India Imposes New ESG Reporting Requirements On Top 1,000 Listed Companies

• Published date: 10 June 2021
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Environment, Corporate and Company Law, Environmental Law
• Law Firm: Mayer Brown
• Author: Mr Mark Uhrynuk, Alexander Burdulia and Joey C.Y. Lee

On May 10, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular implementing new sustainability-related reporting requirements for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalization. New disclosure will be made in the format of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR), which is a notable departure from SEBI's existing Business Responsibility Report and a significant step toward bringing sustainability reporting up to existing financial reporting standards.

Continue reading for more details on the disclosure requirements in the new BRSR format.

The new BRSR format is based on the nine principles of the Indian government's "National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct" (the "RBC Guidelines"), which are intended to define responsible business conduct for Indian companies. The RBC Guidelines are driven by leading international standards and practices including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the ILO Core Conventions. The principles address a range of sustainability matters including business ethics and transparency, human rights, environmental safety and fair labor practices.

Reporting under each principle is divided into essential indicators, which are mandatory obligations, and leadership indicators, which operate on a voluntary basis. Some of the key disclosure requirements (under either essential or leadership indicators) are tabulated below:

Aspects	Disclosure requirements	Principles
General	An overview of the company's material ESG risks and opportunities and approach to mitigate or adapt to the risks together with relevant financial implications Sustainability related goals and targets and related performance Management structures, policies and processes related to sustainability	General management and process disclosures
Environment	Resource usage (energy and water) and intensity metrics Air pollutant emissions Greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3) Waste generated and waste management practices Impact on bio-diversity	Principle 6: Businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment
Social	Employees Gender and social diversity including measures for differently-abled employees Turnover rates Median wages Welfare benefits to permanent and contractual employees Occupational health and safety Trainings	Principle 3: Businesses should respect and...