Free BRSR Template: Download and Get Started with ESG Disclosure

Every compliance season, the search for a free BRSR template in India spikes. Finance teams scramble, sustainability heads share links in WhatsApp groups, and someone inevitably forwards a 2022 SEBI format that's already three circulars out of date.

The template isn't hard to find. Knowing what to do with it, that's where most companies quietly struggle.

This guide cuts through the noise. What the BRSR format actually contains, where to find the version that reflects current SEBI requirements, and what to sort out before you open the spreadsheet at all.

Why the Template Isn't Your First Problem

Here's the truth about BRSR reporting in India: downloading the format is the easy part. The harder part is realising that BRSR isn't a form you fill, it's a mirror. It reflects whether your company actually tracks what it claims to care about.

BRSR requires the top 1,000 listed companies in India (by market cap) to disclose environmental, social, and governance performance across 140 questions, 98 of which are mandatory essential indicators and 42 of which are voluntary leadership indicators. When companies in India download a free BRSR template expecting a simple Word document to complete over a weekend, they're often surprised by what the format actually demands.

Numbers. Not narratives. Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. Water withdrawal by source. Wage parity data across gender and employment categories. Energy consumption intensity. These aren't questions you can answer with a policy statement.

If you're just beginning to understand BRSR as a framework, it's worth reading "What is BRSR? Full Form, Meaning, and Why It Matters in 2026” before going further. It'll give you the context that makes the template make sense.

What the BRSR Format Actually Looks Like

The SEBI-prescribed BRSR format is structured into three sections. Any free BRSR template India worth using will reflect all three; if it's missing a section, it's either outdated or incomplete.

Section A: General Disclosures

This is the foundation: company identity, operational footprint, product and service categories, employee headcount by gender and type, and turnover of permanent workers. Most companies have this data somewhere; the challenge is getting it into the right format and making sure it aligns with what HR, Finance, and Operations actually track.

Section B: Management and Process Disclosures

This section asks whether your company's policies, grievance mechanisms, and governance structures actually address each of the nine NGRBC principles. It's not enough to say you have a policy. BRSR asks whether the board has approved that policy, whether it covers your value chain, and whether there's a mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns.

Section C: Principle-wise Performance Disclosures

This is where the numbers live. Section C is built around the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) and is where most companies discover that their ESG data infrastructure is less complete than they thought. Energy use, emissions, water, waste, employee safety incidents, community investment, regulatory compliance history, all of it, quantified.

BRSR Core: The Layer That Requires Assurance

If your company is among India's top 1,000 listed entities, BRSR Core adds another dimension to your disclosure obligations. BRSR Core is a focused subset of 50+ key performance indicators that require independent assessment rather than self-declaration.

The phased rollout matters here:

Top 150 companies- mandatory from FY 2023–24

Top 250 companies- mandatory from FY 2024–25

Top 500 companies- mandatory from FY 2025–26

Top 1,000 companies- mandatory from FY 2026–27

If your company just crossed into the top 500 bracket, FY 2025–26 is your first year of mandatory BRSR Core assurance. Any free BRSR template India that doesn't clearly flag BRSR Core indicators separately will create problems when your assurance provider arrives.

For value chain partners, MSMEs, and unlisted suppliers, direct mandates may not yet exist, but listed-company clients are already asking for ESG data. From FY 2026–27, value chain disclosures will also be subject to assessment. The ESG disclosure framework is expanding outward, not inward.

Where to Download a Reliable Free BRSR Template in India

There are a handful of genuinely trustworthy sources for the official format:

SEBI's official BRSR Core circular — July 2023 - This is the primary regulatory document. It contains the updated format, annexures for BRSR Core, and value chain disclosure requirements. Always verify that any template you download aligns with this and SEBI's December 2024 updates before you use it.

ICAI's Sustainability Reporting guidance material - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has published detailed BRSR background material, including worked examples, indicator-level commentary, and guidance for first-time filers. Useful for CAs and internal teams preparing for assurance cycles.

