ESG reporting in India: the complete guide for 2026

ESG reporting in India is no longer one report. A listed company files a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR); the largest have its core figures checked by a third party; energy-intensive plants report against carbon-market targets; packaging producers file EPR returns; exporters answer their EU customers. This guide maps every requirement in one place, with links to a detailed guide for each.

The map: who reports what

BRSR: the centre of Indian ESG reporting

For listed companies, the BRSR is the report everything else connects to. It follows the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, in three sections: general disclosures, management and process disclosures, and principle-wise performance with essential and leadership indicators. We explain the structure in BRSR format explained, and who must file in BRSR applicability.

BRSR Core is a subset of the BRSR — a limited set of indicators across nine attributes, from greenhouse gas emissions to gender diversity — that must be independently assessed or assured by the top 1,000 listed companies from FY 2026-27.¹ It is also the basis of SEBI-regulated "Core ESG ratings".

Climate: one set of numbers, several reports

The same emissions figures appear in several places: Scope 1 and Scope 2 in BRSR Principle 6 and BRSR Core, plant intensity in the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, product emissions in CBAM declarations, and group emissions in CDP or ISSB-based reports. Keeping one approved set of figures — with the emission factors and evidence behind them — avoids several versions of the same number. Our guide to Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and Scope 2 in India explain the calculations.

Building an ESG reporting process that holds up

1. List your requirements using the map above, and the deadline for each.
2. Map each disclosure to its source data and owner — a site, a department, a supplier.
3. Collect by site and month, with evidence, rather than assembling annual totals at year end.
4. Separate entry from approval, and keep an audit trail of every change.
5. Fix your methods: emission factors and their editions, boundaries, and how you estimate missing data.
6. Report once, reuse many times: one approved figure feeding BRSR, ratings, customer questionnaires and the carbon market.

The free BRSR readiness checklist shows where you stand in a few minutes, and the framework mapping tool shows how one BRSR disclosure maps to GRI, ISSB and the ESRS.

Frequently asked questions

Is ESG reporting mandatory in India?

For the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation, the BRSR is mandatory. Other ESG obligations — the carbon market, EPR, CSR reporting — depend on your sector and size. For most other companies, ESG reporting is driven by customers, lenders and investors rather than by law.

What is the difference between BRSR and BRSR Core?

The BRSR is the full report. BRSR Core is a smaller set of key indicators within it that must be independently assessed or assured by the largest listed companies.

Does an unlisted company need to report ESG data?

Not under SEBI's BRSR rules. But an unlisted company is often asked for ESG figures by listed customers (value-chain disclosures), by EU customers (CSRD and CBAM), and by lenders.

How ESGTrack helps

ESGTrack keeps every ESG figure once — collected by site and month, with its evidence, review and source — and uses it in each report: the BRSR and BRSR Core, the carbon market, EPR, GRI, ISSB, the ESRS and CDP. See it with your own reporting scope in a demo, or start with BRSR reporting.