Step 01
Board approves direct implementation
Your CSR Committee includes afforestation in the Annual Action Plan and recommends direct implementation. The Board approves. Your CSR policy already permits this — no regulatory change needed.
For CSR & Sustainability Teams
Implement your CSR afforestation directly. No implementing agency required.
Under Section 135, your company can implement CSR afforestation directly through its own team and hire Gardenia Ecoforestry as your implementation vendor. No CSR-1 registration, no 12A/80G, no intermediary. You retain full control, full compliance, and full visibility.
200K+
Plants deployed
90%+
Survival rate
200+
Native species
5.1 ac
Flagship project
The legal framework
How direct implementation works under Section 135.
The Companies (CSR Policy) Rules give your board two options: implement CSR through a registered implementing agency (which requires CSR-1 registration), or implement directly through your own team. When you choose direct implementation, you can hire vendors and contractors for execution — just as you would for any other project. Gardenia Ecoforestry is that vendor.
Step 02
Sign a service agreement with Gardenia
A commercial service agreement defines scope, milestones, payment terms, reporting cadence, and survival warranties. Gardenia invoices as a vendor. Payments count as CSR expenditure under Schedule VII, Item (iv) — environmental sustainability.
Step 03
Report in CSR-2 as direct implementation
In your annual CSR-2 filing, mark implementation mode as “Direct.” Attach Gardenia's utilisation reports and survival data as supporting documentation. Your CFO certifies fund utilisation under Rule 4(5). No implementing agency registration number needed.
Key distinction: Gardenia is a service provider, not an implementing agency. The CSR funds stay with your company. You pay Gardenia for services rendered (site assessment, plantation, maintenance, monitoring). The payment is a vendor invoice — GST-compliant, commercially structured. Your company reports the spend as direct CSR implementation in CSR-2.
Verified field results
A track record built on real projects, not proposals.
Flagship project
SPEC India, Makarba — 5.1 acres
A phased Miyawaki restoration on degraded construction-waste land in Gujarat. Phase 1 complete (July 2023–July 2025), Phase 2 completing 2026. The site went from Prosopis-dominated wasteland to an established native forest with 92,000+ plants across 360+ species and varieties.
92,000+
Plants on this site
360+
Species & varieties
90%+
Survival at 24 months
24 mo
Active maintenance
Cumulative across all projects
Including consulting and trial sites
~200,000 plants
Cumulative across all projects including SPEC India, Rajasthan consulting, and trial sites.
200+ species, 360+ varieties
Important distinction: species count vs. cultivar count. Each species is cross-referenced against IUCN, GBIF, and regional phenology data.
~10 acres
Total across direct implementation, consulting, and trial sites.
616-species library
A research-grade species database with IUCN conservation status, soil preferences, phenology, and harvest data — available on this site.
What we provide
Services and transparent pricing.
Every engagement is scoped to your site, species goals, and budget. Below are benchmark ranges from real project data. Final pricing is site-specific.
| Service | What's included | Benchmark cost |
|---|---|---|
| Site assessment | Soil testing, hydrology analysis, native species identification, site history review, recommendation report. | Rs 25,000–75,000 |
| Plantation (Year 1) | Soil preparation, sapling sourcing, irrigation setup, high-density planting, mulching, initial protection. | Rs 15–25 lakh / acre |
| Maintenance (Years 2–5) | Watering, weeding, gap replacement, mulch renewal, survival audits, quarterly progress reports. | Rs 2–3 lakh / acre / year |
| Monitoring & reporting | Geo-tagged photo documentation, survival counts, species performance tracking, CSR-2-ready utilisation reports. | Included in maintenance |
| Species matrix design | Custom species palette from 616-species library, matched to soil, rainfall, biodiversity goals, and Schedule VII alignment. | Rs 50,000–1,50,000 |
Costs vary by site size, soil condition, species complexity, irrigation requirements, and geographic location. All projects include a written survival warranty for the first two monsoons.
For your CSR team
Compliance checklist for direct implementation.
Share this with your CSR Committee, Company Secretary, or CFO. It covers everything needed to engage Gardenia as a direct implementation vendor under Section 135.
Before engagement
- ✓Include afforestation in your Annual Action Plan (Schedule VII, Item iv — environmental sustainability).
- ✓CSR Committee recommends direct implementation mode.
- ✓Board approves the project, budget, and direct implementation approach.
- ✓Verify your CSR policy permits direct implementation (most do).
- ✓Conduct vendor due diligence on Gardenia (track record, references, site visit).
- ✓Sign a commercial service agreement defining scope, milestones, and reporting.
During implementation
- ✓Pay Gardenia per milestone (typical split: 30/40/20/10 across project phases).
- ✓Receive GST-compliant invoices for each payment.
- ✓Collect quarterly utilisation reports (planting progress, survival data, photo documentation).
- ✓Maintain records: agreement, invoices, utilisation reports, site visit notes.
- ✓CFO certifies fund utilisation under Rule 4(5) at year-end.
Annual reporting
- ✓File Form CSR-2 as addendum to AOC-4 within 30 days of AGM.
- ✓Mark implementation mode as “Direct” in CSR-2.
- ✓Include project details in Board's Report (Section 134(3)(o)).
- ✓For BRSR reporters: disclose under Principle 6 (environmental sustainability).
- ✓If average CSR obligation is Rs 10 crore+: conduct independent impact assessment for projects with outlay of Rs 1 crore+.
- ✓Display CSR policy on company website (if applicable).
What you don't need: CSR-1 registration, 12A/80G certificates, an implementing agency, or a separate trust. Your company implements directly. Gardenia is your vendor. The spend counts as CSR expenditure because it is for a Schedule VII activity (environmental sustainability), executed under your company's direct control.
Why CSR teams choose us
What makes Gardenia different from other plantation vendors.
Direct implementation, not consultancy
We plant, monitor, and maintain the forests we design. No handoff to subcontractors. The team that assesses your soil is the team that puts saplings in the ground.
Research-grade species selection
616 species in our library, each cross-referenced against IUCN conservation data, GBIF occurrence records, and regional phenology. Not picked from a nursery catalogue.
90%+ survival, documented
Real survival data from real projects, not estimates. Gap replacement covers the first two monsoons. Maintenance tapers at 24 months as the forest becomes ecologically established.
CSR-compliance documentation
Geo-tagged photo documentation, survival audits, and utilisation reports formatted for CSR-2 and BRSR reporting. Your auditor gets what they need without follow-up requests.
Founder with a science background
Degrees in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Chemistry. The work is applied science — soil microbiology, species interactions, canopy dynamics — not landscaping.
Based in Gujarat, serving India
Headquartered in Gandhinagar. Project experience in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Will travel for the right project. Local knowledge of soil, rainfall, and native species.
Get a site-specific plantation plan.
Tell us your CSR budget, timeline, and target geography. We will respond with a plantation plan, species matrix, and impact projection — within 5 business days.