BRSR intensity ratios and PPP-adjusted turnover: how to calculate them

An absolute figure — 50,000 tonnes of CO₂e, 2 million kilolitres of water — says little on its own about how efficiently a company runs. BRSR therefore asks for intensity ratios too: the same quantity divided by turnover, and by what the company produces. Since July 2023, SEBI has also asked for turnover adjusted for purchasing power parity. This guide explains which ratios are needed, how each is calculated, and the choices to disclose.

Which intensity ratios does BRSR ask for?

SEBI added PPP-adjusted ratios with BRSR Core in July 2023, "for better global comparability"¹. For each of the environmental footprints, the BRSR format now has up to four intensity lines¹²:

BRSR Core applies them to four footprints²:

• GHG: total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (tCO₂e)
• Energy: total energy consumed (GJ)
• Water: total water consumed (kL)
• Waste: total waste generated (t)

The Industry Standards on Reporting of BRSR Core make two of these mandatory for the Core KPIs — the PPP-adjusted ratio and the output-based ratio — and leave other metrics voluntary³. Listed companies must follow the Industry Standards from FY 2024-25⁴.

How do you adjust turnover for PPP?

Purchasing power parity converts an amount in rupees into "international dollars" that buy the same basket of goods and services. Because prices in India are lower than in the US, a rupee buys more at home than its market exchange rate suggests, and PPP-adjusted revenue is much larger than revenue converted at the market rate.

The Industry Standards give the method³:

PPP-adjusted revenue (USD) = revenue from operations (₹) ÷ IMF PPP conversion factor for India

The factor is the IMF's implied PPP conversion rate for India — rupees per international dollar — published in its World Economic Outlook data⁵. The Industry Standards' own example uses 22.4, the value "as of April 2024", and convert revenue of 10,000 million rupees into 446 million US dollars at PPP³. They also require companies to disclose the conversion factor used³.

A worked example

A manufacturer reports for FY 2025-26:

• Scope 1 + Scope 2 emissions: 50,000 tCO₂e
• Revenue from operations: ₹2,500 crore (₹25,000 million)
• Production: 1.2 million tonnes
• PPP conversion factor (illustrative, using the Industry Standards' 22.4): 22.4

The same steps apply to energy (GJ), water (kL) and waste (t). Write the units in the report: "per rupee", "per USD (PPP)" and "per tonne" give very different-looking numbers for the same company.

Which output measure should you use?

For the output-based ratio, the Industry Standards point to total production for manufacturers and to full-time equivalent employees for service companies³. A few rules keep the ratio useful:

• Pick one measure and keep it. Changing from tonnes of finished product to tonnes of clinker, or from FTEs to headcount, breaks the comparison with last year. If you must change, restate the prior year and say why.
• Match the boundary. Divide emissions from the sites in your BRSR boundary by the output of those same sites.
• Multi-product companies can use a common unit — tonnes, units or "equivalent product" — and must explain how products are converted into it.

Common mistakes

1. Using the market exchange rate (around 85 to 90 rupees to the dollar) instead of the PPP factor. It produces an intensity roughly four times too high.
2. Using total income instead of revenue from operations. The formula uses revenue from operations, as in the financial statements.
3. Mixing years: this year's emissions over last year's revenue, or a PPP factor from a different year without saying so.
4. Changing the output measure silently, which makes a worse year look better.
5. Rounding too early. Round the final ratio, not the inputs.

How the ratios connect to BRSR Core assurance

The intensity ratios are BRSR Core KPIs in their own right, so they are within the scope of assessment or assurance for the companies required to obtain it⁶. That means the numerator (emissions, energy, water or waste), the denominator (revenue, PPP factor, output) and the arithmetic all need support. Our guide to BRSR Core sets out who needs assurance and when, and Scope 2 in India covers the emission factors behind the GHG numerator.

How ESGTrack helps

ESGTrack calculates the BRSR Core KPIs from approved data, including the intensity ratios. The PPP conversion factor is recorded once for each year with its source and version; each intensity keeps the revenue, output and factor it was calculated with; and when a figure an intensity depends on changes, ESGTrack shows which intensities to recalculate. The evidence stays with each figure for your assessor or assurer. See BRSR and BRSR Core and assurance readiness.