How to prepare your first BRSR report (India)
A practical walkthrough for finance, sustainability and company secretarial teams preparing a first Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report under SEBI's rules.
This guide is for the team that has been asked to produce the first BRSR for a listed company in India. It assumes you are in the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation, where the report is mandatory. For the overview, read BRSR and BRSR Core explained.
Know the structure
The BRSR has three sections. Section A covers general disclosures, Section B covers management and process disclosures against the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, and Section C covers principle-wise performance. In Section C, essential indicators are mandatory and leadership indicators are voluntary. The report forms part of the annual report and is filed through the stock exchanges in XBRL.
Step 1: Set up the team
BRSR crosses departments. Name a coordinator, normally in finance, company secretarial or sustainability, and an owner for each principle: HR, EHS, procurement, legal, IT security, CSR and operations.
Step 2: Read the current format and guidance
Download the current BRSR format and SEBI's guidance note from sebi.gov.in and the stock exchange websites. Save the version you work from. The format was updated in 2023, and a SEBI circular of 28 March 2025 changed assurance and value chain provisions and added a green credits indicator.
Step 3: Map every indicator to a data owner
Create a sheet with one row per indicator: the indicator, the owner, the source system, the unit and the due date. Our BRSR Core evidence checklist gives a starting point for the core indicators.
Step 4: Collect Section A and B first
These are mostly facts and policies: employee numbers, products, markets, board oversight, policy lists and review dates. Check against the annual report and other filings so figures agree.
Step 5: Collect Section C data by plant and function
Environmental data often sits at plant level. Ask each site for energy, water and waste by month and collect supporting invoices and logs. For people metrics, extract from HR and payroll systems. Reconcile totals back to group level.
Step 6: Use a documented method
Write down how you calculate each figure. For BRSR Core indicators, apply the Industry Standards Note, which sets calculation methods and applies from FY 2024-25. Details in BRSR Core: KPIs and evidence.
Step 7: Decide about assessment or assurance
BRSR Core assessment or assurance is phased in by market capitalisation rank and reaches the top 1,000 from FY 2026-27. Since the March 2025 circular, entities can choose assessment or assurance. Providers must meet SEBI's independence rules. Plan the engagement before year-end.
Step 8: Value chain disclosures
SEBI's circular of 28 March 2025 (SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2025/42) made value chain disclosures voluntary for the top 250 listed entities from FY 2025-26 (assessment or assurance of them is voluntary from FY 2026-27). Value chain partners are those accounting for 2% or more of purchases or sales by value, and an entity may limit disclosure to partners covering 75% of purchases and sales. An entity that discloses must state the share of sales and purchases covered.
Step 9: Review, approve and file
Have the board or its sustainability committee review the draft. Check consistency with the annual report. File through the exchange's XBRL utility by the deadline.
Software and advisers
TNFD
Taskforce that publishes recommendations and guidance for organisations to report nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.
StepChange
Climate and ESG software platform covering Scope 1-3 and portfolio emissions, vendor ESG management and climate and nature risk.
Newtral
ESG and carbon management platform with BRSR reporting.
Stakeholders Empowerment Services
Mumbai proxy advisory and ESG research firm that scores listed Indian companies and offers a BRSR guide and tool.
Benchmark Gensuite
EHS and ESG software suite with reporting tools including BRSR and BRSR Core.
EcoActive ESG
ESG reporting software for BRSR and other frameworks.
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Official sources
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Rules change; check the official sources and talk to an adviser before you rely on it.
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