India’s ESG journey has crossed a decisive threshold. Sustainability performance is no longer a reputational add-on. It is a board-level risk category, a capital access lever, and an increasingly verified measure of business credibility.
On 22 May 2026, a closed-door CXO Roundtable co-hosted by Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon and Development Alternatives, with Pierag Consulting as Knowledge Partner, brought senior leaders from industry, civil society, and academia together across six structured sessions. The whitepaper that followed distils three core findings and fifteen policy recommendations for boards, regulators, and industry bodies shaping India’s next decade of sustainable growth.
What the Roundtable Found
BRSR Core assurance requirements are expanding to India’s top 1,000 listed companies by FY2026-27. Boards that have treated ESG as a reporting exercise are finding the assurance perimeter catching up faster than anticipated. Greenwashing has moved from a reputational concern to a regulatory and litigation risk. Scope 3 supply-chain emissions remain the most significant and least addressed dimension of corporate decarbonisation. And without structured support, ESG risks becoming exclusionary for the MSMEs that form the backbone of India’s supply chains.
The whitepaper closes with a clear argument: compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. Organisations that embed ESG into capital allocation, risk management, and performance measurement, rather than treating it as an annual filing, build the kind of competitive advantage that regulation alone cannot produce. Pierag’s ESG and Sustainability Services support organisations at every stage of that journey, from first-time BRSR filings through to BRSR Core assurance readiness.
As Pierag’s research on ESG cost accounting shows, companies that measure sustainability like a financial discipline consistently outperform those treating it as a compliance cost.
The full findings, data, and all fifteen policy recommendations are in the whitepaper.
Download the ESG at the Crossroads Whitepaper (PDF)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BRSR Core and who must comply by FY2026-27? SEBI’s BRSR Core requires mandatory reasonable assurance on nine key ESG attributes. By FY2026-27, all of India’s top 1,000 listed companies must comply. Full details in Pierag’s BRSR guide.
Why is greenwashing now a board-level risk? As BRSR Core assurance expands, boards carry direct legal exposure for inaccurate sustainability disclosures. It is no longer just reputational.
What are Scope 3 emissions and why are they difficult? Scope 3 covers all indirect value chain emissions, upstream and downstream. They are the hardest to report because they depend on data from fragmented supplier ecosystems, many of which are MSMEs without digital tracking systems.
How does ESG affect Indian MSMEs? MSMEs are being drawn into ESG accountability through supply-chain disclosure pressure, export compliance obligations, and lender data requirements, often without adequate support infrastructure.
What is the connection between ESG and capital access? ESG ratings directly shape investor appetite and lender pricing. Credible, execution-oriented ESG programmes give organisations measurable advantages in capital access and supply-chain positioning.
How can organisations move from compliance to competitive advantage? By embedding ESG into performance measurement and risk management year-round, not just at filing time. Read how AI is accelerating this shift for leading organisations.
References
[1] Pierag Consulting. (2026). BRSR reporting in India: Full compliance guide. Retrieved from https://pierag.com/US/brsr-reporting-in-india-full-compliance-guide-for-listed-companies/
[2] Pierag Consulting. (2026). ESG and sustainability services. Retrieved from https://pierag.com/US/our-services/
[3] Pierag Consulting, Great Lakes Institute of Management, and Development Alternatives. (2026, August). ESG at the Crossroads: From compliance to competitive advantage [Whitepaper]. Retrieved from https://pierag.com/US/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ESG_at_the_Crossroads_Whitepaper.pdf
[4] Pierag Consulting. (2026, January 8). The invisible cost of sustainability: Why ESG cost accounting matters. Retrieved from https://pierag.com/blog/2026/01/08/the-invisible-cost-of-sustainability-why-companies-need-esg-cost-accounting-to-survive-the-next-decade/
[5] Pierag Consulting. (2025, December 19). Digital sustainability: How AI is transforming ESG reporting. Retrieved from https://pierag.com/blog/2025/12/19/digital-sustainability-how-ai-is-transforming-esg-reporting-for-modern-enterprises/
[6] World Economic Forum. (2026, January). Global Risks Report 2026. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/global-risks-2026-top-10-two-and-ten-year-horizon/
