International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST): Grantee Spotlight (Q3 2026)

The Giving Green Fund is awarding a restricted grant to the International Forum for Environment, Sustainability & Technology (iFOREST) to accelerate decarbonization in India’s sponge iron sector through cluster-level support in two states, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Earlier in 2026, we awarded iFOREST a grant to accelerate industrial electrification and renewable energy demand mobilization in Uttar Pradesh. iFOREST is a subnationally focused Indian nonprofit that leverages rigorous research, stakeholder engagement, and innovative solutions to accelerate climate action. 

iFOREST’s sponge iron sector decarbonization work falls within our philanthropic strategy of supporting cross-cutting enablers for industrial decarbonization (discussed in our Industry sector report) and, more specifically, our sub-strategy of providing technical assistance to micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) clusters to pilot and adopt decarbonization measures. Its work on industrial electrification and renewable energy demand mobilization in Uttar Pradesh falls within our philanthropic strategy of decarbonizing India's power sector and, more specifically, our sub-strategy of supporting pilots and demonstrations to accelerate adoption of electrification measures in the industrial sector. Please see Giving Green's sector and strategy reports for more information, including potential risks and co-benefits, recommended sub-strategies, theory of change, funding need, and key uncertainties. 

Last updated: October 2026

What Is iFOREST?

Established in 2019, iFOREST leverages evidence-based research, stakeholder engagement, regional expertise, and partnerships with governments, industry, and civil society to inform both state and national policy. Its work spans energy transition, industrial decarbonization, air pollution, and natural resource management. 

iFOREST focuses on building state-level institutional capacity, developing district- and city-specific action plans, and providing sustained on-the-ground technical assistance. It prioritizes work in states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Assam, where economies are highly dependent on conventional energy systems, especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or both.

What Are We Funding, and How Could It Help Address Climate Change?

Sponge iron sector decarbonization in Odisha and Chhattisgarh: Coal-based direct reduced iron, commonly known as sponge iron, accounts for roughly 40% of India's crude steel production and has grown 13% annually over the past five years. It is among the most carbon-intensive iron manufacturing routes. Small and medium-sized producers dominate the sponge iron sector, with Odisha and Chhattisgarh accounting for 50% of sponge iron capacity. We are funding iFOREST to accelerate sponge iron decarbonization in Odisha and Chhattisgarh through the following activities:

• Plant-level evidence on decarbonization pathways in Odisha's sponge iron clusters: conducting cluster surveys, energy audits, and carbon dioxide and black carbon measurements at sample plants, alongside techno-economic assessment of near-term measures including combustion and material optimization, pollution control, waste heat recovery, and renewable electricity.
• Performance standards and measurement frameworks: developing minimum environmental, energy, and carbon-performance standards for sponge iron plants, together with a measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework piloted with small- and medium-sized producers.
• Cluster, state, and national transition roadmaps: translating plant-level findings into prioritized transition pathways and financing requirements for the cluster and the state, and feeding them into national policy development, particularly the proposed National Mission for Sustainable Steel.
• Industry capacity and implementation support: convening cluster workshops, state conferences, and technical training that connect producers with regulators, technology providers, and financial institutions, and providing technical guidance to support investment in near-term decarbonization measures.

The above workstreams address key barriers to decarbonization among small- and medium-sized sponge iron producers, including limited technical capacity, information, and access to finance. Leveraging on-the-ground evidence to inform state and national policy and regulatory design helps create an enabling environment for wider adoption of decarbonization measures within the sponge iron sector. The cluster and regional approach can facilitate adoption across multiple producers and is likely to generate spillover benefits to other states. Support to drive near-term improvements will also prepare producers for deeper decarbonization as technologies such as green hydrogen become technically and commercially viable. Given the high energy and emissions intensity of many small- and medium-sized sponge iron plants, improving their performance could deliver relatively high marginal reduction in emissions.

Industrial electrification and renewable energy demand mobilization in Uttar Pradesh: This grant funds work on industrial electrification and renewable energy procurement in Uttar Pradesh (UP) through three key activities within each of two workstreams:

• Process heat electrification: accelerating heat pump adoption for low- to medium-temperature process heat applications in the industrial sector.
  
