BRSR Core in FY 2026-27: assessment, assurance and value chain data

FY 2026-27 is the year SEBI's BRSR Core glide path reaches its widest point: the top 1,000 listed entities by market capitalisation must now have their BRSR Core independently checked. Since SEBI's March 2025 circular, that check can be an assessment or an assurance engagement. Either way, the figures you publish need a data trail that a third party can test. This guide explains what changed, what is in scope and how to prepare.

BRSR and BRSR Core in brief

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) is the ESG disclosure that SEBI requires of the top 1,000 listed entities by market capitalisation, filed with the annual report. It is organised around the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, with essential and leadership indicators under each.

BRSR Core is a smaller set of key performance indicators drawn from the full BRSR, chosen because they can be measured and checked. It is grouped into nine attributes:

1. Greenhouse gas footprint — total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and GHG intensity.
2. Water footprint — consumption, intensity and discharge by destination and treatment.
3. Energy footprint — total energy, share from renewable sources and intensity.
4. Embracing circularity — waste generated by category, recovered and disposed.
5. Employee wellbeing and safety — wellbeing spend and safety incidents.
6. Gender diversity — gross wages paid to women and complaints under the POSH Act.
7. Inclusive development — sourcing from MSMEs and small producers, and wages paid in smaller towns.
8. Fairness with customers and suppliers — data breaches and days of accounts payable.
9. Openness of business — concentration of purchases and sales, and related-party transactions.

What the March 2025 circular changed

SEBI's circular of 28 March 2025 amended the 2023 framework for BRSR Core, value chain disclosures and assurance. The changes that matter most for reporting teams are:

• Assessment or assurance. Listed entities in the glide path must obtain either a third-party assessment, under standards developed by the Industry Standards Forum in consultation with SEBI, or an assurance engagement. The check itself remains mandatory.
• Disclosure of the check. The BRSR must name the assessment or assurance provider and state the type of assessment or assurance obtained.
• Independence. The board must be satisfied that the provider has the necessary expertise, and the provider and its associates must not sell products or provide non-audit, non-assessment or non-assurance services, including consulting, to the entity or its group.
• Intensity on a PPP basis. Intensity ratios are calculated on revenue adjusted for purchasing power parity.
• Base methodology. The BRSR Core format sets a base methodology; any changes, industry-specific adjustments or estimates must be disclosed.
• Green credits. A new leadership indicator under Principle 6 asks how many green credits the entity and its top ten value chain partners have generated or procured.

The glide path: who needs a check, and when

The glide path for assessment or assurance of BRSR Core is unchanged by the 2025 circular. It is applied by market capitalisation rank:

For companies ranked roughly 501 to 1,000, FY 2026-27 is the first year of a mandatory check. Because the financial year began on 1 April 2026, the data that will be assessed or assured is already being recorded. Evidence that is missing at year end is far harder to recreate than to capture as you go.

Value chain disclosures: still voluntary, but coming into view

The 2025 circular deferred value chain requirements by a year and narrowed them. The value chain now means upstream and downstream partners that each account for 2% or more of the listed entity's purchases or sales by value, and disclosure may be limited to partners covering 75% of purchases and sales respectively.

• For the top 250 listed entities, value chain disclosures are voluntary from FY 2025-26.
• Assessment or assurance of those disclosures is voluntary from FY 2026-27.
• In the first year, prior-year figures are optional.
• Any entity that does disclose must state the percentage of purchases and sales its value chain partners represent.

Voluntary does not mean irrelevant. Large companies are already asking key suppliers for emissions, energy and waste data, and a supplier that can answer with reviewed figures is easier to work with. For the reporting company, collecting partner data through one channel, with each submission reviewed before it counts, makes the coverage percentage simple to calculate and defend. Our supplier engagement page shows how this works.

Assessment or assurance: how to choose

The choice is the company's, and both routes require an independent provider who will test the same underlying data. Points to weigh:

• Investor and lender expectations. Some stakeholders, particularly those aligned with international reporting, may look for an assurance standard they already recognise.
• Group consistency. Groups with listed subsidiaries often prefer one approach and one provider across entities.
• Independence. Because the provider cannot also consult for you or your group, the firm that helps you prepare is usually not the firm that checks you. Plan both relationships early.
• Readiness. Whichever route you take, the provider will sample entries, trace them to source documents and recalculate key figures. Weak records cost time under either route.

A readiness checklist for FY 2026-27

1. Fix boundaries and methods. Confirm which entities and sites are included and document the base methodology, with any adjustments or estimates you will disclose.
2. Capture evidence at source. Attach the bill, meter reading, waste manifest or payroll extract to each entry as it is recorded.
3. Separate preparer and approver. A maker–checker approval for every entry is the single most persuasive control a provider can see.
4. Version your emission factors. Record which factor set and version produced each Scope 1 and Scope 2 figure, so a recalculation matches.
5. Prepare both intensity bases. Hold revenue and the PPP-adjusted revenue figure in one place so every intensity ratio is calculated consistently.
6. Run a dry run at half year. Close the first six months as if for the provider, and fix gaps while there is still time.

Most of this work overlaps with a well-run GHG inventory. If your GHG accounting already follows the GHG Protocol with evidence and approvals, the greenhouse gas and energy attributes of BRSR Core are largely in hand.

How EKOTRACE helps

EKOTRACE keeps BRSR Core data in one verified ledger. Energy, fuel, water, waste and other activity data is entered or imported with evidence, checked against its history and approved by a second person. Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are calculated with versioned emission factors, and the ESG module maps framework questions, including BRSR-style reporting, to the same approved figures. A read-only verifier role and a verifier pack give your assessment or assurance provider one trail to follow. See ESG reporting for the full picture.

Frequently asked questions

Is assessment easier than assurance?

Not necessarily. Both are independent checks of the same KPIs, and both depend on complete records and a clear calculation trail. Choose the route that fits your stakeholders, then prepare the data to the same standard.

Do we have to report value chain data in FY 2026-27?

For the top 250 listed entities, value chain disclosure is voluntary, as is its assessment or assurance in FY 2026-27. Always check SEBI's latest circulars and master circular before you finalise your report.