Business Responsibility Reporting to Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting

Disclosure of Sustainability performance is becoming mandatory in several parts of the world and India is no different. This was introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) way back in 2012 and after that several amendments have gone into it. As sustainability report consultant our team has helped companies develop BRR reports.

As of 25th March 2021, The SEBI has decided to introduce BRSR for the top 1000 listed companies for reporting the same on a voluntary basis for FY 2021–2022 and on mandatory basis from FY 2022–23. The BRSR listed companies needs to disclose about an overview of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities along with their approach to mitigate or adapt to these risks with financial implications for the same. The report should also include sustainability related goals, targets and performance for the same. As a Sustainability report consultant we are excited to hear about this development as this would mean even more transparency and enhanced disclosure of ESG data.

The aspects to be covered in this report are briefly discussed below:

· Environmental Disclosures

1. Energy Consumption

2. Water Consumption

3. Air Pollutant Emissions

4. Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions

5. Circular Economy

6. Waste Generation and management

7. Biodiversity conservation and impacts

· Social Disclosures (Workforce)

1. Gender and Social Diversity and inclusion

2. Differently Abled Employees integration into workforce

3. Turnover Rates for employees

4. Median Wages at the organization

5. Welfare Benefits provided

6. Occupational Health and Safety indicators

7. Training opportunities

· Social Disclosures (Community)

1. Social Impact Assessment (SIA)

2. Rehabilitation and Resettlement of communities

3. Corporate Social Responsibility of the organization

Companies are encouraged towards adopting BRSR at an early stage which would help them being at the forefront of sustainability reporting. Agile being a sustainability report consultant is assisting companies in developing these reports. The pandemic has accelerated the relevance of ESG considerations to the investing sector which in-turn resulted in a shift towards sustainable investing. Listed down are a few positive approaches towards a successful BRSR:

· A well framed BRSR would help companies in easily demonstrating their sustainability objectives, position and performance resulting into long term value creation.

· Higher standards of ESG disclosure and transparency will help in attracting more capital and investment.

· BRSR will be prepared on internationally accepted reported framework

We believe as sustainability report consultant that such regulations need to be further expanded and made more stringent in order to secure a sustainable future for all.