  • Feasibility and prioritization: conducting techno-economic feasibility studies and energy audits to identify priority industries and clusters. 
  • Piloting: developing financial models, building the capacity of industrial players, and designing three sector-specific evidence generation pilots. 
  • Scaling: developing a process heat electrification roadmap, drafting state policy, and engaging with government and industry to drive policy adoption.
• Industrial renewable energy demand mobilization: unlocking and aggregating industrial demand for renewable energy (RE) in industrial clusters.
  
  • Aggregating demand: aggregating renewable energy and storage demand in two industrial clusters to enable Renewable Consumption Obligation compliance while accelerating in-state renewable energy deployment.
  • Informing state policy: developing an industrial RE policy framework to inform the state’s renewable policy revision in 2027. 
  • Scaling: providing technical assistance to UP New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) to scale demand aggregation. 

By shifting the industrial sector's reliance on conventional energy sources toward clean energy sources, this work creates a direct pathway to emissions reduction. In the near term, the project aims to unlock at least 100 megawatts (MW) of RE deployment across pilot clusters. Over the longer term, iFOREST estimates that unlocking industrial demand could drive 10-15 GW of RE capacity in the state by 2030. Co-benefits include improved air quality, reduced energy costs for industry actors, and stronger industrial competitiveness.

Why Do We Think iFOREST Will Use This Funding Well?

Sponge iron sector decarbonization in Odisha and Chhattisgarh: iFOREST has relevant experience across industrial decarbonization, with a particular focus on steel, cement, and fertilizer sectors. Its approach combines plant-level diagnostics, techno-economic analysis, technology deployment, financing, and policy and regulatory engagement. iFOREST developed and industry-tested a greenhouse gas accounting and MRV framework for the steel sector in 2025. It has also established relationships with steel producers and industry associations, including the Indian Steel Association and Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association. Its ongoing work with small- and medium-sized enterprises in various clusters in Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra provides relevant experience in conducting plant-level assessments and evaluating decarbonization technologies. The proposed work also builds on iFOREST’s institutional relationships in major sponge iron producer states. Its five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Odisha provides a platform for engagement with state governments, industry, and cluster stakeholders. 

Industrial electrification and renewable energy demand mobilization in Uttar Pradesh: iFOREST has demonstrated traction across both workstreams with sustained presence in UP since 2022. As India's leading institution on process heat decarbonization, it has partnered with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to develop the national MSME boiler landscape and is currently building a national heat pump adoption framework and roadmap with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. 

Additionally, iFOREST has already completed RE demand aggregation pilots in Odisha, mobilizing 270 MW of demand across two industrial clusters, which are now under implementation. This proof of concept directly informs its work in UP. iFOREST has MOUs with UP's Department of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and is actively engaged with UPNEDA and the Boiler Directorate, providing the institutional access needed to embed findings into state policy. 

iFOREST’s work is also quite timely and strategic, as UP's RE and Solar Policy is due for revision in 2027, creating a clear policy window to translate pilot results and analytical outputs into durable regulatory frameworks. 

Philanthropic funding for industrial decarbonization efforts in India remains relatively neglected, and support for decarbonizing small and medium-sized industrial firms is severely underfunded. We believe iFOREST’s implementation track record, technical expertise, and field experience working directly with industrial clusters—combined with institutional and stakeholder relationships—position it well to develop practical transition pathways that can be adopted across clusters and policy recommendations that can inform decision-making at the state and national levels.

We publish grant spotlights to offer transparency to Giving Green Fund donors and resources for those interested in the impact strategies each grant supports. Giving Green believes our Top Climate Nonprofits have the greatest impact potential for large, unrestricted gifts. For several reasons, we also disburse and recommend grants to other organizations surfaced through our research process for work that we believe is at least as impactful as grants to our top recommendations. 

This is a non-partisan analysis (study or research) and is provided for educational purposes.

iFOREST is a registered nonprofit in India.

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