BRSR Core for FY 2026-27: A Simple Guide for India’s Listed Companies

BRSR Core is the independently checked part of SEBI’s sustainability report, and in FY 2026-27 it applies to India’s top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation. If your company ranks between 501 and 1,000, this is your first year. Companies ranked higher have already been through at least one cycle.

Here are the key points:

• BRSR Core covers 9 ESG attributes. It sits inside the full BRSR.
• FY 2026-27 runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. More than half of it is already gone.
• Since SEBI’s March 2025 circular, you can choose independent assurance or a third-party assessment under Industry Standards Forum (ISF) standards.
• Value chain reporting for the top 250 companies is voluntary. So is the checking of that data.
• Intensity ratios use revenue adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). The industry standard says to take the PPP rate from the IMF.
• Your assurance provider needs the right skills and must be free of conflicts.
• The best use of the months left is to fix your data trail, test it, and close gaps before the auditors arrive.

What is BRSR, and how is BRSR Core different?

BRSR is SEBI’s mandatory sustainability report for the top 1,000 listed companies, and BRSR Core is a smaller set of metrics inside it that must be independently checked. SEBI introduced the BRSR format in May 2021, and it became mandatory for the top 1,000 listed entities from FY 2022-23. The July 2023 circular then created BRSR Core as a sub-set of key metrics under 9 ESG attributes.

	Full BRSR	BRSR Core
What it is	A broad report built on the nine NGRBC principles, with essential and leadership indicators	A sub-set of key metrics under 9 ESG attributes
Who files	Top 1,000 listed companies	The same companies, with checking phased in by rank
External checking	Not mandated by the circular, though the format asks if any was done	Mandatory assurance or assessment
Where it appears	In the annual report	In the annual report

Why did SEBI create BRSR Core?

SEBI created BRSR Core to give investors ESG numbers that are consistent, checkable and comparable. The July 2023 circular says SEBI added KPIs that suit India and other emerging markets, such as job creation in small towns, openness of business and wages paid to women. It also added PPP-adjusted intensity ratios so Indian data can be compared with global peers. In short, the aim is to move ESG reporting from stories to figures that someone has verified.

Which companies must comply in FY 2026-27?

The top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation must comply with BRSR Core in FY 2026-27. SEBI rolled the requirement out in steps, as the circular’s glide path shows.

Financial year	Companies covered
FY 2023-24	Top 150
FY 2024-25	Top 250
FY 2025-26	Top 500
FY 2026-27	Top 1,000

Companies ranked 501 to 1,000 are first-time filers this year. One industry guide says your rank is fixed by market capitalisation as of 31 March each year. Confirm your position with your company secretary.

What changed in SEBI’s March 2025 circular?

The March 2025 circular eased two things: how BRSR Core is checked, and how value chain reporting works. This summary of the circular lists the main points:

• Companies can choose a third-party assessment or assurance for BRSR Core.
• Value chain disclosures became voluntary from FY 2025-26, instead of comply-or-explain.
• Assessment or assurance of value chain data is voluntary from FY 2026-27.
• Reporting past data for the first value chain year (FY 2024-25) is optional.
• A new leadership indicator on green credits was added under Principle 6.

SEBI also issued Industry Standards on Reporting of BRSR Core in December 2024. The Industry Standards Forum, which includes ASSOCHAM, FICCI and CII, wrote them. The rank-based schedule itself did not change.

What is the difference between assurance and assessment?

Assurance is an audit-style engagement under recognised assurance standards, while assessment is a third-party check against the ISF’s industry standards. SEBI now lets you pick either. Because the board must make sure the provider is competent, this choice belongs on the board or audit committee agenda. Do not assume one route is lighter than the other. Ask each provider which standard it works under, what evidence it will test and what report you will receive.

What is the difference between limited and reasonable assurance?

Limited assurance gives a moderate level of comfort, and reasonable assurance gives a higher level through deeper testing and a positive conclusion.

Question	Limited assurance	Reasonable assurance
How deep is the testing?	Lighter. Mostly inquiry and review	Deeper. More samples, source documents and control testing
How is the conclusion worded?	Negative form, such as ‘nothing came to our attention’	Positive form, such as ‘the data is properly prepared in all material respects’
What does it need from you?	Reasonable records	Records that trace cleanly back to source

The 2023 circular required reasonable assurance for BRSR Core and limited assurance for value chain data. The 2025 changes softened the value chain part, as covered below.

Who can act as your assurance provider?

Your assurance provider must have the right expertise and no conflict of interest. The SEBI circular says the board must ensure the provider has the necessary expertise. It also says the provider and its associates should not sell products or give non-audit or consulting services to the company or its group entities. In most cases, that means your ESG consultant and your assurance provider should be different firms.

