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🌍 The Rise of ESG Reporting Frameworks
As sustainability becomes a boardroom priority, companies are navigating a growing maze of ESG reporting frameworks. Two names frequently surface — Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR).
While both aim to enhance transparency and accountability, they serve distinct purposes and audiences. Understanding their practical differences — and knowing when to use each strategically — can help companies turn compliance into a value-creation opportunity.
🔍 GRI vs BRSR in Brief
| Framework | Developed by | Scope | Applicability |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) | Independent international organization | Global | Voluntary for most companies worldwide |
| BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report) | SEBI, India | India-specific | Mandatory for top 1,000 listed Indian companies (by market cap) |
⚙️ Key Practical Differences
| Aspect | GRI Standards | BRSR Framework |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Designed for global stakeholder communication on sustainability performance. | Designed for regulatory compliance and corporate accountability in India. |
| Focus Areas | Broad ESG focus — covers material issues from emissions to human rights, aligned with UN SDGs. | Rooted in India’s National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) — focuses on 9 principles of responsible business. |
| Materiality | Impact materiality — focuses on environment, society – stakeholder interest. | Regulatory materiality — emphasizes compliance and responsibility rather than global stakeholder prioritization. |
| Disclosure Type | Highly detailed narrative and quantitative disclosures, allowing flexibility in reporting scope. | Structured, standardized questionnaire format (BRSR Core has defined metrics). |
| Assurance | Voluntary but increasingly expected by global investors. | BRSR Core mandates limited assurance on key performance indicators. |
| Audience | Global investors, rating agencies, sustainability analysts, NGOs. | Indian regulators, domestic investors, and policymakers. |
| Interoperability | Can be aligned with frameworks like SASB, TCFD, and CDP. | Partially aligned with GRI and TCFD, but primarily regulatory in nature. |
🎯 When to Use Each Strategically
1. BRSR: For Compliance and National ESG Positioning
Use BRSR if your company is:
- Listed on Indian stock exchanges (mandatory for top 1,000 companies).
- Primarily serving Indian investors or regulators.
- Looking to benchmark performance locally against peers.
- Beginning its ESG journey and needs a structured starting point.
Strategic Value:
BRSR builds foundational ESG discipline and ensures compliance with SEBI norms — the first step toward investor confidence and responsible governance.
2. GRI: For Global Visibility and Investor Engagement
Use GRI if your company is:
- Targeting international markets or global supply chains.
- Seeking foreign investment or ESG-linked financing.
- Aiming to showcase impact and transparency to global stakeholders.
- Already mature in ESG practices and ready for narrative-driven disclosures.
Strategic Value:
GRI enhances global credibility and aligns your disclosures with international expectations — often unlocking access to ESG indices and sustainability-linked funding.
3. Combined Approach: The Smart Strategy
Leading Indian companies like L&T, Tata Steel, and Infosys now use both.
They comply through BRSR and communicate through GRI, creating a dual advantage:
- BRSR ensures regulatory confidence in India.
- GRI builds reputation and investor trust abroad.
✅ Tip: Use your BRSR Core data as the base, and layer GRI-aligned narrative reporting on top — saving effort and ensuring consistency.
🔗 Example: How a Dual Framework Adds Value
| Objective | Best Fit | Strategic Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory compliance | BRSR Core | Satisfies SEBI and Indian ESG requirements |
| Global investor communication | GRI | Enhances ESG ratings and international perception |
| Supply chain transparency | GRI | Aligns with global buyer requirements |
| Benchmarking & data consistency | BRSR | Provides standardized metrics for comparison |
| ESG-linked finance | GRI + BRSR | Builds confidence among lenders and investors |
💡 The Bottom Line
BRSR is the “license to operate”,
GRI is the “license to grow.”
BRSR ensures compliance and builds a responsible foundation.
GRI communicates sustainability leadership and unlocks global capital and brand value.
The most forward-looking companies are not choosing between the two — they’re integrating both into a unified ESG storytelling strategy.
🌐 The Emerging ISSB Framework — The Next Step in ESG Evolution
As companies mature in their ESG journey, the next evolution is already underway: the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board).
ISSB aims to create a global baseline for sustainability disclosures, focusing on financial materiality — how ESG risks and opportunities affect enterprise value. It complements GRI’s impact lens and BRSR’s compliance lens, offering a bridge between regulatory reporting and investor-grade sustainability data.
Forward-looking companies are beginning to align their BRSR and GRI data with ISSB standards (IFRS S1 and S2), ensuring consistency, credibility, and comparability in both domestic and international markets.
