On a wing and a prayer: What Sebi’s mandate on value-chain ESG disclosure means for India Inc

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Synopsis
Sebi wants the top 250 listed entities to disclose their supply-chain emissions on a comply-or-explain basis. This is going to be a daunting task, as companies need to coordinate, collect data from a huge pool of suppliers and verify them. While a few big corporations have started working on this, most are still figuring out the road ahead.

Construction giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has a complex jigsaw puzzle to solve – and it is not at all related to engineering or structural design. It’s a recent Sebi order on ESG that has stumped the likes of L&T. The market regulator is seeking ESG (environmental, social, and governance) disclosures and assurance from the top 250 listed entities (by market capitalisation) for their entire value chains. Sebi, after its board meeting