Unlisted suppliers are being asked for BRSR-style data
Large listed companies in India report under SEBI's BRSR framework. They are also encouraged to report on their value chain: the upstream and downstream partners that individually account for 2% or more of their purchases or sales. Value-chain reporting is voluntary at present, but many large buyers already send questionnaires to their suppliers to build that data. Export customers, especially in Europe, and banks assessing climate risk are asking similar questions.
What you are likely to be asked
- Electricity and fuel consumed, and the resulting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.
- Water drawn and discharged, and waste generated and disposed of.
- Number of employees and workers, gender mix, wages, health and safety incidents.
- Policies on ethics, anti-bribery, and complaints.
How to prepare without a large budget
- Decide who owns each data point: usually the plant head for energy and waste, HR for people data, and accounts for spend-based data.
- Use records you already have: electricity bills, fuel purchase registers, payroll and attendance records, and waste disposal challans.
- Calculate emissions consistently. Use the Central Electricity Authority's grid emission factor for electricity and standard factors for fuels. The GHG estimator gives a first estimate. Read Scope 1, 2 and 3 explained for the basics.
- Keep an evidence file for each number, with the source document and the calculation.
- Answer consistently. Give every customer the same figures for the same period, and explain estimates.
Why it is worth doing
A supplier who can answer quickly and with evidence is easier to keep on an approved vendor list. The same data also supports any later assurance or green finance application.