In short:
- BRSR ensures compliance
- GRI builds credibility
- ISSB enables global confidence
While GRI and ISSB both deal with sustainability reporting, they serve very different purposes and audiences:
| Aspect | GRI | ISSB |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To report how the company impacts the economy, environment, and society (impact materiality). | To report how sustainability issues affect the company’s enterprise value (financial materiality). |
| Audience | All stakeholders — investors, employees, communities, regulators. | Primarily investors, analysts, and financial markets. |
| Link to Finance | Separate sustainability report. | Integrated with financial statements under IFRS. |
| Nature | Qualitative and narrative — broad ESG coverage. | Quantitative and disclosure-based — focus on value relevance. |
| Governance Body | Global Reporting Initiative (independent, NGO). | IFRS Foundation (same body that issues IFRS accounting standards). |
🌍 Is ISSB Mandatory?
As of 2025, the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) is not yet mandatory globally.
However, it is being adopted or integrated by several countries and stock exchanges as the global baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures.
✅ Current Status:
- Voluntary globally, but regulators are moving toward adoption.
- Countries like the UK, Singapore, Canada, Japan, and Australia have already announced plans to align national ESG reporting with ISSB standards.
- India (SEBI) has also indicated that future updates to BRSR Core may harmonize with ISSB, to improve international comparability.
In short — ISSB is not mandatory yet, but it’s becoming the direction of travel for global ESG disclosure.
🇮🇳 If a Company Already Has BRSR — Does It Need GRI and ISSB?
Short answer:
➡️ BRSR alone = Compliance.
➡️ BRSR + GRI = Global credibility.
➡️ BRSR + ISSB = Investor relevance.
So, while BRSR is mandatory, GRI and ISSB are strategic upgrades — not legally required (yet), but increasingly important for investor confidence, global recognition, and ESG-linked financing.
⚙️ 1. Why BRSR Alone Isn’t Enough
BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report) is India’s regulatory baseline — mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies.
It ensures disclosure on social, environmental, and governance practices under SEBI’s NGRBC framework.
But:
- BRSR is designed for domestic compliance, not for international comparability.
- Its data structure is standardized, not narrative or impact-focused.
- Global investors and rating agencies often cannot directly map BRSR data to global benchmarks (like CDP, MSCI, or Sustainalytics).
So while BRSR shows you are compliant, it doesn’t yet show you are competitive globally.
🌍 2. Why Add GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)
GRI helps you tell your sustainability story beyond compliance.
| Purpose | Reason to Adopt |
|---|---|
| Broaden your stakeholder reach | GRI is recognized by 150+ countries and aligns with UN SDGs. |
| Build credibility with global supply chains | Many multinational buyers require GRI-aligned reporting. |
| Benchmark globally | Investors and ESG analysts use GRI metrics to compare across regions. |
| Complement BRSR | Much of BRSR data can directly feed into GRI disclosures. |
Think of GRI as the “international passport” for your ESG data.
It converts your local compliance (BRSR) into a global language of sustainability.
💰 3. Why Prepare for ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board)
ISSB is the future of ESG-financial integration.
While not mandatory yet, it’s fast becoming the global baseline for investor-grade sustainability disclosures.
ISSB (IFRS S1 & S2) focuses on financial materiality — i.e., how climate and sustainability issues affect enterprise value.
| Why It Matters | For Indian Companies |
|---|---|
| Aligns with global capital markets | Foreign investors and lenders are beginning to request ISSB-aligned data. |
| Builds investor confidence | Integrates ESG risks with financial statements. |
| Future-ready | SEBI is expected to gradually harmonize BRSR Core with ISSB standards. |
If your company seeks global investors, sustainability-linked loans, or ESG ratings, aligning with ISSB early builds trust and reduces future reporting friction.
⚙️ In Summary
| Framework | Focus | Mandatory? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRSR | Compliance & accountability (India) | ✅ Mandatory for top 1,000 listed firms | Indian-listed companies |
| GRI | Stakeholder impact & transparency | ❌ Voluntary | Global ESG communication |
| ISSB | Financial materiality & investor relevance | 🚧 Emerging (soon-to-be baseline) | Multinationals, investor-driven firms |
Call to Action
Take the Next Step in Your ESG Journey
Don’t stop at compliance — transform it into competitive advantage.
Start with BRSR to meet India’s mandate, expand through GRI to build global credibility, and prepare for ISSB to speak the language of investors.
It’s time to align your disclosures with the future of sustainable finance — where transparency drives trust and trust attracts capital.
Read more blogs on sustainability here.
📚 Reference links
- Introduction to ISSB and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards: IFRS Foundation
- Overview of IFRS S1 (general sustainability disclosures) and IFRS S2 (climate-related disclosures), effective from 2024: Grant Thornton International Ltd.
- SEBI mandates BRSR for the top 1,000 listed companies from FY 2022-23 onwards: ICAI