ESG Strategies & BRSR Reporting

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is no longer a CSR talking point — it is a regulatory mandate, an investor screen, a customer requirement, and a financing precondition for Indian companies. By 2026, the architecture is concrete: SEBI's BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report) is mandatory for the top 1,000 listed entities by market cap as part of the Annual Report; BRSR Core (a verified subset of 49 KPIs) is mandatory and auditor-attested for top 250 listed entities from FY 2023-24 onwards, expanding annually; the RBI's Climate-Risk Framework applies to banks and NBFCs; SEBI's Climate Disclosure Standards are tightening; global investor and customer chains (EU CSRD, GRI Standards, ISSB IFRS S1 / S2) impose ESG screens on Indian suppliers.

Beyond regulation, ESG affects access to capital — sustainability-linked loans, green bonds, ESG-screened equity — at progressively material spreads. Customers in EU / US / Japan increasingly require ESG attestations as a vendor-onboarding precondition. Insurers price climate risk into premiums. The bottom line: ESG is a board-level, balance-sheet-level concern, not a CSR-team activity.

We help Indian companies build ESG strategies, comply with BRSR, prepare BRSR Core for assurance, align with global frameworks (GRI, SASB, ISSB IFRS S1/S2, TCFD), and integrate ESG into operational decisions — for listed companies, growth-stage businesses, and supply-chain participants requiring ESG disclosure.

What's Inside an ESG Strategy Engagement

• Materiality Assessment:: Industry-specific ESG topics (energy / emissions / water / waste / human capital / community / governance); stakeholder mapping; double-materiality (impact-on-business + impact-on-society).

• BRSR Compliance:: Section A (general disclosures), Section B (management & process), Section C (principle-wise performance under NGRBC 9 principles); BRSR Core (49 KPIs) for top 250; reasonable assurance preparation.

• Climate Risk & TCFD Alignment:: Physical and transition climate risk identification; scenario analysis (1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C); GHG inventory (Scope 1 / 2 / 3); SBTi-aligned targets where relevant.

• Global Framework Alignment:: GRI Standards; SASB; ISSB IFRS S1 (general sustainability) / S2 (climate-specific); TCFD; CDP disclosures; UN Global Compact.

• EU CSRD & Global Customer Chain:: For Indian suppliers to EU / US / Japan customers — Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) data points, Scope 3 supplier data, EcoVadis / SBTi requirements.

• Sustainable Finance:: Sustainability-linked loan KPIs, green bond eligibility, ESG-screened equity readiness, climate-resilience disclosures for lenders.

• Operational Integration:: Net-zero roadmap, energy efficiency, water positivity, waste circularity, diversity / inclusion programs, Board ESG governance, internal control over ESG data (analogous to ICFR for financial data).

Why Most ESG Programs Fail Audit

BRSR data not collected at source — reverse-engineered at year-end. Scope 3 emissions estimated without supplier engagement. Materiality assessment generic — not industry-specific or stakeholder-led. KPI definitions inconsistent across years. Internal control over ESG data (ICESG) absent — assurance failures at BRSR Core attestation. Board ESG governance not documented. We pre-empt all of these.