BRSR and ESG climate reporting in India: what companies must disclose
A plain guide to SEBI's BRSR and BRSR Core: who must file, the Principle 6 climate indicators including Scope 1 and 2 intensity, the assurance glide path, value chain rules, what it means for MSME suppliers, and how ESG reporting differs from CSR.
What mistakes should companies avoid?
- Netting off: reporting Scope 1 and 2 "after" trees or carbon credits. Report gross emissions, and show credits or removals separately.
- Hidden method changes: switching emission factors or site boundaries between years without saying so. BRSR Core requires any changes or adjustments to be disclosed.
- Wrong denominator: mixing up turnover with total income, or forgetting the PPP-adjusted version.
- Unsupported supplier data: passing on supplier estimates without saying they are estimates.
- Treating BRSR as a one-time form: the numbers are compared year to year, so set up monthly data collection.
Sources: SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562, Business responsibility and sustainability reporting by listed entities (10 May 2021); SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-SEC-2/P/CIR/2023/122, BRSR Core: Framework for assurance and ESG disclosures for value chain (12 July 2023); SEBI, Annexure I: Format of BRSR Core (July 2023); SEBI, Annexure II: Updated BRSR format (July 2023); SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2025/42, Measures to facilitate ease of doing business: assurance or assessment, ESG disclosures for value chain, green credits (28 March 2025); Companies Act, 2013, Section 135 (India Code); Ministry of Corporate Affairs, General Circular No. 14/2021: FAQs on CSR; GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (WRI/WBCSD); EcoVadis Sustainability Rating Methodology disclosure document (2026); CDP Supply Chain programme
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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