CCTS
Carbon Credit Trading Scheme — India's mandatory carbon market covering 9 industrial sectors including textiles. Companies that beat emission intensity targets earn tradable carbon credits; those that miss targets must buy credits or pay a financial penalty.
CCTS (Carbon Credit Trading Scheme) is India’s mandatory carbon market, established under the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act 2022 and administered by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power. It covers nine industrial sectors in its first phase: textiles, aluminium, cement, pulp & paper, chlor-alkali, fertilizers, iron & steel, petroleum refining, and petrochemicals.
How CCTS Works
CCTS uses an emission intensity mechanism — it measures tCO₂e per unit of production, not absolute emissions. This allows companies to grow production while being required to reduce carbon per unit produced.
- Baseline year: FY 2023–24
- Compliance year started: April 1, 2025
- Beat target: Earn tradable carbon credits on the Indian Carbon Market (ICM) exchange
- Miss target: Buy carbon credits from ICM OR pay a financial penalty per tonne of CO₂e shortfall
- Registry: Indian Carbon Market portal, administered by BEE
Why CCTS Matters for Manufacturers
Unlike BRSR (which is a disclosure requirement), CCTS has direct financial consequences for non-compliance. A manufacturer who cannot demonstrate their emission intensity position — because they lack a verified baseline — faces both compliance risk and financial exposure.
The baseline year (FY 2023–24) is already established. Manufacturers who did not build a verified Scope 1 & 2 inventory for that year face the challenge of retrospective data reconstruction — which may not meet verification standards for credit issuance.
CCTS and Existing Compliance
The Scope 1 & 2 inventory required for CCTS is the same inventory required for BRSR Principle 6. One verified dataset, structured correctly, satisfies both. The difference is that CCTS adds a verification and registry submission requirement that elevates the evidentiary standard above typical BRSR data practices.