India Requires Top 1000 Companies to Submit Business Sustainability Reports 
On July 11, 2023, Securities and Exchange Board of India has promulgated a circular on compliance of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. Under regulation 34 (2)(f), top one thousand listed entities based on market capitalization have to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) each year. This circular has provided information and formats of all reports, including BRSR, required to submit by all listed entities. BRSR can also be submitted voluntarily.
Format of BRSR are broadly divided into Sections A, B and C. Of these, Section C specifies information to be disclosed based on nine principles such as environment, wages, human rights and welfare, while each principles include mandatory and voluntary items. Below is a brief summary of mandatory parameters for “Businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment”, the sixth principle in Section C.
Energy Consumption
- Total electricity consumption
- Total fuel consumption
- Energy consumption through other sources
- Energy intensity per rupee of turnover
Water Resources Management
- Surface water withdrawal
- Groundwater withdrawal
- Third party water withdrawal
- Seawater/ desalinated water withdrawal
- Total water consumption
- Water intensity per rupee of turnover
Gas emissions (Other than greenhouse gases)
- Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
- Sulphur Oxides (SOx)
- Particulate matter (PM)
- Persistent organic pollutants (POP)
- Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
- Hazardous air pollutants (HAP)
- Other gases
Greenhouse gas emissions
- Specify each item in Scope 1 and Scope 2 accordingly.
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Methane gas (CH4)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
- Perfluorochemicals (PFCs)
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
- Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3)
- Total emissions per rupee of turnover
Waste Management
- Plastic waste
- E-waste
- Bio-medical waste
- Construction and demolition waste
- Battery waste
- Radioactive waste
- Other hazardous and non-hazardous waste
Other than items above, businesses are also required to describe its use of recycled materials, waste management plan under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of products, and any non-compliance of laws and regulations if applicable.
Download the circular from below (Format of BRSR mentioned in page 23 as well as Annexure 16 and 17):
https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/master-circulars/jul-2023/master-circular-for-compliance-with-the-provisions-of-the-securities-and-exchange-board-of-india-listing-obligations-and-disclosure-requirements-regulations-2015-by-listed-entities_73795.html
