What Is BRSR? A Guide for Listed Companies and Their Suppliers

Where BRSR comes from

SEBI introduced the BRSR format in May 2021, replacing the older Business Responsibility Report. After a voluntary year, it became mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation from financial year 2022-23. The report is filed as part of the annual report.

BRSR is built on the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC), covering ethics, product responsibility, employee well-being, stakeholder engagement, human rights, the environment, policy advocacy, inclusive growth and customer value.

How the report is structured

A BRSR has three parts:

• Section A, general disclosures: company details, operations, employees and CSR
• Section B, management and process disclosures: policies and governance for each NGRBC principle
• Section C, principle-wise performance: essential indicators that must be reported and leadership indicators that are voluntary

What BRSR Core adds

In 2023 SEBI introduced BRSR Core, a focused set of key performance indicators that must be externally assessed or assured. The indicators cover attributes such as greenhouse gas footprint, water footprint, energy footprint, waste and circularity, employee well-being and safety, gender diversity, inclusive development, fairness with customers and suppliers, and openness of business.

Assurance or assessment applies in phases, beginning with the largest listed companies and widening over several years. SEBI has adjusted the glide path and terminology since it was first announced, so check the latest circular to confirm which year applies to your company.

The environmental numbers most companies struggle with

Most BRSR Core findings come from a handful of environmental indicators where data sits in many places:

• Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions, which need fuel, refrigerant and electricity records for every site
• Energy consumption split by renewable and non-renewable sources
• Water withdrawal, consumption and discharge, often from meters that are not read consistently
• Waste generated and how it was recovered or disposed of
• Intensity ratios that depend on consistent revenue or production figures

Why suppliers are now involved

BRSR asks large listed companies to report on their value chain, meaning key suppliers and customers that make up a large share of purchases or sales. SEBI applies these disclosures on a phased, comply-or-explain basis.

In practice, this means unlisted suppliers are receiving questionnaires asking for their own GHG, energy and water data. Suppliers who can answer quickly and credibly become easier to keep, while those who cannot may find themselves under review.

How to prepare for assurance without last-minute panic

Assurance providers test whether each number can be traced back to source records using a documented method. The companies that pass smoothly prepare in the same order:

• Fix the reporting boundary: which entities, sites and operations are included
• Name an owner for each indicator and the source system behind it
• Write down the calculation method and emission factors used
• Keep an evidence register linking every figure to bills, meter readings or invoices
• Run a readiness review three to four months before year-end, while gaps can still be fixed

Turning BRSR into something useful

BRSR is a compliance requirement, but the same data supports investor conversations, green financing, customer questionnaires and emission-reduction targets. Companies that build a clean data trail once can reuse it across all of these instead of rebuilding numbers every time someone asks.