Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting Initiative

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a think tank based in Delhi, India, welcomed the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) initiative by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

About the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting Initiative:

1. Mandatory Disclosure Mechanism: The BRSR initiative mandates the top 1000 listed companies or businesses to report their performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects, demonstrating their commitment to responsible business practices.
2. Introduction by SEBI: The initiative was introduced in May 2021 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
3. Robust Data for Decision-Making: The aim of this initiative is to provide policymakers and investors with robust data to make informed decisions.
4. Disclosure Requirements: The disclosure requirements are grouped into 9 core categories, aligned with the principles of the National Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct introduced by SEBI.

Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG):

ESG (Environmental, social, and corporate governance) is a term used to describe specific data designed to be used by investors for evaluating the material risk that an organization is taking based on the externalities it is generating.

Disclosure Categories:

1. Environmental Protection: Key performance indicators cover electricity consumption, water usage, and air emissions.
2. Human Rights: Focus on human rights violations, minimum wages, and fair wages.
3. Integrity: Performance indicators include anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and conflicts of interest policies.
4. Employee Well-Being: Metrics focused on parental benefits, employee accessibility, and the percentage of unionized workers.
5. Inclusive Growth: Policies favoring vulnerable and marginalized groups.
6. Sustainable Goods and Services: Information on investments in social and environmental impacts.
7. Responsible Consumer Engagement: KPIs includes handling consumer complaints and feedback, product recall procedures, and cybersecurity and data privacy policies.
8. Stakeholder Responsiveness: Describing engagement with vulnerable and marginalized groups.
9. Responsible Public Policy Engagement: Listing trade and industry affiliations and detailing issues relating to anticompetitive conduct.

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