When you compare providers, ask about:

• Experience with greenhouse gas, water, safety and workforce data.
• Capacity to visit all your key sites.
• A written confirmation of independence.
• The standard they follow and the report format you will get.
• Timeline, team continuity and fee basis.

What are the nine BRSR Core attributes?

The nine attributes are GHG footprint, water footprint, energy footprint, waste and circularity, employee wellbeing and safety, gender diversity, inclusive development, fairness with customers and suppliers, and openness of business. The table follows SEBI’s Annexure I, which also sets out the data and assurance approach.

Attribute	What you report	Evidence auditors usually check
1. GHG footprint	Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, plus intensity per PPP-adjusted revenue and per unit of output	Fuel records, emission factors (IPCC or lab-tested), electricity bills, supplier certificates
2. Water footprint	Total water consumed, intensity, and discharge by destination and treatment level	Calibrated input and output meter logs
3. Energy footprint	Total energy consumed, share from renewables, intensity	Fuel and electricity records, self-generation counted once
4. Waste and circularity	Waste by category (plastic, e-waste, bio-medical, construction, battery, radioactive, hazardous, other), intensity, recovery and disposal	Waste records, vendor certificates where relied upon
5. Employee wellbeing and safety	Wellbeing spend as a share of revenue, LTIFR, fatalities and permanent disabilities, including contract workforce	Insurance and premium details, claims, factory inspector reports, hours worked
6. Gender diversity	Gross wages paid to women as a share of total wages, and POSH complaints	Employee master or register
7. Inclusive development	Share of purchases from MSMEs and small producers and from within India, and wages paid in smaller towns	Procurement data, place of employment by RBI classification
8. Fairness with customers and suppliers	Customer data breaches as a share of all breaches or cyber events, and days of accounts payable	Incident logs, financial statements
9. Openness of business	Concentration of purchases and sales with trading houses and dealers, and related-party shares in purchases, sales, loans and investments	Audited related-party disclosures, invoices

Some summaries online describe these KPIs differently, for example with a board-level gender ratio or a product safety complaint metric. Work from the annexure itself.

How do you calculate the main BRSR Core numbers?

Most BRSR Core numbers come from a short formula and clean source records. The formulas below come from Annexure I. The examples use made-up figures.

• Scope 1: fuel used times emission factor, minus carbon captured, plus process and fugitive emissions.
• Scope 2: purchased energy consumed times its emission factor.
• Water consumption: input water minus output water, if you cannot measure consumption directly.
• LTIFR: lost time injuries times 1,000,000, divided by total hours worked. Example: 6 injuries over 2.4 million hours gives 2.5.
• Wages to women: wages paid to women divided by total wages. Example: ₹180 crore of ₹900 crore is 20%.
• Days of accounts payable: accounts payable times 365, divided by the cost of goods and services procured. Example: ₹150 crore of payables and ₹1,200 crore of cost gives about 45.6 days.
• Smaller town wages: wages paid in smaller towns divided by total wage cost.

Use one revenue figure, taken from the audited profit and loss statement, in every intensity ratio.

What is the PPP adjustment and how do you apply it?

The PPP adjustment converts your revenue into international dollars so intensity ratios can be compared fairly across countries. First, take total revenue from operations from the audited P&L. Second, divide it by the PPP conversion factor. Third, divide the footprint (emissions, water, energy or waste) by that result.

The Industry Standards note says PPP-adjusted revenue equals revenue in INR divided by the IMF PPP conversion factor. It gave 22.4 as India’s rate as of April 2024. Always use the latest IMF figure, disclose the rate, and use the same rate for the previous year’s comparison. Some guides name the RBI as the source. The industry standard names the IMF.

Worked example. A company has revenue of ₹10,000 million and emits 50,000 tCO2e. PPP-adjusted revenue is 10,000 divided by 22.4, or about 446.4 million. Intensity is 50,000 divided by 446.4, or about 112 tCO2e per million international dollars.

You also report intensity per unit of output, such as per tonne produced. For electricity emissions, the standard points to the latest CEA grid emission factor where measurable data is available. State the source of every factor.

How does value chain reporting work today?

Value chain reporting is now voluntary for the top 250 listed companies, and so is assessment or assurance of that data from FY 2026-27. The original 2023 rule covered upstream and downstream partners making up 75% of purchases or sales, on a comply-or-explain basis. The 2025 revision focuses on partners that individually account for 2% or more of purchases or sales, and makes disclosure voluntary.

If a company does report, it must say what share of its sales and purchases the reported partners cover. The circular also says scope, assumptions and estimates must be clearly disclosed.

