BRSR Principle 6: Where Tree Plantation and Biodiversity Go in Your Report

7 October 2026 4 min read Grow Billion Trees team

In SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report, environmental data sits under Principle 6. Tree plantation is not a reduction in your own Scope 1 or 2 emissions, so report it as an environmental initiative, with biodiversity details in the leadership indicators and CSR details under Principle 8. Geo-tagged, survival-checked data makes it assurance-ready.

The Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) is SEBI's sustainability disclosure for the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation. Many of these companies fund tree plantation through CSR or as part of their climate commitments, and then ask the same question: where does it go in the BRSR, and how do we report it without overstating it?

How BRSR is structured

The BRSR has three sections. Section A covers general disclosures, Section B covers management and processes, and Section C reports performance against the nine principles of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct. Each principle has essential indicators, which are mandatory, and leadership indicators, which are voluntary.

Principle 6 says businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment. This is where energy, emissions, water, waste and biodiversity data are reported.

Principle 6 indicators that relate to plantation

Indicator	Type	What it asks, in short	How plantation relates
Scope 1 and 2 emissions	Essential	Your direct and energy-related emissions and intensity	Report these as they are. Do not subtract trees.
Projects to reduce GHG emissions	Essential	Details of emission reduction projects	Only projects that cut your own emissions belong here.
Operations in ecologically sensitive areas	Essential	Sites in or near sensitive areas and compliance	Relevant if your plants or mines sit near forests, wetlands or coasts.
Scope 3 emissions	Leadership	Value chain emissions and intensity	Report separately from any removals.
Biodiversity impact in sensitive areas	Leadership	Significant direct and indirect impact and mitigation	Restoration, native species and habitat work can be described here.
Initiatives and innovative technology	Leadership	Initiatives to improve resource efficiency or reduce impact	A well-documented plantation or restoration programme fits here.

CSR-funded plantation also appears under Principle 8 (inclusive growth), which asks for details of CSR projects, beneficiaries and, where required, social impact assessments. Farmer agroforestry programmes are a good example: they serve both environmental and livelihood goals.

The most common mistake: netting off emissions

BRSR asks for your emissions. Trees you fund elsewhere remove carbon from the air over many years, but they do not change what your operations emitted this year. Subtracting plantation from Scope 1 or 2 figures will not survive assurance and can look like greenwashing.

A cleaner approach is to report emissions in full, and then disclose plantation separately, as an initiative with its own numbers: area, number of trees, species, location, survival rate and, if you estimate it, a clearly labelled estimate of carbon removal with the method used.

BRSR Core and assurance

BRSR Core is a subset of key indicators that must be independently checked. SEBI phased it in by size: the top 150 listed companies from FY 2023-24, the top 250 from FY 2024-25, the top 500 from FY 2025-26 and the full top 1,000 from FY 2026-27. Since SEBI's circular of 28 March 2025, companies can choose a third-party assessment (under standards from the Industry Standards Forum) or an assurance engagement.

Even where a plantation figure is not itself a BRSR Core attribute, assessors look at how consistent your report is. Plantation claims with no evidence behind them raise questions about everything else.

Value chain disclosures

SEBI's framework for value chain ESG disclosures covers suppliers and customers that each account for 2% or more of purchases or sales, up to 75% of the value chain. In March 2025 SEBI made these disclosures, and their assessment or assurance, voluntary. Companies that run supplier plantation or agroforestry programmes can still report them here as leadership practice.

What evidence makes plantation assurance-ready

Location: geo-tags or boundaries for every site, not only a district name.
What was planted: species list, numbers and planting dates.
Survival: periodic survival counts, with photographs over time.
Money: agreements, utilisation certificates and the CSR approval trail.
Method: if you report a carbon estimate, the method, assumptions and the period it covers.

We report every tree we plant with geo-tags, photographs and survival data through GreenTrack, so it can go straight into your BRSR working files. Our programmes have an 85% verified survival rate.

Next steps

Read how CSR, BRSR, Green Credits and carbon credits fit together, or see how we support ESG and BRSR reporting. You can also check your readiness with our BRSR readiness check.

Sources: SEBI circulars on BRSR and BRSR Core · BRSR Core: assessment or assurance (summary) · BRSR value chain disclosure (summary). Last updated: October 2026. Rules change; check the latest notification before you rely on any detail.

Further reading: BRSR Value Chain Disclosures: Bringing Suppliers into Plantation Programmes · BRSR Core Assurance in FY 2026-27: What the Top 1,000 Companies Need Ready

Frequently Asked Questions

Which BRSR principle covers environmental disclosures?

Principle 6, which says businesses should respect and make efforts to protect and restore the environment. It covers energy, emissions, water, waste and biodiversity.

Can we subtract trees we planted from our Scope 1 and 2 emissions in BRSR?

No. Report your operational emissions in full. Disclose plantation separately as an environmental initiative, with its own evidence and any carbon estimate clearly labelled.

When does BRSR Core assurance apply to all top 1,000 companies?

From FY 2026-27, following SEBI's phased glide path. Since March 2025 companies can choose either a third-party assessment or an assurance engagement.

Are value chain ESG disclosures mandatory?

Not at present. In March 2025 SEBI made value chain disclosures, and their assessment or assurance, voluntary.

Where do CSR plantation projects appear in BRSR?

CSR project details, beneficiaries and impact assessments are reported under Principle 8. The environmental side of the same project can be described under Principle 6.