In short
The BRSR has three sections — general disclosures, management and process disclosures, and principle-wise performance across nine principles, each with essential and leadership indicators. What each section asks for.
The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) has a fixed format set by SEBI.1 It is organised around the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC)2, in three sections. Knowing the structure is the first step to planning who provides which figure.
Section A: general disclosures
Section A gives the context for everything else:
- Details of the listed entity — name, CIN, address, financial year, stock exchanges, paid-up capital, the reporting boundary (standalone or consolidated) and a contact person.
- Products and services — business activities and the share of turnover from each.
- Operations — number of plants and offices in India and abroad, and the markets served.
- Employees and workers — headcount by gender, permanent and other than permanent, differently abled, women on the board and in key management, and turnover rates.
- Holding, subsidiary and associate companies, and whether they take part in the company's business responsibility initiatives.
- CSR details — whether section 135 applies, turnover and net worth.
- Transparency and disclosures compliance — complaints received from each stakeholder group, and the material responsible business conduct issues the company has identified, with the risk or opportunity each presents.
Section B: management and process disclosures
Section B asks, for each of the nine principles, whether the company has a policy, whether the board approved it, whether it extends to the value chain, which national and international standards it follows, its commitments and targets, and how performance against them is reviewed. It also names the director responsible for the BRSR and asks whether an independent assessment of the policies has been carried out.
Section C: principle-wise performance
Section C is the core of the report: performance against each principle.
| Principle | What it is about | Typical indicators |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ethics, transparency and accountability | Integrity and good governance | Training on the principles, fines and penalties, anti-corruption policy, conflicts of interest |
| 2. Sustainable and safe goods and services | Products across their life cycle | Research and capital expenditure on sustainable technologies, sustainable sourcing, reclaiming products and packaging |
| 3. Employee wellbeing | All employees, including in the value chain | Health and insurance benefits, retirement benefits, parental leave, safety incidents, training, accessibility |
| 4. Stakeholder interests | Responsiveness to all stakeholders | Identifying key stakeholder groups and how the company engages with them |
| 5. Human rights | Respect and promotion of human rights | Training, minimum and fair wages, complaints on harassment and discrimination, assessments of plants and offices |
| 6. Environment | Protecting and restoring the environment | Energy, water, air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2, with intensity), waste, environmental compliance |
| 7. Policy advocacy | Responsible and transparent public policy engagement | Trade and industry associations, anti-competitive conduct |
| 8. Inclusive growth | Equitable development | Social impact assessments, rehabilitation and resettlement, sourcing from small producers, CSR projects |
| 9. Consumer value | Responsible engagement with consumers | Consumer complaints, product recalls, cyber security and data privacy |
Essential indicators are mandatory for companies that must file the BRSR. Leadership indicators are voluntary; companies that aim higher — or are preparing for indicators to become mandatory — report them too. Many quantitative indicators ask for the current and the previous financial year, so comparatives must be kept.
BRSR Core: the indicators that get checked
BRSR Core is a subset of the BRSR: a limited set of key indicators across nine attributes, such as the greenhouse gas, water and energy footprints, employee wellbeing and safety, and gender diversity.3 For FY 2026-27, the top 1,000 listed companies must have these indicators independently assessed or assured.4 See BRSR Core explained for each attribute and its calculation.
How the BRSR is filed
The BRSR is part of the annual report, and is also filed with the stock exchanges in XBRL. Our guide Filing BRSR in XBRL covers what the exchanges require, and BRSR intensity ratios explains the PPP-adjusted intensity calculations Section C asks for.
Frequently asked questions
How many principles are there in the BRSR?
Nine, taken from the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Are leadership indicators mandatory?
No. Essential indicators are mandatory for companies required to file the BRSR; leadership indicators are voluntary.
Is there a BRSR format in Excel?
SEBI publishes the format, and the exchanges provide a utility for the XBRL filing. Our free ESG data template helps collect the underlying figures by site and month.
How ESGTrack helps
ESGTrack has every BRSR question — Sections A, B and C, essential and leadership indicators — with each figure linked to its source data, evidence and approvals. It checks the report before filing and prepares the XBRL file. See BRSR reporting, test yourself with the BRSR readiness checklist, or book a demo.
References
- Business responsibility and sustainability reporting by listed entities (circular introducing the BRSR) — Securities and Exchange Board of India (circular). 10 May 2021
- National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct — Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. 2019
- BRSR Core — Framework for assurance and ESG disclosures for value chain — Securities and Exchange Board of India (circular). 12 July 2023
- Measures to facilitate ease of doing business with respect to framework for assurance or assessment, ESG disclosures for value chain, and introduction of voluntary disclosure on green credits — Securities and Exchange Board of India (circular). 28 March 2025
Next review due 6 May 2027. Regulations change: check the primary sources above before relying on a date or threshold.