Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR)

Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) released the ‘Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR)’. It recommended a new reporting framework called as the ‘Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)’ to better reflect the intent and scope of reporting on non-financial parameters.

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Key-Points

It recommended two formats for disclosures: one ‘comprehensive format’ and the second a ‘Lite version’. The implementation of the reporting requirements should be done in a gradual and phased manner.

It also recommended that the BRSR be integrated with the MCA21 portal. As a long-term measure, the Committee envisions that the information captured through BRSR filings be used to develop a Business Responsibility-Sustainability Index for companies.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct by companies. As a first step towards mainstreaming the concept of business responsibility, the ‘Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility’ were issued in 2009.

These guidelines were subsequently revised as ‘National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGS)’ after extensive consultations with business, academia, civil society organizations and the government.