The water footprint attribute requires total water consumption, water consumption intensity, and water discharge reported by destination and by level of treatment. It cross-references to Principle 6 of the essential indicators, and the discharge disaggregation is the part most often incomplete.
Water is the second of the nine BRSR Core attributes. It looks simpler than emissions and usually is not, because it demands a disaggregation most entities do not hold at the outset.
What has to be reported
- Total water consumption
- Water consumption intensity
- Water discharge by destination, distinguishing where the discharged water goes
- Water discharge by level of treatment, distinguishing how far it was treated before leaving
Consumption is not withdrawal
The distinction that causes most rework is between water withdrawn and water consumed. Withdrawal is what the entity takes in. Consumption is withdrawal less discharge. Reporting withdrawal in a consumption field overstates the figure and breaks the internal arithmetic between the consumption and discharge lines, which an assurance provider will trace.
Why the discharge disaggregation is demanding
Reporting a single discharge total is straightforward. Reporting it split by destination and by treatment level requires the entity to know, for every site, where each stream goes and what treatment it received. Sites with multiple outfalls, shared effluent infrastructure or seasonal variation frequently cannot produce that split from existing records, and the gap only becomes visible when the disaggregated table has to be filled.
The intensity line
As with the other environmental attributes, intensity is required in addition to the absolute figure, using revenue adjusted for purchasing power parity and a physical output measure alongside the nominal per rupee of turnover basis in the wider BRSR.
Sources: SEBI Annexure I, Format of BRSR Core
The BRSR guide explains the Core attributes and their intensity ratios. BRSR reporting services covers site-level water data collection.