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ESG reporting glossary

The words that turn up in BRSR circulars, GHG Protocol guidance and assurance engagements, explained in plain language — with a link to the guide that goes further.

  • 41 terms, alphabetical
  • Each linked to a sourced guide
  • Published as structured data for search engines

Terms

A

Activity data #
Measured quantities of an activity that causes emissions — litres of fuel, kWh of electricity, tonnes of waste — multiplied by an emission factor to give emissions. Read more
Assessment (BRSR Core) #
Third-party assessment of BRSR Core figures under the standards developed by the Industry Standards Forum — the alternative to assurance SEBI allowed from March 2025. Read more
Assurance #
An independent engagement that tests whether reported figures are supported and gives a conclusion: reasonable assurance (a positive opinion, more evidence) or limited assurance (a negative-form conclusion, less evidence). Read more
Audit trail #
A record of who entered, changed or approved each figure, when, what it was before and after, and why. Read more

B

Base year #
The year against which a company tracks its emissions over time. Under the GHG Protocol, base-year emissions are recalculated when structural changes, such as acquisitions or divestments, or changes in method change them significantly. Read more
BRSR #
The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report: the ESG disclosure SEBI requires from India's top 1,000 listed companies, filed with the annual report in PDF and XBRL. Read more
BRSR Core #
Key BRSR indicators under nine attributes that must be independently assessed or assured, phased in from the top 150 listed companies (FY 2023-24) to the top 1,000 (FY 2026-27). Read more

C

CBAM #
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: EU importers of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen declare the emissions embedded in those goods, in its definitive form from 1 January 2026. Read more
CCTS #
India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023: obligated entities in notified sectors have greenhouse gas emission intensity targets and earn or surrender carbon credit certificates. Read more
CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) #
Emissions of different greenhouse gases expressed as the amount of CO₂ with the same warming effect, using global warming potentials. Read more
CSRD and ESRS #
The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards it uses, based on double materiality. Read more

D

Double materiality #
Reporting on a topic if the company has significant impacts on it, if it significantly affects the company — or both. Required by ESRS. Read more

E

Emission factor #
The mass of greenhouse gas released per unit of activity, such as kg CO₂e per litre of diesel or kg of CO₂ per kWh of grid electricity, with a publisher, version and basis. Read more
Essential and leadership indicators #
In BRSR Section C, essential indicators are mandatory; leadership indicators are voluntary. Read more
Evidence #
The records behind a reported figure — bills, meter readings, registers, invoices, certificates — that let a reviewer or assurer trace it back to its source. Read more
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) #
The duty of producers, importers and brand owners to collect and recycle or process what they put on the market — in India, plastic packaging, batteries, e-waste and tyres, each under its own rules. Read more

F

Financed emissions #
A lender's or investor's share of the emissions of the companies and projects it finances — Scope 3 category 15 — usually measured with the PCAF standard. Read more

G

GCV and NCV #
Gross and net calorific value: the energy in a unit of fuel with and without the heat of the water vapour formed. IPCC factors use NCV; Indian fuel data often states GCV. Read more
GHG Protocol #
The standards from WRI and WBCSD for corporate greenhouse gas inventories — the Corporate Standard, the Scope 2 Guidance and the Scope 3 Standard — on which most frameworks build. Read more
Global warming potential (GWP) #
How much heat a gas traps over 100 years compared with CO₂, from an IPCC assessment report (AR4, AR5 or AR6); one set is used for a whole inventory. Read more
Green tariff #
A separate rate at which an electricity distribution company supplies power from renewable sources to consumers who ask for it. Like renewable energy certificates, it counts in market-based Scope 2. Read more
GRI Standards #
Voluntary standards for reporting a company's impacts on the economy, environment and people (impact materiality). Read more

H

Hazardous waste #
In India, waste listed in, or with the characteristics set out in, the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016; it must go to authorised handlers.

I

Intensity (PPP-adjusted) #
A figure divided by revenue from operations adjusted for purchasing power parity, as the BRSR format asks, so that intensities can be compared across countries. Read more
ISSB (IFRS S1 and S2) #
The International Sustainability Standards Board's standards for sustainability-related and climate-related financial disclosures, for investors (financial materiality). Read more

L

Location-based and market-based Scope 2 #
Two ways of reporting purchased electricity: at the average emission intensity of the grid, and at the emission rate of the electricity a company has contracted for. Read more
LTIFR #
Lost-time injury frequency rate: lost-time injuries per one million person-hours worked. A BRSR Core safety measure. Read more

N

NGRBC #
India's National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (2019): the nine principles BRSR Section C is organised around. Read more

O

Organisational boundary #
Which entities and sites a company includes in its reporting, set by operational control, financial control or equity share and applied consistently. Read more

P

Person-hours worked #
The hours worked in a period by everyone a safety rate covers — employees and workers, including contract workers where they are counted. LTIFR is expressed per one million person-hours. Read more
POSH Act #
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. BRSR asks for the complaints filed and resolved under it. Read more

R

Renewable energy certificates (RECs) #
Certificates that each represent one megawatt-hour of electricity generated from renewable sources. Claimed against a company's electricity use, they lower market-based Scope 2 but not location-based. Read more
Reporting boundary (BRSR) #
Whether a BRSR covers the listed company alone (standalone) or together with the entities in its consolidated financial statements (consolidated). Section A states it, and every figure follows it. Read more
Restatement #
A change to a figure reported in an earlier period — after an error is found or a method changes — disclosed with the reason. Read more

S

Scope 1 #
Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources a company owns or controls: fuel burned on site and in its vehicles, process emissions and refrigerant leaks. Read more
Scope 2 #
Indirect emissions from generating the electricity, steam, heat or cooling a company buys and uses. Read more
Scope 3 #
All other indirect emissions in a company's value chain, in 15 categories from purchased goods to investments. Read more
Spend-based method #
Estimating Scope 3 emissions by multiplying the money spent on goods and services by emission factors per unit of spend — quick, but less precise than supplier-specific or activity data. Read more

V

Value chain partners (BRSR) #
Upstream and downstream partners that are each 2% or more of a company's purchases or sales by value, on whom the top 250 listed companies may report voluntarily from FY 2025-26. Read more

W

Water withdrawal and consumption #
Withdrawal is all the water a site takes in — groundwater, surface water, third-party supply such as municipal water or tankers, seawater and other sources. Consumption is usually worked out as withdrawal minus discharge. Read more

X

XBRL #
The open standard for machine-readable reports. BRSR is filed in XBRL alongside the PDF, using elements defined in the exchanges' BRSR taxonomy. Read more

About these definitions

Each definition is written for someone meeting the term for the first time, and checked against the source that defines it: SEBI's circulars for BRSR and BRSR Core, the GHG Protocol for scopes and global warming potentials, the IPCC for calorific values, the IAASB and ICAI for assurance, and the standard-setters for GRI, the ISSB and ESRS. The guides each term links to cite those sources.

Inside the product, the same explanations appear beside the technical terms on every form, so the person entering a figure knows what is being asked.

What this tool does not do

  • It explains terms; it is not legal or accounting advice, and it does not replace the standard's own definition for a report.
  • It covers reporting and carbon accounting; product-specific terms of a framework (ESRS data points, IFRS S2 paragraphs) are explained in the guides.

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