The greenhouse gas footprint attribute requires total Scope 1 and total Scope 2 emissions, broken up by gas where available, measured per the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, together with greenhouse gas emission intensity. It cross-references to Principle 6 of the essential indicators.
The greenhouse gas footprint is the first of the nine BRSR Core attributes and, for most listed entities, the one that takes longest to make assurable.
What has to be reported
- Total Scope 1 emissions, from sources the entity owns or controls
- Total Scope 2 emissions, from purchased energy
- A breakdown by gas where available, covering carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride
- Greenhouse gas emission intensity, for Scope 1 and Scope 2 combined
The measurement basis is prescribed
Emissions are measured per the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. That matters because it fixes the accounting boundary, the treatment of purchased energy and the global warming potentials applied when gases are converted to a carbon dioxide equivalent. An entity using a different basis produces figures that are not comparable with peers and that an assurance provider will question.
The intensity requirement is where entities are caught out
Reporting a total is straightforward once the data exists. The intensity ratios are harder, because BRSR Core asks for intensity against revenue adjusted for purchasing power parity and against a physical output measure, in addition to the nominal per rupee of turnover figure the wider BRSR already requires under Principle 6.
Why it is worked first
Because this attribute requires reasonable assurance or a third-party assessment once an entity enters its tier, the underlying activity data needs a documented source, a stable boundary and a reconcilable trail. Establishing that across every site is a programme rather than a reporting task, which is why entities approaching a tier date start here.
Sources: SEBI Annexure I, Format of BRSR Core
The BRSR guide sets out all nine Core attributes. BRSR reporting services covers emissions data systems and assurance readiness.