Towards Enhancing Sustainability Disclosures – A Comprehensive Analysis of SEBI’s BRSR Framework

Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, with a sector-specific focus on listed power transmission companies. Introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),

BRSR represents a significant regulatory milestone in the evolution of non-financial disclosures in India, transitioning sustainability reporting from voluntary guidelines to a standardized and mandatory regime. The research examines how BRSR can be strategically adopted—either independently or in conjunction with leading global sustainability frameworks—to enhance disclosure depth, relevance, and comparability, particularly in infrastructure-intensive sectors.

The study benchmarks BRSR against three dominant global sustainability reporting regimes:

the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2), and the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability

Reporting Directive (CSRD). This comparative assessment positions BRSR as a transitional framework that blends stakeholder-oriented accountability with emerging investor-focused and regulation-driven disclosure expectations. While BRSR demonstrates conceptual alignment with GRI’s impact-based disclosures and partial convergence with ISSB’s climate-related governance and risk metrics, it remains less rigorous than CSRD in terms of value-chain coverage, digital tagging, and mandatory assurance.

Using a qualitative, secondary-data-based research design, the study analyzes publicly available

BRSR filings, annual reports, and sustainability disclosures of Indian power transmission companies. This document-based analysis is supplemented by a limited number of expert interviews conducted for interpretative triangulation. A structured content analysis framework evaluates disclosure quality, framework integration, and readiness for Scope 3 emissions reporting under BRSR Core.

The findings indicate that companies integrating BRSR with global frameworks such as GRI and TCFD/ISSB demonstrate higher consistency, methodological transparency, and comparability in sustainability reporting. These firms move beyond compliance-oriented disclosures toward more structured and decision-useful sustainability narratives. Conversely, firms relying solely on BRSR tend to exhibit minimal interpretative depth and limited forwardlooking analysis.

A central contribution of the study lies in its examination of Scope 3 emissions reporting challenges under BRSR Core. The research identifies limited ESG maturity among upstream suppliers, absence of standardized digital data platforms, and reliance on manual data collection processes as primary constraints affecting data accuracy and assurance readiness. The absence of sector-wide digital tools aligned with the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard exacerbates data gaps and complicates third-party verification.

Overall, the study concludes that while BRSR establishes a necessary regulatory baseline for sustainability disclosures in India, its effectiveness is contingent upon complementary adoption of standardized methodologies, digital infrastructure investment, and collaborative capacitybuilding across value chains. The paper positions BRSR as a critical bridging mechanism between domestic regulatory priorities and global sustainability disclosure norms, with significant implications for policymakers, corporates, and assurance providers. Future research may build on these findings through longitudinal or cross-sectoral analyses to assess the evolving convergence of BRSR with international sustainability standards.