ESG reporting in India is governed primarily by SEBI’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalization since FY 2022-23. From FY 2025-26, BRSR Core assurance requirements extend to the top 500 listed entities, requiring independent verification of key ESG metrics.
What Is BRSR?
BRSR is SEBI’s standardized ESG disclosure framework, requiring listed companies to report on a consistent set of environmental, social, and governance indicators rather than each company choosing its own format. This standardization allows investors, regulators, and the public to compare ESG performance across companies more meaningfully than earlier, less structured sustainability reports allowed. The framework replaced SEBI’s earlier Business Responsibility Report (BRR), significantly expanding both the depth and specificity of required disclosures.
BRSR Core: The Focused Subset of Metrics
Within the broader BRSR framework, SEBI introduced BRSR Core, a refined subset of 49 key performance indicators focused specifically on measurable climate and social metrics, including absolute and intensity-based greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy share, water use, and gender diversity. From FY 2023-24, BRSR Core added mandatory reasonable assurance, meaning independent verification, starting with the top 150 companies by market capitalization and expanding annually. Consequently, by FY 2025-26, this assurance requirement extends to the top 500 listed entities, significantly widening the pool of companies whose ESG claims must be independently verified rather than simply self-reported.
Scope 3 Emissions: A Growing Reporting Requirement
Scope 3 emissions, which cover indirect emissions across a company’s value chain rather than just its direct operations, have become an increasingly important part of BRSR disclosure requirements. The top 250 listed companies by market capitalization are required to disclose Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions starting FY 2024-25, with assurance or assessment requirements for those emissions extending from FY 2025-26. This expansion reflects growing recognition that a company’s full climate impact often extends well beyond its own direct operations into its suppliers and value chain partners.
Value Chain Disclosure Requirements
Newer BRSR requirements extending value chain disclosures to key partners took effect from the 2026 financial year, giving companies and their supply chain partners additional time to adapt to the standards. To keep this manageable, SEBI introduced simplified disclosure processes, including a cap on the scope of required information, focusing specifically on value chain partners accounting for 2% or more of a company’s total procurement or sales. Therefore, companies are not required to trace ESG data across their entire supply chain, but rather concentrate reporting on their most significant business relationships.
What This Means for Companies and Investors
For companies approaching the BRSR thresholds, preparing for mandatory ESG disclosure and eventual assurance requirements well in advance helps avoid a rushed compliance scramble as reporting obligations expand each year. For investors, BRSR disclosures offer a standardized way to compare companies’ actual ESG performance rather than relying solely on marketing claims or voluntary sustainability reports. To understand how ESG ratings build on this reported data, see our guide on ESG rating and ESG score, or start with our foundational explainer on what ESG means. Browse more explainers in the Green Finance & Business category.
BRSR vs Global ESG Reporting Standards
India’s BRSR framework shares common ground with international standards like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), but it is tailored to Indian regulatory priorities. Unlike GRI, which is voluntary and used worldwide, BRSR is mandatory for India’s top 1,000 listed companies and directly tied to SEBI compliance. BRSR Core also aligns loosely with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in its use of standardised, assurance-ready KPIs, though the EU framework covers a broader set of disclosures. For multinational companies operating in India, this means maintaining both BRSR filings for domestic compliance and, where applicable, GRI or CSRD-aligned reports for international stakeholders, which can create duplicate reporting effort without careful data system planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BRSR in India?
BRSR is SEBI’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting framework, a standardized ESG disclosure requirement mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalization.
What is BRSR Core?
BRSR Core is a refined subset of 49 key performance indicators within BRSR, focused on measurable climate and social metrics like emissions, renewable energy share, and gender diversity.
Which companies need BRSR Core assurance?
Assurance requirements started with the top 150 companies from FY 2023-24 and expand annually, reaching the top 500 listed entities by FY 2025-26.
What are Scope 3 emissions in BRSR reporting?
Scope 3 emissions cover indirect emissions across a company’s value chain, and the top 250 listed companies must disclose them starting FY 2024-25.
Do companies need to report on their entire supply chain?
No, value chain disclosure requirements focus specifically on partners accounting for 2% or more of a company’s total procurement or sales.
Sources and further reading: Securities and Exchange Board of India | Ministry of Corporate Affairs
