What does ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) mean, and which part is my carbon number?
ESG is about how a business treats nature, its people, and its own rules. Your carbon number belongs to the E, for environment. In the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reporting format it sits under Principle 6, the environment principle.
E, S and G with a shop in mind
- E, Environmental: what the shop takes from and puts into the air, water and land. Fuel, power and waste.
- S, Social: how it treats people. Staff, customers, neighbours.
- G, Governance: how it is run. Honest books and clear rules.
How SEBI's format sorts these
SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) format has nine principles. My sorting of three of them into E, S and G:
- Principle 1, businesses should conduct and govern themselves with integrity: G.
- Principle 3, businesses should respect and promote the well-being of all employees, including those in their value chains: S.
- Principle 6, businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment: E.
Where carbon sits
Under Principle 6, essential indicator 6 asks for Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and their intensity. The unit shall be metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Scope 1 is direct emissions from sources the entity owns or controls. Scope 2 is energy indirect emissions from purchased or acquired electricity, heating, cooling and steam.
Who has to file it
As of the July 2023 circular, the master circular says the top 1000 listed entities by market capitalisation have to submit the BRSR, and other listed entities can submit it voluntarily. The essential indicators are required on a mandatory basis; leadership indicators are voluntary. A small business is not named in that rule. It meets ESG when a buyer, bank or investor asks.
Example: one electricity bill in the E
- 850 kilowatt hours (kWh) x 0.675 kilograms (kg) of carbon dioxide per kWh = 573.75 kg, which is 0.574 tonnes (rounded).
- In the BRSR table this is a Scope 2 figure under Principle 6, written in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Example month. 0.675 is the grid factor for financial year (FY) 2025-26.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into records, so the quantities behind each figure are on file. Senseible's bill-reading check covers the carbon part of the E. The wider ESG suite is a separate service.
- BRSR Principle 6 worked from a year of bills
- Carbon audit, energy audit or ESG audit?
- Our bank sent an ESG questionnaire
- BRSR reporting
Sources: SEBI Master Circular of 11 July 2023, Section IV-B and the BRSR format, CEA CO2 Baseline Database, version 22.0
Last reviewed 2026-11-07. ESG is expanded, and the principles and indicator 6 are quoted, from the SEBI master circular of 11 July 2023 and its BRSR format. Sorting the principles into E, S and G is our reading. SEBI has revised BRSR rules since; re-check the current circulars.