applies to	Companies above the profit, turnover or net-worth thresholds	The top 1,000 listed companies by market value	Voluntary: any company, organisation or person	Obligated industrial sectors, plus voluntary offset projects
Where trees fit	Environmental sustainability, including agroforestry, is a Schedule VII activity	Disclosed as environmental and CSR initiatives; not as a cut in your own emissions	Restoration of degraded forest land, credits after five years	Only under approved methodologies, such as mangrove afforestation
Can it be sold?	Not applicable	Not applicable	No (only within a group of companies)	Yes, once issued

CSR: the spending obligation

A company must spend on CSR if, in the previous financial year, it had a net worth of ₹500 crore or more, turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or net profit of ₹5 crore or more. The amount is at least 2% of its average net profit over the three preceding years. Environmental sustainability, including agroforestry and the protection of flora and fauna, is listed in Schedule VII, so tree plantation is a recognised CSR activity.

What matters for CSR is documentation: board approval, implementation agreements, utilisation certificates and, for larger projects, an impact assessment. Read how CSR tree plantation works.

BRSR: the disclosure

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report is mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies. It is organised around nine principles; environmental data sits under Principle 6. BRSR does not require you to plant trees. It requires you to report your environmental footprint and what you are doing about it, accurately.

The key point for plantation: trees you fund are removals outside your operations. They should be reported as initiatives, not subtracted from your Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Our BRSR Principle 6 guide shows where they go.

Green Credits: the government's restoration record

Under the Green Credit Programme, a company funds restoration of a degraded forest parcel (at least 5 hectares) that the State Forest Department carries out. After five years, if canopy density reaches 40%, it receives one Green Credit per surviving tree. The credits cannot be sold to other companies, but can be used once towards compensatory afforestation, CSR or plantation conditions. Full details are in our Green Credit Programme guide.

Carbon credits: the tradable unit

India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) creates Carbon Credit Certificates, each worth one tonne of CO2 equivalent. Obligated industries receive emission-intensity targets; companies that beat them earn certificates, and those that miss them must buy. A separate offset mechanism lets non-obligated entities earn credits from approved project types. Mangrove afforestation and reforestation is one of the approved methodologies. Read can tree and mangrove projects earn credits under the CCTS.

How one plantation programme can serve several frameworks

Fund it from CSR if the activity and the implementing agency meet the CSR Rules.
Disclose it in BRSR as an environmental initiative, with area, species, survival and location data.
Use the Green Credit route if you want government forest-land restoration recognised by MoEFCC, and can wait five years.
Consider carbon credits only if the project fits an approved methodology and you can meet its monitoring and verification requirements.

The one thing you cannot do is count the same outcome twice: for example, sell carbon credits for trees and also claim those trees as an offset against your own emissions.

Where to start

If you are a CSR or sustainability lead, start with the obligation you already have (CSR spend or BRSR disclosure), then choose a plantation model that gives you the evidence those frameworks need. See our ESG and BRSR support or plan a programme with our team.

Sources: Green Credit Programme FAQs · Bureau of Energy Efficiency · SEBI · Ministry of Corporate Affairs: CSR. Last updated: October 2026. Rules change; check the latest notification before you rely on any detail.

Further reading: India's Carbon Market (CCTS): Can Tree and Mangrove Projects Earn Carbon Credits? · CSR Tree Plantation Under Schedule VII: A Compliance Checklist for 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Is tree plantation an eligible CSR activity?

Yes. Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 lists environmental sustainability, including agroforestry and protection of flora and fauna, as an eligible CSR activity.

Can trees we fund reduce our reported emissions in BRSR?

They should not be subtracted from your Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions. Report your emissions as they are, and disclose plantation separately as an environmental initiative or removal, with clear evidence.

What is the difference between Green Credits and carbon credits?

Green Credits are issued by MoEFCC for restoring degraded forest land and cannot be sold outside your group of companies. Carbon credits under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme represent tonnes of CO2e and can be traded once issued.

Can one project earn both Green Credits and carbon credits?

They are separate schemes with different land, methodology and verification rules. Check the current rules of both before planning to claim both for the same trees, and never count the same outcome twice.