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Article 6 of the Paris Agreement: What It Means for India's Carbon Market

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is the section that governs international cooperation on climate action — specifically the rules that allow countries to trade carbon credits internationally to help meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). For India, which has both significant emissions reduction ambitions and a large potential to generate low-cost carbon credits, Article 6 rules are directly relevant to how its carbon market develops and how Indian companies ac

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

The GHG Protocol Explained: Why It's the Global Standard for Carbon Measurement

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is the most widely used international accounting standard for greenhouse gas emissions. Developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), it provides the methodology that underpins BRSR reporting, CCTS compliance, and virtually every major corporate climate framework — from CDP to TCFD to SBTi. Understanding the GHG Protocol is not optional for any Indian company serious about

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

Real Estate and Construction: The ESG Metrics That Matter Most in India

India's real estate and construction sector is among the most scrutinised for ESG performance, and for good reason. Buildings account for approximately 37% of global carbon emissions when construction and operational energy are combined. In India, where rapid urbanisation is adding hundreds of millions of square metres of new built environment each year, the sector's ESG profile is under increasing scrutiny from institutional investors, green finance providers, and internatio

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): The Complete Guide for Indian Exporters

The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is the most significant trade-related carbon policy affecting Indian exporters. It places a carbon price on imports entering the EU from countries without equivalent carbon pricing — effectively levelling the playing field between EU manufacturers paying the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) price and foreign competitors who face no domestic carbon cost. For Indian exporters in the affected sectors, CBAM creates a new cost, a

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

How to Calculate Your Company's Carbon Footprint: A Step-by-Step Guide

Calculating your company's carbon footprint is the foundational step in any serious ESG or climate strategy. Without accurate measurement, you cannot set credible reduction targets, assess your CCTS compliance position, respond to BRSR disclosure requirements, or make substantiated carbon neutral claims. The good news is that the methodology is well established and, with the right process, accessible to companies of all sizes. Step 1: Define Your Organisational Boundary Befor

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

India's PAT Scheme Explained: Energy Efficiency Certificates and the Link to Carbon Credits

India's Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme is one of the world's largest energy efficiency programmes. Launched by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, PAT sets specific energy consumption reduction targets for energy-intensive industries and allows those that outperform their targets to earn tradable certificates. Understanding PAT is essential context for any industrial company navigating India's evolving carbo

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

SBTi vs Net Zero: What's the Difference and Which Should Your Company Pursue?

Two acronyms appear repeatedly in the corporate sustainability conversation: SBTi and Net Zero. They are related but distinct concepts, and the difference matters enormously when your company is deciding what kind of climate commitment to make. A Science Based Target (SBT) is a near-term emission reduction goal aligned with climate science. A Net Zero commitment is a long-term endpoint. Understanding how they fit together is essential for any Indian company building a credibl

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

What Is Greenwashing and How to Avoid It in Your ESG Communications

Greenwashing is the practice of making environmental claims that are misleading, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated. As ESG pressure on Indian companies intensifies from investors, regulators, and international buyers, the temptation to overclaim on sustainability credentials has grown. So has the scrutiny. In 2026, greenwashing is not just a reputational risk — it is an emerging legal and regulatory risk in key markets including the EU, UK, and increasingly India itself. The Mo

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

ESG Ratings in India: How MSCI, Sustainalytics, and CRISIL Score Your Company

ESG ratings have moved from a niche analytical tool used by specialist investors to a mainstream factor in investment decisions, procurement processes, and credit assessments. For Indian companies — whether listed multinationals or mid-sized exporters — your ESG rating can now affect the cost of your capital, your eligibility for supply chain contracts, and your access to international markets. Understanding how rating agencies assess your company is the first step to improvi

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

Gold Standard vs Verra VCS: Which Carbon Credit Standard Should You Trust?

Not all carbon credits are equal. The quality of a carbon credit — how verifiable, additional, and permanent its emission reductions actually are — depends heavily on which certification standard was used to create it. For companies buying carbon credits to support ESG claims, supply chain commitments, or voluntary net zero targets, understanding the difference between the two dominant voluntary standards is essential: Gold Standard and Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS).

