What is the difference between essential and leadership indicators in BRSR?
Essential indicators are mandatory for every company filing BRSR. Leadership indicators are voluntary, though SEBI asks companies to try to report them. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are essential; Scope 3 emissions, value chain impacts and life cycle assessments sit in the leadership indicators.
What SEBI said
SEBI's May 2021 circular splits reporting under each of the nine principles into essential and leadership indicators. Essential indicators must be reported; leadership indicators are voluntary, and listed entities should endeavour to report them as well.
Where common environment items sit (Principle 6)
- Essential: total energy and energy intensity, water, air emissions other than GHG, Scope 1 and 2 emissions and intensity, waste, environmental compliance.
- Leadership: renewable and non-renewable energy split, water in stressed areas, Scope 3 emissions and intensity, business continuity plans, value chain impacts, and the share of value chain partners assessed.
Why a supplier gets asked leadership questions
A customer that chooses to report Scope 3 or value chain impacts can only do it with supplier data. So a voluntary line for the listed company becomes a data request for you. Answer the parts you have records for and say which parts are estimates.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads kWh, litres and kg from electricity bills and fuel invoices into a dated record per site, with the factor and source on every line, and prepares BRSR drafts from that data. Reports are self-declared drafts.
- Does BRSR require Scope 3?
- Renewable vs non-renewable energy in BRSR
- Supplier questionnaire, field by field
Sources: SEBI circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562, 10 May 2021: Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting, SEBI LODR Master Circular, 11 July 2023, Annexure 16 (BRSR format)
Last reviewed 2026-10-23.