Global biopharmaceutical company GSK has entered into an eight-year carbon credit purchase agreement structured by nature-risk infrastructure provider Earthly to support climate initiatives in India. The deal funds developer Varaha’s regenerative agriculture project, which aims to expand sustainable land management across more than 50,000 hectares in northern India. The initiative is designed to generate both carbon emissions reductions and carbon dioxide removal credits by altering traditional farming practices in the region.

The project addresses the widespread practice of seasonal crop residue burning across the agricultural states of Punjab and Haryana. Following the rice harvest, tens of thousands of local farmers face tight operational windows before the next planting cycle, compounded by high costs for labor and sustainable waste management equipment. Consequently, growers frequently burn remaining biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More, releasing substantial greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane while driving severe seasonal air pollution across South Asia.

To resolve these operational and environmental challenges, Varaha provides farmers with subsidized machinery and a direct share of carbon credit revenues. This financial and technical support enables agricultural workers to transition toward sustainable management practices, including crop residue soil incorporation, Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), and reduced tillage. These methods eliminate open-air burning, increase soil carbon storage, improve soil structure and water retention, and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.

The outcome of this multi-party agreement allows GSK to progress toward its corporate sustainability target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, using nature-based offsets for remaining emissions. Agronomically, the participating Indian farmers gain access to improved yields and soil quality while securing lower input costs. Furthermore, the underlying project is upgrading its certification under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard from methodology VM0042 to VM0042 v2.2, positioning future credit issuances to align with Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles (CCP) standards.