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

What Is Carbon Accounting? A Beginner's Guide for Indian Businesses

Carbon accounting is the process of measuring, tracking, and reporting the greenhouse gas emissions produced by an organisation, product, or activity. It sounds technical, but the core logic is straightforward: you cannot manage what you do not measure. For Indian businesses navigating BRSR reporting, CCTS compliance, and supply chain sustainability requirements from global buyers, carbon accounting is now a foundational capability. The Three Scopes of Carbon Emissions The GH

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

India's BRSR Core: The 9 KPIs Every Listed Company Must Now Report

SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework introduced a new layer of accountability in 2023: the BRSR Core. Unlike the broader BRSR report, the BRSR Core focuses on nine specific Key Performance Indicators that must be independently verified — not just self-reported. For India's top listed companies, getting these nine metrics right is now a regulatory requirement, not an optional exercise. What Is the BRSR Core? The BRSR Core is a subset of

C² Team

Mar 192 min read

India's CCTS 2026: What Every Business Must Do Before the Carbon Compliance Deadline

India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) is no longer a future concept. With binding emission intensity targets now officially notified for cement, aluminium, chlor-alkali, and paper sectors — and the 2025–26 compliance period already underway — the question is not whether your business will be affected. The question is whether you are ready. What Is the CCTS and Why Does It Matter Now? The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme is India's domestic carbon market, established under t

C² Team

Mar 194 min read

Offset vs Inset Strategies: When to Use Which

Understanding the Value Chain Distinction That Is Reshaping Corporate Climate Credibility Carbon offsetting has been a cornerstone of corporate climate strategy for the better part of two decades. The logic is intuitive, the mechanics are well-established, and the market infrastructure that supports it, from verified carbon standards to broker platforms to corporate procurement frameworks, has developed into a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies with emissions they canno

C² Team

Mar 1710 min read

Physical Climate Risk vs Transition Risk: A Complete Industry Guide

How TCFD Defines the Two Faces of Climate Risk and What They Mean for Your Business Climate risk is one of the most used and least precisely understood terms in corporate sustainability. It appears in board presentations, investor questionnaires, regulatory filings, and annual reports with a frequency that has grown dramatically as frameworks like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures have moved from voluntary best practice to regulatory expectation across m

C² Team

Mar 1412 min read

Green, Blue and Grey Hydrogen: A Complete Colour-Coded Guide

Hydrogen is one of the most discussed molecules in the global decarbonisation conversation. It appears in government energy strategies, industrial roadmaps, infrastructure investment plans, and corporate net zero commitments with a frequency that has grown dramatically over the past five years. Alongside that growth in attention has come a parallel growth in ambiguity, because hydrogen, unlike electricity or natural gas, does not arrive with an automatically visible carbon fo

C² Team

Mar 711 min read

Financed Emissions and Green Finance in Manufacturing and Heavy Industry

Why the Capital You Raise and the Loans You Hold Are Now Part of Your Carbon Footprint The decarbonisation conversation in manufacturing and heavy industry has historically centred on what happens inside the plant. Fuel switching. Process electrification. Energy efficiency investments. Carbon capture at the stack. These are real, technically demanding, and capital-intensive challenges, and they deserve the serious engineering attention they receive.

C² Team

Mar 211 min read

Textile Industry: Water, Emissions & ESG Priorities

India's textile industry is one of its proudest economic achievements. It contributes nearly 11% of total manufacturing output, employs more people than almost any other sector, and has built a global reputation across cotton, silk, technical textiles, and finished garments. But ESG scrutiny doesn't pause for legacy. The European Union's CSRD, the UK Modern Slavery Act, and buyer-driven sustainability mandates are arriving at the gates of Indian textile mills with one unambig

C² Team

Mar 15 min read

FMCG Supply Chain: Where 80% of Your Emissions Hide

Why Packaging, Distribution, and Retail Are the Real Climate Frontier for Consumer Goods Companies Walk through the sustainability report of almost any major FMCG company and you will find detailed disclosures about factory energy consumption, on-site renewable energy installations, and manufacturing process improvements. These are presented as evidence of a serious commitment to reducing carbon emissions, and in isolation they are not wrong. Operational efficiency matters. C

C² Team

Feb 288 min read

Scope 3 Emissions: A Complete Guide to All 15 Categories

Why the Majority of Your Carbon Footprint Is Hiding in Your Value Chain Most companies have a reasonable handle on their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. They know what fuels they burn directly, and they can account for the electricity they purchase. These numbers sit neatly within the boundaries of their own operations and are relatively straightforward to measure and report. But for the vast majority of businesses, Scope 1 and Scope 2 together represent less than 30% of their

C² Team

Feb 277 min read

Bye Buy Carbon