Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 deals with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Under this Section every company having net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more or turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more or net profit of rupees five crores or more during any financial year, shall constitute a CSR Committee to recommend its activities for discharging CSR in such a manner that the company would spend at least 2 percent of its average net profits of the company made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its CSR policies. Section 135 of the Act has not yet come into force and as such this Ministry has no information on the expenditure incurred on CSR activities.

Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister for Corporate Affairs, said that the list of various activities which may be included by companies in the CSR policies listed in Schedule VII of Act includes “ensuring environmental sustainability”.

Corporate Social Responsibility obligations expanded to include ensuring environmental sustainability, affecting companies meeting statutory thresholds. Companies meeting specified statutory CSR thresholds must constitute a CSR Committee, adopt a CSR policy and commit a mandated proportion of profits to CSR; the provision is not yet in force so no expenditure data exists. Schedule VII expressly lists ensuring environmental sustainability as an eligible CSR activity.