Priming the CSR Tap for Biodiversity

By Binaifer Jehani, Monika Pattnaik

Globally, biological diversity has burgeoned into a crisis that demands urgent attention and action. It is no longer a distant environmental concern but an economic and social emergency.

An evaluation of India’s position in biodiversity conservation this International Day for Biodiversity shows the country stands at a critical juncture, too.

Yet, amid government initiatives and citizen advocacy, one powerful stakeholder remains significantly underutilised: the corporate sector.

Scale of the problem

India hosts 7-8% of the world’s species despite occupying just 2.4% of global land area.

The country has numerous ecological treasures of global significance—the Western Ghats, Himalayas and coastal ecosystems, among others.

These regions, however, face unprecedented pressure from deforestation, urbanisation, industrial expansion, population growth and climate change. Alarmingly, the rate of extinction of species is accelerating and ecosystem services that support millions of livelihoods—from fishery and agriculture to water security are collapsing.

The implications—with a burgeoning population of ~1.4 billion and escalated development pressures, biodiversity conservation is intrinsically linked to food security, livelihood resilience, climate stability and equitable growth—call for immediate action.

The UN Global Compact Network India’s report of 2025 on corporate biodiversity initiatives reveals, India has experienced a 73% biodiversity decline over five decades, with 85% of freshwater species lost and 90% of biodiversity hotspot areas vanishing.

India’s updated Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2030

India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2030 translates the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into 23 nationally tailored targets.

The plan commits to protecting 30% of India’s terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems and restoring 30% of degraded lands by 2030, while addressing key biodiversity threats through cross-sectoral coordination.

Anchored in three strategic pillars—threat reduction, sustainable livelihoods and governance, it centres indigenous communities as partners and mainstreams biodiversity across agriculture, fisheries, forestry and infrastructure sectors.

The Missed Opportunity

India has one of the world’s most progressive corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks.

Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, mandates that listed companies spend at least 2% of their average net profits on social responsibility initiatives.

Over the decade since that mandate was instituted, eligible listed companies spent ~Rs 1.22 lakh crore annually on various CSR heads.

CSR spend on biodiversity conservation, however, remains fragmented, underfunded compared with other sectors such as education and health, and often lacks strategic coherence.

Many companies treat biodiversity initiatives as peripheral activities rather than core business imperatives. This represents a massive, missed opportunity.

Why CSR is Critical for Biodiversity Conservation

1. Scale and speed:Governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), while essential, face resource constraints and bureaucratic delays. Companies can mobilise capital, technology and expertise at scale and speed that few other stakeholders can match.
2. Geographical coverage and local presence:Unlike centralised programmes, CSR initiatives can be distributed across India’s biodiversity hotspots. Companies with operations in ecologically sensitive regions—mining, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure—have a unique responsibility and opportunity to support conservation locally, directly addressing the tension between development and preservation.
3. Innovation and private sector efficiency:Companies bring technological innovation, data analytics, supply chain expertise and operational efficiency to conservation work. A technology company might develop artificial intelligence-powered wildlife monitoring systems, while an agriculture firm could pioneer regenerative farming practices and a logistics company could optimise sustainable transportation models. This private sector dynamism is rarely present in traditional conservation models.
4. Sustainable financing for long-term impact:Most biodiversity projects fail because they are project-based, with uncertain funding after grant cycles end. CSR commitments, when structured strategically, can provide multi-year, predictable financing for landscape-level conservation efforts and create the sustained investment needed to restore degraded ecosystems and protect biodiversity.
5. Supply chain resilience:Companies dependent on natural resources—agriculture, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage and energy—have a vested interest in biodiversity conservation. When CSR focuses on ecosystem health, it simultaneously strengthens corporate resilience to climate shocks and resource scarcity. This alignment of corporate and conservation interests is vital and beneficial.

Evaluation and Evidence

Evaluations by the Crisil team across multiple CSR programmes reveal that remarkable outcomes are possiblewhen biodiversity conservation is treated as a strategic priority, not a checkbox.

Companies that integrated biodiversity into CSR have led to the following outcomes:

1. Ecosystem recovery: Watershed management programmes have shown 30-40% improvement in water availability within three to five years.
2. Community benefit: Local livelihoods strengthened through sustainable resource management, generating 2-3x the income of unsustainable alternatives.
3. Stakeholder alignment: Alignment of government support and community participation with CSR efforts helps address ecological and socioeconomic needs.
4. Measurable impact: Programmes using rigorous monitoring and evaluation frameworks achieve 2x impact than ad hoc initiatives.

On the other hand, CSR programmes that lack clear biodiversity targets, proper monitoring and integration with local conservation priorities rarely achieve lasting changes.

Gap Between Execution and Outcome

Lack of strategic direction

Many companies are uncertain about how biodiversity fits into their CSR mandate. Without clear directives, linking CSR to sustainable development goals and corporate business strategy can render initiatives peripheral.

Capacity gaps

Most CSR teams lack expertise in ecosystem management, species conservation and landscape-level restoration. They need support from conservation specialists and scientific institutions.

Measurement challenges

Unlike education metrics (enrolment rates) or health metrics (mortality reduction), biodiversity outcomes are complex and long-term. Without proper monitoring frameworks, companies struggle to demonstrate impact.

Way ahead

To unlock CSR’s potential for biodiversity conservation, five shifts are a must.

1. Strategic alignment: Corporations must articulate clear biodiversity targets within their CSR strategy, aligned with corporate business risks and conservation priorities. This requires Board-level commitment.
2. Landscape-level collaboration:Rather than isolated projects, corporations should coordinate within shared ecosystem to create meaningful, collective impact.
3. Capacity building: Corporations should partner with research institutions, conservation NGOs and government agencies to access the technical expertise needed for effective biodiversity programmes.
4. Rigorous evaluation: Every major CSR programme should include independent impact evaluation using clear, science-based biodiversity metrics. This builds credibility and enables learning.
5. Community-centred design: Biodiversity conservation is only sustainable when local communities benefit economically and socially. CSR programmes must prioritise community participation, benefit-sharing and livelihood integration.

CSR can help slow the extinction clock

India’s biodiversity cannot wait for perfect policy coordination or unlimited government budgets.

The corporate sector has the resources, reach and capability to be a transformative force in biodiversity conservation. What it needs are clarity of purpose, proper strategy and accountability for results.

The question before India’s companies is not if they can contribute to conservation but if they will treat it with the strategic seriousness it deserves. The imperative is clear. So is the opportunity.

About the Author

(India CSR)