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Evidence-based Coverage, Digital Monitoring and Capacity Building Key to Sustainable Transition

A new report by Eversource Capital, CEEW, and IICA noted that India’s upcoming Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) lacks digital monitoring provisions. The study has proposed a unified, interoperable digital platform that integrates carbon market and ESG reporting for greater transparency.

November 19, 2025. By Mrinmoy Dey

A new report by Eversource Capital, in collaboration with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), has revealed that nearly all of India’s top 1,000 companies (998) filed sustainability reports in FY24.

A majority (781) are now disclosing Scope 1 and 2 emissions. However, fewer than one-third (268) have begun reporting value chain (Scope 3) emissions, the report noted.

Titled ‘Advancing Corporate Climate Action through Emissions Disclosures in India’, the report is the first of its kind to benchmark India’s emissions disclosure landscape against global leaders such as the EU, UK, South Korea, and California. It finds that nearly India’s top 1,000 listed companies contribute nearly 43 percent or 1.3 billion tonnes of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. But encouragingly, most now file emissions disclosures, it said.

It further added that since the top 1,000 companies already account for 43 percent of India’s emissions; expanding reporting mandates to smaller listed firms would raise coverage only marginally (~30 percent), suggesting the need to instead bring large unlisted companies and financial institutions into the fold.

Current filings show wide variations in emissions data quality. The report has recommended a single, assurance-backed disclosure format—an expanded BRSR Core—to replace multiple overlapping templates.

The report noted that India’s upcoming Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) lacks digital monitoring provisions. The study has proposed a unified, interoperable digital platform that integrates carbon market and ESG reporting for greater transparency.

It further added that as global supply chains demand emissions transparency, mid-sized enterprises must prepare to report under BRSR Lite. The report has suggested a national capacity-building programme modelled on the EU’s EFRAG initiative to future-proof India’s MSMEs.

Dhanpal Jhaveri, CEO, Eversource Capital, said, “India’s corporates are at the frontline of our sustainability transition. Reliable emissions data is the foundation for climate accountability—and for accessing global capital flows into green growth. Transparent disclosures will not only align India with international benchmarks but also build investor confidence in the resilience of our enterprises.”

Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and UN Special Envoy for COP30 from South Asia, said, “India's corporate climate action is only as strong as the data behind it. Transparent emissions disclosure frameworks will address greenwashing and help companies tap into new sources of sustainable finance. While the results are encouraging for scope 1 and 2 emissions disclosures, there is ample potential for reporting quality to improve. Systematic, consistent and accurate disclosures can be a source of bottom-up data on emissions, which can enable evidence-based corporate transition planning.”

Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, DG-CEO, IICA, said, “India’s disclosure ecosystem stands at an inflection point, moving from compliance to credibility. The findings reaffirm that while 99.8 percent of mandated companies file BRSR, the future lies in the quality, assurance, and digital integrity of that data. Our goal is not to expand reporting for its own sake, but to build an interoperable, evidence-based system that inspires investor confidence and drives national climate ambition. IICA remains deeply committed to enabling this transformation through research, capacity building, and partnerships that make India’s corporate climate disclosures truly world-class.”

By aligning emissions reporting with global best practices and integrating digital monitoring, the report envisions a unified, high-integrity disclosure ecosystem for India—one that enhances corporate accountability, attracts sustainable investment, and supports the nation’s pathway to net zero.

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Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh

Carbon Credit Trading Scheme