SEBI’s BRSR Core assurance requirement is fully in force. Here is what changes, what auditors expect, and how to stay ahead.
For most of its early years, ESG reporting in India was a disclosure exercise. Companies gathered what they had, filled in the format, and filed. The data told a story, but no one was checking whether the story was accurate.
With the onset of FY 2026-27, that era is now closing, BRSR Core assurance has become mandatory for all top 1000 listed companies completing a phased rollout that began with India’s top 150 companies in FY 2023-24.
| FY 2023-24 | FY 2024-25 | FY 2025-26 | FY 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 150 companies | Top 250 companies | Top 500 companies | All top 1000 companies |
Every ESG metric under BRSR Core will now require independent third-party verification, to the same standard of rigour applied to financial statements.
Source: Ecodrisil, January 2026
What comes under ‘Reasonable Assurance’
Reasonable assurance requires auditors to trace every disclosed metric back to source documents, verify that calculation methods are consistent and documented, and assess whether internal controls are strong enough to produce reliable data year after year.
BRSR Core covers nine specific ESG attributes (SEBI, July 2023):
| Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Water Management | Gender Diversity |
| Energy Consumption | Waste Management | Customer Conduct |
| Inclusive Development | Wages Distribution | Business Openness |
For each attribute, auditors will want to see beyond the numbers and verify the system behind it with these core criteria:
- Data Origin
- Data Ownership
- Calculation Methodology
- Error Prevention
The quality of a company’s ESG data is now a function of how that data is governed. A company can have strong sustainability performance and still produce an assurance report that falls short if its data infrastructure is fragmented or inconsistently managed.
The value chain adds another layer. From FY 2026-27, ESG disclosures for upstream and downstream partners individually contributing 2% or more of purchases or sales are subject to assessment or assurance (India Briefing, February 2025). The data boundary now extends beyond company walls.
Verified ESG data is becoming a business asset
India’s move to mandatory ESG assurance reflects a broader global direction. Investors are applying more structured ESG criteria to capital allocation. Supply chains are asking for verified sustainability data from their partners. Credit agencies are incorporating environmental and governance performance into their assessments.
When verified, ESG data carries credibility (as opposed to disclosed data) with audiences who would otherwise discount it. The companies building rigorous data infrastructure are building an asset that performs across investor conversations, yearly regulations, procurement relationships, and market positioning well into the future.
What the infrastructure looks like
| 01
Traceability Every metric linked to its source document |
02
Consistency Same methodology applied across every site |
03
Governance Review workflows that catch errors before the report closes |
Most companies have pieces of this. The gap is usually in how those pieces connect. ESG data for BRSR sits across operations, HR, procurement, and facilities. When it flows through a unified platform rather than spreadsheets and email threads,
Traceability becomes Automatic | Consistency becomes Structural | Governance becomes Visible
How Benchmark Gensuite helps
Benchmark Gensuite’s Sustainability and Disclosure Management Suite was designed around SEBI’s framework and the assurance requirements it carries (Datatracks, October 2025). The platform centralises data collection across functions and locations, connects to existing ERPs and HRIS systems, and automates calculations using standardised methodologies so the same conversion factors and formulas apply regardless of which site is reporting.
Every data entry is timestamped, attributed, and stored alongside its source documentation. The audit trail is built into the workflow from the moment data is entered. The platform comes pre-configured for all nine BRSR Core attributes, with validation rules and approval workflows that surface gaps before the report closes.
Book a demo to understand how our real-time dashboards give sustainability leads visibility across the organisation throughout the year, not just at reporting time.
Sustainability teams spend their time on the performance trends, improvement opportunities, and strategic direction that the data proposes rather than on the mechanics of compiling it.
Source: Benchmark Gensuite, June 2025
This is the perfect preparation window
FY 2026-27 assurance will be based on data collected this year. The top 150, 250, and 500 companies that have operated under assurance requirements in earlier years show a consistent pattern. Each year the process becomes more efficient, the data becomes more complete, and the reporting becomes more strategically useful.
For the companies joining that group in FY 2026-27, the opportunity is to build that infrastructure now with the benefit of everything the earlier cohort has learned, and with a platform purpose-built to make verified, investor-grade ESG data a permanent operational capability.
