BRSR Core vs. Comprehensive: Which Report Does Your Company Need?

C² Team
Jan 2
3 min read

If you are a sustainability leader in India, you know the goalposts are moving.

A few years ago, ESG reporting was a voluntary "good to have." Today, under SEBI’s strict Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) mandate, it is a regulatory "must-have."

But recently, SEBI introduced a new layer of complexity: BRSR Core.

Now, companies are asking us the same questions: “Do I just file the standard report? Or do I need the Core report? And what exactly is the difference?”

If you fall into India’s Top 1000 listed companies, getting this wrong can lead to compliance penalties and a loss of investor trust. Here is the simple, non-jargon breakdown of the difference and what your company needs to file for FY 2025-26.

The Basics: One is an Essay, the Other is a Report Card

To understand the difference, think of a school exam.

1. BRSR Comprehensive (The "Essay")

This is the standard format introduced in 2021. It requires you to disclose performance against all 9 principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC).

Scope: Massive. It covers everything from anti-corruption policies to biodiversity and customer complaints.
Format: A mix of numbers (quantitative) and policy descriptions (qualitative).
Verification: largely self-reported. While you can get it audited, it is not strictly mandatory for everyone yet.

2. BRSR Core (The "Report Card")

SEBI realized that "Comprehensive" reports were too long and hard to compare. So, they created BRSR Core. This is a sub-set of the main report, focusing only on the most critical data points.

Scope: Narrow but deep. It focuses on 9 specific attributes (like GHG emissions, water usage, and gender diversity).
Format: Strictly quantitative (KPIs). No fluff, just numbers.
Verification: Mandatory Reasonable Assurance. This is the game-changer. You cannot just claim you saved water; a third-party auditor must verify your utility bills and meters to prove it.

At a Glance: Core vs. Comprehensive

Feature	BRSR Comprehensive	BRSR Core
Who files it?	Top 1,000 Listed Companies	Top 150 (FY24), Top 500 (FY26)
Focus Area	Broad (9 Principles of NGRBC)	Specific (9 Key Attributes)
Data Type	Policies + Data	Hard Data (KPIs) only
Verification	Self-Declaration allowed	Third-Party Assurance Mandatory
Supply Chain	Not mandatory	Includes Value Chain partners

The Mandate: Which One applies to You in 2026?

This is where most compliance teams get stuck. The rollout is phased based on your market capitalization rank.

For the Financial Year 2025-26:

If you are in the Top 500: You must file BOTH the Comprehensive Report and obtain Reasonable Assurance for the BRSR Core indicators.
If you are in the Top 1000: You must file the BRSR Comprehensive report. (However, prepare now—BRSR Core becomes mandatory for you in FY 2026-27).

Critical Note on Value Chain: If you are in the Top 250, you also need to start tracking the ESG data of your suppliers (upstream and downstream). While SEBI has relaxed the timeline for auditing this data, you must start setting up the data collection pipelines now to avoid a scramble next year.

The "Assurance" Trap: Why You Can't DIY "Core"

The biggest challenge with BRSR Core isn't writing the report, it's passing the audit.

Because BRSR Core requires Reasonable Assurance, it is treated like a financial audit. The auditor will ask for:

Electricity bills to prove Scope 2 emissions.
Waste disposal manifests from your recyclers.
HR payroll data to verify gender wage gaps.

If your data is sitting in scattered Excel sheets or emails, you will struggle to get the assurance sign-off.

How Csquare Helps

At Csquare, we don't just write reports, we build the data backbone that auditors trust.

Gap Analysis: We tell you exactly which data points you are missing for BRSR Core.
Data Collection: We work with your internal teams to gather "auditable" evidence (bills, logs, certificates).
Assurance Support: We sit with the third-party assurance providers and answer their queries so you don't have to.

Don't wait until March to start your data collection.