BRSR, BRSR Core & SEBI Requirements
India’s ESG reporting landscape has moved from voluntary sustainability disclosures to structured, data-driven and assurance-ready reporting under SEBI’s BRSR and BRSR Core framework.
ESG data management software like sentra.world helps Indian manufacturers collect ESG data, calculate Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, map disclosures to BRSR Core KPIs, manage evidence, and generate audit-ready sustainability reports.
What is BRSR ?
BRSR stands for Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting. It is India’s ESG reporting format for eligible listed companies and is built around responsible business conduct, sustainability performance, stakeholder accountability and governance transparency. Applicable to the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation, BRSR helps improve comparability, accountability and investor confidence while encouraging businesses to manage sustainability risks and create long-term value.
General ESG Reporting Disclosures
India’s ESG disclosure landscape is led by BRSR and BRSR Core for 1000 eligible listed companies. The Core framework requires structured ESG data for emissions tracking along with the metrics mapped correctly.
Management and Process Disclosures
Policies, governance systems, board oversight, responsible business conduct, stakeholder engagement, policy review mechanisms and accountability of leadership.
Principle-wise Performance Disclosures
Disclosures aligned with India’s responsible business conduct principles, covering ethics, transparency, product responsibility, workforce, human rights, environment, public policy, inclusive growth and consumer responsibility.
What is BRSR Core?
BRSR Core is a focused set of ESG indicators designed to improve the reliability, comparability and assurance-readiness of sustainability disclosures. It is not a separate replacement for BRSR. It is a subset of BRSR that focuses on the most important measurable ESG indicators.
SEBI introduced BRSR Core to increase trust in ESG disclosures and make sustainability data more comparable for investors, regulators and stakeholders. It also brings value-chain ESG data into focus, especially for large listed companies and their suppliers.
GHG Emissions
Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3 emissions intensity, product-level emissions, and value-chain emissions.
Energy
Electricity, fuel, renewable energy, energy intensity, energy savings, and plant-level performance.
Water
Water withdrawal, consumption, discharge, recycling, reuse, and water intensity.
Waste
Hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, recycling, reuse, disposal, and circularity indicators.
Employee Wellbeing & Safety
Employee data, worker data, diversity, training, injuries, fatalities, LTIFR, and safety systems.
Governance and Compliance
Board oversight, policies, ethics, anti-corruption, risk management, whistleblower mechanisms, and controls.
Inclusive Development
Job creation, community impact, small-town employment, women in workforce, leadership, wages and representation
Supplier Engagement
Complaints, supplier practices, customer responsibility
BRSR Reporting in India: Why It Matters Now?
India’s ESG disclosure landscape has evolved from broad Business Responsibility Reporting to a more structured and quantitative reporting system. SEBI introduced Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting by listed entities through its May 2021 circular, making BRSR the primary ESG disclosure framework for eligible listed companies in India. (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
For the top listed companies, BRSR is no longer only a narrative exercise. It requires measurable data on governance, responsible business conduct, workforce, human rights, environmental performance, customer responsibility, value-chain impact and sustainability performance.
BRSR Core has increased the focus on reliability, comparability and assurance. SEBI’s July 2023 BRSR Core circular introduced a framework for assurance and ESG disclosures for value chain, making ESG data quality a board-level and audit-level concern.Â
What changes in 2026?
Verified Supplier Data Becomes Essential
Actual emissions data must be verified by an accredited third-party auditor. Without verification, importers must rely on default emission values, which are typically higher.
New EU Benchmark Values
The EU has introduced product-specific benchmark emissions values based on CN codes and production routes. If supplier data is unavailable, country-level default benchmarks apply, increasing CBAM exposure.
CBAM Costs Begin
From 1 January 2026, importers must purchase CBAM certificates covering emissions above benchmark levels.
Certificate prices are linked to the EU ETS carbon market.
CBAM Registry Becomes the Compliance Hub
The EU CBAM Registry will manage emissions of reporting and certificate purchases. While declarations become annual, companies will still track emissions quarterly for cost forecasting.
Calculate your CBAM costs
Calculate your CBAM costs
What Each Part of the Formula Means:
Embedded Emissions– The direct greenhouse gas emissions generated during the production of the exported product. These emissions are calculated according to EU CBAM methodology Â
SEFA (Specific Embedded Free Allocation)– SEFA adjusts emissions using the EU benchmark and phase-in factor, reflecting the gradual removal of free EU ETS allowances between 2026 and 2034.Â
SEFA is calculated using:Â
- Specific mass of precursor materialsÂ
- EU benchmark emissionsÂ
- CBAM phase-in factorÂ
- Cross-sectoral correction factorÂ
CBAM Certificate Price – The CBAM certificate price is linked to the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and reflects the carbon market price in the EU.Â
Importers must purchase certificates equivalent to the emissions subject to CBAM.Â
Carbon Price Already Paid – If a carbon price has already been paid in the exporting country (for example under national carbon pricing systems like India’s CCTS), it can be deducted to avoid double carbon pricing.Â
The result determines the CBAM cost per tonne of imported goods, which EU importers must pay through CBAM certificates.Â
Want to understand how BRSR Reporting has changed?
sentra.world helps industrial manufacturers meet BRSR reporting requirements with a structured ESG data management platform.
