It is a comprehensive reporting framework mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the top listed companies in India (currently the top 1,000 by market capitalization).
Its main goal is to improve the quality, consistency, and comparability of non-financial disclosures related to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. It is a significant step towards integrating sustainability into corporate governance in India and aligning Indian companies with global ESG reporting standards.
BRSR core is the subset of BRSR, consisting of a key performance indicators (KPIs) under the 9 core principles. Further SEBI has mandated the reasonable assurance of BRSR core as per the glide path mentioned in the circular dated 12.07.2023.
SASB Standards help companies around the world identify, measure and manage the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that most directly affect cash flows, access to finance and cost of capital. They are also a useful tool for getting started with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure (ISSB) Standards. They are cost-effective, industry based and meet the needs of investors. SASB categorizes the activities that could affect a company’s ability to create long-term shareholder value in five “sustainability dimensions” i.e. Environment, Social Capital, Human Capital, Governance, and Business Model and Innovation.
CDP runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Their role is to collect and analyse data on environmental performance and provide insights to improve sustainability practices. CDP maintains this data in an open database and proclaims to hold the world’s most comprehensive collection of self-reported environmental data. The reporting is completed in annual basis with portals opening by April every year.
IFRS Foundation was founded to develop high-quality Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the world. They established the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop a comprehensive global baseline of high-quality sustainability disclosure standards to meet investors’ information needs.
The purpose of ISSB is to empower capital market participants to support better economic and investment decision-making.
A carbon footprint is a change in climate attributed directly or indirectly to activities that change the composition of the world’s atmosphere.
It is an environmental indicator that indicates the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) expressed as CO2 equivalents that are emitted directly or indirectly as a result of specific activity.
The carbon footprint concept allows everyone to make comparisons between the climate impacts of individuals, products, companies and countries. It also helps people devise strategies and priorities for reducing the carbon footprint.
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing gaseous and atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and storing it in a solid or liquid form. Trees sequester Carbon naturally by absorbing Carbon Dioxide and converting it into biomass. Removal of large amounts of Carbon from the atmosphere mainly in the form of CO2, may be able to reduce some effects of global warming. It is a crucial strategy for mitigating climate change by actively reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases.
It is an important tool for meeting the global climate goals.
Water footprint is an indicator that measures the total volume of fresh water to be used for any service or producing goods. It is the assessment of water consumed and polluted in all the stages of its production. A business’s water footprint is a measurement of the total water consumed to produce the goods and services it provides. It is a combination of the water that goes into the production and manufacturing of a product or service and the water used throughout the supply chain, as well as during the use of the product.
Navigating the sustainability reporting landscape can often appear a bit complex. However, GRI reporting helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing them with the global common language to communicate those impacts. The basic objective of GRI reporting is to enable organizations disclose their sustainable development efforts, provide transparency and cater flexible reporting framework. The disclosed information can be used by the organization itself to evaluate its plans and policies and decisions like goal-setting / target-setting.