Suppliers should still prepare. Large customers may ask for data even without a mandate, and a ready answer is a procurement advantage. Here is a simple data request you can adapt:

Item	Unit	Period	Proof to keep
Electricity and fuel used	kWh, litres, kg	Financial year	Bills, fuel registers
Water consumed	kL	Financial year	Meter logs
Waste generated	kg or tonnes	Financial year	Waste records
Lost time injuries and hours worked	Count, hours	Financial year	Incident log, attendance
Wages paid to women	% of total wages	Financial year	Payroll

How does an assurance engagement work in practice?

An assurance engagement checks your numbers, the records behind them and the controls that produce them. Steps vary by provider and standard, but a typical flow looks like this:

1. Scoping. You and the provider agree the boundary, attributes, period and standard.
2. Walkthroughs. The provider traces how data moves from site to report.
3. Testing. Samples are checked against invoices, meter logs, payroll and registers.
4. Site visits. The provider sees meters, records and practices where they are used.
5. Findings. Errors are corrected and gaps are discussed.
6. Conclusion. The provider issues its report, and the board adopts the BRSR for the annual report.

For a real example of the output, see Adani Ports’ independent assurance statement. It lists the nine attributes and the intensity metrics that were verified. Treat it as an example, not a template.

What does BRSR Core mean for different sectors?

BRSR Core puts the most pressure on different attributes in different sectors. These are general examples, not an official list.

• Manufacturing: Scope 1 fuel and process emissions, water meters, waste categories and contractor safety hours.
• IT and services: Scope 2 electricity across many offices, data centre power, wages in smaller towns and women’s share of wages.
• Banks and financial services: branch electricity, related-party shares in loans and investments, data breach reporting and small-town jobs.
• Pharma and chemicals: process emissions, water discharge and treatment, hazardous waste and safety.
• FMCG and retail: sales concentration with dealers and distributors, purchases from trading houses, MSME sourcing and plastic waste.

How does India’s assurance level compare with CSRD and California SB 253?

India already asks for reasonable assurance or assessment on a fixed schedule, while the EU’s CSRD stays at limited assurance and California’s SB 253 reaches reasonable assurance only in 2030.

Framework	Assurance level
SEBI BRSR Core	Reasonable assurance or ISF assessment, phased by rank from FY 2023-24 to FY 2026-27
EU CSRD	Limited, with the move to reasonable removed after Directive (EU) 2026/470
California SB 253	None in the first year, limited from 2027 to 2029, reasonable from 2030

This matters if you report to more than one regime. Confirm current rules before you rely on the table.

What belongs on a BRSR Core readiness checklist?

A good checklist covers scope, data, controls, people and the provider.

• Rank confirmed and BRSR Core applicability confirmed.
• Board has chosen assurance or assessment.
• Reporting boundary written down and approved.
• Every KPI has a named owner, a source system and a list of evidence.
• One audited revenue figure used across all intensity ratios.
• PPP rate taken from the IMF, recorded, and applied to the prior year too.
• Emission factors documented with source and date.
• Meters calibrated and records stored.
• Monthly review and sign-off in place.
• Provider shortlisted and independence confirmed in writing.
• Value chain partners above the 2% mark identified, if you choose to report.

How do you build a data owner map?

A data owner map names who is responsible for each number, where it comes from and what proves it. Start with a table like this:

Attribute	Data owner	Source	Frequency	Evidence kept	Reviewer
Scope 1 emissions	Plant EHS lead	Fuel registers	Monthly	Invoices, factor sheet	Finance controller
Water consumption	Utilities manager	Meter logs	Monthly	Calibration records	EHS head
LTIFR	HR and safety	Incident log, attendance	Monthly	Reports, hours data	Compliance head
Days of accounts payable	Finance	Financial statements	Quarterly	Ledger extracts	CFO

Why does good BRSR Core data matter beyond compliance?

Good BRSR Core data helps with investor trust, financing conversations and cost savings. Investors and lenders can compare verified numbers more easily than narrative claims. Sustainability-linked loans and green bonds often ask for verified KPI baselines. Teams that trace data to meter level also tend to find waste, such as estimated bills, leaks or unmetered sites, which can lead to savings.

What are the most common myths about BRSR Core?

Several myths circulate, and six of them are worth fixing.

Myth	What the sources say
Value chain reporting is mandatory for the top 250.	It has been voluntary since the March 2025 circular.
Only reasonable assurance is allowed.	Companies may choose assurance or assessment.
The PPP rate comes from the RBI.	The Industry Standards note names the IMF.
Only the top 250 or 500 are affected.	The schedule reaches the top 1,000 in FY 2026-27.
Your ESG consultant can also assure your report.	The circular’s conflict rule bars consulting to the same entity.
BRSR Core includes a gender pay ratio and a product safety metric.	Annexure I lists wages to women, POSH complaints, data breaches and days of accounts payable.

Frequently asked questions