How to File Your BRSR Report: A Step-by-Step Guide for India's Listed Companies
Filing a BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report) is now mandatory for India's top 1,000 listed companies. This guide walks you through every step — from understanding what to disclose to generating your final BRSR Core report for SEBI submission.
Who needs to file a BRSR report?
Under SEBI's LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) regulations, all of India's top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation must include a BRSR report in their annual report.
Additionally, if your company is covered under the BRSR Core assurance phasing — top 500 from FY 2025-26, top 1,000 from FY 2026-27 — you need independent third-party assurance of your BRSR Core disclosures.
The 3 sections of BRSR
Section A — General Disclosures
- Company details, corporate identity, products/services
- Number of employees and workers (permanent and contractual)
- Turnover and R&D spend
- Operations in special economic zones, high-risk areas
Section B — Management & Process Disclosures
- Governance policies for each of the 9 NGRBC principles
- Training on NGRBC principles
- Complaints and grievance mechanisms
- Memberships of trade bodies
Section C — Principle-wise Performance
- Quantitative data for all 9 principles
- Principle 6 (Environment): Scope 1, 2, 3 GHG emissions — mandatory BRSR Core disclosure
- Principle 3: Wages, turnover, training hours, POSH
- Principle 2: Sustainable sourcing percentage
BRSR Core KPI checklist — Principle 6 (Environment)
Principle 6 is where BRSR Core lives. These environmental KPIs require the highest data quality for third-party assurance:
Step-by-step BRSR filing process
Determine your BRSR applicability
Check if your company is in India's top 1,000 listed companies by market cap. If yes, BRSR filing is mandatory under SEBI LODR regulations.
Understand the BRSR format and sections
Review SEBI's BRSR format — Section A (General Disclosures), Section B (Management & Process Disclosures), and Section C (Principle-wise Performance Disclosures for all 9 NGRBC principles).
Collect ESG data throughout the year
Collect data for all 9 principles: energy consumption, GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2, 3), water, waste, employee data, wages, training, POSH disclosures, CSR spend, and consumer grievances.
Calculate GHG emissions using BRSR software
Calculate Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions using GHG Protocol methodology and India-specific emission factors from CEA (electricity) and BEE/MoEFCC (fuels). BRSR software like CarbonLens automates this.
Generate and review your BRSR Core report
Use BRSR software to generate the BRSR report in SEBI's prescribed format. Verify that all mandatory disclosures are complete, especially BRSR Core KPIs if third-party assurance is required.
Obtain third-party assurance if required
If your company is covered under SEBI's BRSR Core assurance phasing (top 150 for FY 2023-24, top 250 for FY 2024-25, top 500 for FY 2025-26), engage a SEBI-recognised assurance provider.
Include BRSR in your annual report
Embed the BRSR report in your annual report as required by SEBI LODR. Submit to the stock exchanges (NSE/BSE) as part of your annual filing.
Common BRSR filing mistakes to avoid
✗ Mistake: Using Excel for GHG calculations
✓ Fix: Excel formulas are error-prone and not auditable. Use BRSR software with built-in India-specific emission factors from CEA and BEE.
✗ Mistake: Collecting data in the last month of the year
✓ Fix: BRSR data should be collected continuously. Quarterly reconciliations avoid the year-end scramble.
✗ Mistake: Missing Scope 2 location-based vs market-based distinction
✓ Fix: BRSR Core requires both location-based (CEA grid factors) and market-based Scope 2 calculations.
✗ Mistake: Not having source documentation for assurance
✓ Fix: Every energy bill, meter reading, and fuel purchase should be uploaded and linked to its emission entry.
✗ Mistake: Treating Scope 3 as optional
✓ Fix: Scope 3 value chain disclosures are mandatory from FY 2025-26 for the top 500. Don't leave it to the last minute.
How BRSR software simplifies filing
BRSR software like CarbonLens eliminates the manual work of BRSR filing:
- Automatically calculates Scope 1, 2 & 3 GHG emissions with India-specific CEA/BEE factors
- Generates your BRSR Core report with one click — all 9 principles auto-populated
- Maintains an immutable audit trail of every data entry for assurance providers
- Integrates with Tally ERP to pull fuel and electricity data without manual re-entry
- Bill OCR captures utility bill data automatically
- Multi-user workflow enables data entry by different departments with manager review