To take ahead the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) movement, the environment ministry has introduced two initiatives that indicate the country’s pro-active approach to climate change, sustainability and promoting eco-conscious practices. 

These initiatives are: 

i) Green Credit Programme 

ii) Ecomark Scheme

• These initiatives seek to encourage environmentally friendly practices rooted in tradition and conservation, reflecting the ideas of LiFE concept.

• Both initiatives mark significant steps in promoting sustainable living, environmental conservation, and, through individual and collective choice, embody eco-friendly practices in India. 

• They align with global sustainability goals and reflect the government’s commitment to conservation and protection of the environment.

Green Credit Programme

• In the Budget Speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a Green Credit Programme to be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

• Green credit means a singular unit of an incentive provided for a specified activity, delivering a positive impact on the environment.

• Green Credit Programme (GCP) is an innovative market-based mechanism designed to incentivise voluntary environmental actions across diverse sectors, by various stakeholders like individuals, communities, private sector industries, and companies.

• An environmental activity generating green credit may have climate co-benefits, such as reducing or removing carbon emissions, and an activity generating green credit under the Green Credit Programme may also earn carbon credits from the same activity under the said scheme.

• In its initial phase, the GCP focuses on two key activities — water conservation and afforestation. 

• The GCP’s governance framework is supported by an inter-ministerial Steering Committee. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) serves as the GCP administrator, responsible for programme implementation, management, monitoring, and operation.

• Draft methodologies for awarding green credits have been developed and will be notified for stakeholder consultation. These methodologies set benchmarks for each activity/process, to ensure environmental impact and fungibility across sectors.

• A user-friendly digital platform will streamline the processes for registration of projects, its verification, and issuance of green credits. 

• The Green Credit Registry and trading platform, being developed by ICFRE along with experts, would facilitate the registration and thereafter, the buying and selling of green credits.

How to obtain green credits?

Any person or entity may take any measure specified under the rules for the purposes of protection, preservation, or conservation of the environment.

These measures are:

i) Tree plantation: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country.

ii) Water management: To promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency or water savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater.

iii) Sustainable agriculture: To promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced.

iv) Waste management: To promote circularity, sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation, and environmentally sound management.

v) Air pollution reduction: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities.

vi) Mangrove conservation and restoration: To promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves.

vii) Ecomark label development: To encourage manufacturers to obtain ecomark label for their goods and services.

vii) Sustainable building and infrastructure: To encourage the construction of sustainable buildings and other infrastructure using environment friendly technologies and materials.

• Individuals or entities seeking green credits must submit an application for registration to ICFRE through a government-established website. Upon receiving the application, the administrator will request a designated agency to verify the activity. After verification, the agency will submit a report to ICFRE, following which the applicant will be granted a green credit certificate.

• Green credits generated through such actions can be traded on a domestic market platform.

• The rules also specify that green credits generated or procured by industries, companies and other entities to fulfil any legal obligation cannot be traded.

Ecomark Scheme

• In line with the LiFE approach, the environment ministry has recast its Ecomark notification so that consumers are able to make choices among products and thereby opt for those products that are eco-friendly in their design, process etc.

• The Ecomark scheme provides accreditation and labelling for household and consumer products that meet specific environmental criteria while maintaining quality standards as per Indian norms. 

• The Central Pollution Control Board administers the Ecomark scheme in partnership with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which is the national body for standards and certification.

• The Ecomark Certification Rules is for labelling of products which will have lesser adverse impacts on the environment, with the objective to encourage the consumers to adopt such products as well as the manufacturers for transitioning to production of Ecomark certified products for promoting sustainability.

• Products accredited under the Ecomark scheme will adhere to specific environmental criteria, ensuring minimal environmental impact.

• It will build consumer awareness of environmental issues and encourage eco-conscious choices. 

• It will also motivate manufacturers to shift towards environmentally friendly production. 

• The scheme seeks to ensure accurate labelling and prevent misleading information about products.

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