SEBI’s BRSR is a huge step towards standardised disclosures on ESG parameters and enables comparability across companies, sectors and over time
In a recent webinar on Driving Climate Action through Disclosure: BRSR as Bedrock for ESG Action in India, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in association with CDP, and WMB on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow, Ajay Tyagi, Chairperson, SEBI has said that global developments, such as Paris Agreement on climate change, increased focus on sustainability, among others, have led to a review of the disclosure requirements under the Business Responsibility Report (BRR).
“Accordingly, after extensive stakeholder consultation, SEBI introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR). The BRSR is more focussed on having quantifiable metrics and is outcome oriented. The nine principles of BRSR echo the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and cover both environment and social aspects,” he added.
Tyagi stated, that SEBI had introduced mandatory BRR for top 100 listed companies in 2012, which was then extended to 500 companies in 2015 and then for top 1000 companies in 2019. SEBI had also introduced voluntary adoption of integrated reporting by top 500 companies.
India’s new mandatory disclosure regime – BRSR, is a huge step towards standardised disclosures on ESG parameters and enable comparability across companies, sectors and over time.
“We believe that for a country like India, social factors are as relevant and important as climate-related factors. Therefore, we have consciously followed a Climate Plus approach while working on BRSR. The disclosures are not only related to climate-related metrics but also on quantitative social metrics,” the SEBI Chairperson noted.
Further, speaking about sustainable investing, Tyagi said that investors are realising the implication of sustainability related risks and have started treating these as material to their investment decisions. This is reflected in the recent increase in total assets and inflows in sustainable funds globally.
Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO, Dalmia Cements, said “The BRR and now the BRSR have been proactive and positive efforts for businesses. BRSR is a good foundation for ESG reporting, it will go a long way to help companies to introspect and then to communicate.”