BRSR Core Applicability and Timeline
BRSR Core assurance does not apply to all companies at once. SEBI has created a phased glide path. This allows companies to build ESG data systems gradually, but it also means that ESG reporting maturity is becoming a priority for large listed companies and their value-chain partners.
The important point for manufacturers is simple: assurance cannot be done at the last minute. Companies need source documents, calculation methods, emission factors, approval workflows, version history and traceable data owners.
Why BRSR Reporting is Challenging for Manufacturers?
ESG reporting becomes difficult when data is collected manually across departments, plants, suppliers, and business units. sentra.world helps companies build a structured ESG reporting and preparation workflow from source data to final disclosure.
- Data sits across plants and teams
ESG inputs are spread across production, energy, EHS, HR, procurement, finance, legal, supplier management and plant operations.
- Carbon accounting is calculation-heavy
Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3, emission factors, fuel conversion, electricity calculations and intensity metrics require consistent methodology.
- Value-chain ESG data is difficult to collect
Suppliers and customers may need to provide ESG data, emissions data and evidence in structured formats.
- Assurance requires evidence
Companies need source documents, assumptions, calculation notes, approvals, audit trails and version control.
sentra.world helps Indian manufacturers turn complex ESG disclosures into audit-ready BRSR reporting with automated data collection, carbon accounting, evidence management, and certification support across 20+ ESG standards.
How sentra.world helps with BRSR reporting in India?
sentra.world provides ESG compliance software manufacturing companies can use to manage complex sustainability data, carbon accounting, framework mapping, and audit-ready disclosures.
Unlike generic ESG tools, sentra.world is built for industrial data complexity. It connects plant-level activity data, carbon accounting, operational evidence, supplier inputs, and reporting workflows into one ESG system.
BRSR Readiness Checklist
Use this checklist to assess whether your ESG reporting process is ready for upcoming disclosure and audit requirements.
- Have you defined your reporting boundary?
- Have you mapped ESG data owners across departments?
- Are Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions calculated?
- Is Scope 3 data available where required?
- Are energy, water, waste, safety, workforce and governance metrics traceable?
- Are BRSR Core indicators mapped to source data?
- Are assumptions and calculation methodologies documented?
- Is supporting evidence stored in one place?
- Are approval workflows defined?
- Is value-chain ESG data being collected?
Ready to make BRSR Reporting Easy?
sentra.world helps industrial manufacturers meet ESG reporting requirements with a structured ESG data management platform.
Leading ESG Consultancy for Industrial Manufacturers
Trusted by across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia for ESG Reporting, Carbon Accounting, EPD Consulting, and CBAM Consultancy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. BRSR is mandatory for eligible listed companies in India, especially the top listed entities by market capitalisation. Companies covered under SEBI’s framework are expected to disclose ESG and responsible business information in the prescribed BRSR format.
BRSR applies to eligible listed entities in India. The most commonly discussed applicability is the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation. These companies need to include BRSR disclosures as part of their annual reporting process.
BRSR is the broader ESG reporting format. BRSR Core is a focused set of key ESG indicators designed to improve comparability, reliability and assurance-readiness. BRSR Core focuses on measurable ESG KPIs such as emissions, water, energy, waste, workforce, safety, diversity and governance.
BRSR is primarily a listed-company disclosure requirement. However, private companies may still face ESG data requests if they are suppliers, customers, subsidiaries, or value-chain partners of listed companies covered under BRSR or BRSR Core.
Value-chain ESG disclosures refer to ESG information collected beyond the reporting company’s own operations. This may include supplier data, customer-linked data, upstream emissions, downstream impacts and other sustainability information from value-chain partners.
BRSR Core indicators cover key ESG areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint, energy footprint, waste management, employee wellbeing and safety, gender diversity, inclusive development, customer and supplier fairness, and business conduct.
BRSR Core assurance is being introduced in a phased manner for eligible listed entities. Companies need to prepare source-level data, evidence, calculation methodology and audit trails to support assurance or assessment requirements.
Manufacturers need ESG data management software because BRSR data is spread across plants, ERP systems, meters, utility bills, HR systems, EHS records, procurement teams and suppliers. A digital system helps collect, validate, calculate and report ESG data with traceability.
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