MCA's NGRBC Guidelines - Section C of BRSR is organised around these nine principles. Understanding what each principle actually stands for makes the template's questions far less confusing.

Important note: The BRSR format has been updated multiple times since 2021. A free BRSR template India that's been floating around since FY 2022–23 won't reflect BRSR Core indicators, value chain disclosure requirements, or the Green Credit Program that SEBI added in early 2025. Always check the date on what you download.

What to Do Before You Open the Template

This is the part most BRSR guides skip. Downloading the template takes 30 seconds. Filling it correctly requires months of data collection if you haven't built the right internal systems.

Assign data owners before anything else. BRSR touches every function HR (workforce data, wages, training), Operations (energy, water, waste, safety), Finance (R&D spend, CSR expenditure), and Legal (regulatory compliance incidents). Without a named owner per domain, data collection becomes a game of email chains and missed deadlines.

Audit what you already track. Most companies track more ESG-relevant data than they realise, including energy bills, attendance records, safety incident logs, and CSR spend statements. The gap isn't always data; it's format. A free BRSR template for India helps you cross-reference what you have against what BRSR requires.

Flag BRSR Core indicators immediately. If you're in scope for BRSR Core assurance, mark those indicators from day one and loop in your assurance provider early. Evidence requirements, audit trails, and documentation standards are significantly higher for Core KPIs than for standard disclosures.

Build a quarterly data calendar. BRSR needs annual data, but collecting twelve months of metrics in the week before your annual report deadline is a recipe for errors. Set internal checkpoints every quarter for the key operational metrics: energy, water, waste, incidents, and headcount changes.

The Mistakes That Keep Appearing Every Filing Season

For context on how the landscape has shifted, it helps to understand what changed when BRSR replaced BRR because most first-time filers are still thinking in a BRR mindset when they open a BRSR template.

Common patterns that create problems:

Using an outdated template. SEBI updates its requirements regularly. The December 2024 circular introduced industry-level standards for BRSR Core disclosures. A template that predates these changes is a compliance risk, not a solution.

Filling narrative where numbers belong. Section C's essential indicators want data, not descriptions. "We are committed to reducing our energy footprint" doesn't answer a question about gigajoules consumed per unit of output.

Skipping leadership indicators entirely. These are voluntary, but ESG-focused institutional investors, rating agencies, and global supply chain partners increasingly view leadership indicators as signals of genuine sustainability commitment rather than minimum compliance.

Forgetting the value chain. SEBI now expects companies to disclose whether ESG information covers their supply chain, and what percentage of purchases and sales that coverage represents. A template that has no tab or section for value chain disclosures is incomplete for SEBI ESG reporting requirements in India in 2026.

MSMEs: Why This Conversation Is Already About You

If you're an MSME or unlisted company, it's tempting to assume that BRSR's sustainability reporting template India requirements don't apply to you yet. But your listed company buyers are already required to extend their ESG disclosures to their value chains, and that means they need your data.

The requests typically start as informal questionnaires. They become formal requirements. And from FY 2026–27, those disclosures become subject to third-party assessment. The MSME that has already built a basic data-tracking system will have a very different conversation with its listed buyer than the one scrambling to answer an ESG questionnaire for the first time.

Your BRSR Readiness Doesn't Have to Start With a Blank Template

A free BRSR template in India gives you the format. It doesn't give you a readiness score, a gap analysis, or a prioritised list of what to fix before your assurance provider or your listed buyer asks for data.

That's exactly the gap ESGSaathi is built to close. With a guided self-assessment across all nine BRSR Core attributes, AI-powered recommendations based on your actual gaps, and BRSR-format reporting that maps simultaneously to GRI, TCFD, and CDP, ESGSaathi turns a compliance obligation into a clear action plan. Whether you're a listed company preparing for BRSR Core assurance, a CA handling multiple clients, or an MSME responding to supply chain ESG requests, the path from blank template to credible disclosure doesn't have to run through a consultant's office.

Regulatory information in this article is based on publicly available SEBI circulars as of May 2026. This is for general awareness only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Always refer to the latest SEBI circulars and consult a qualified professional for compliance decisions.