Case Study > Streamlining BRSR Reporting for Manappuram Finance Limited
BRSR Case Study

Streamlining BRSR Reporting for Manappuram Finance Limited

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Written by

Prashanth Joseph, Head of ESG Impact Grows

Published on

15th December 2023

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Manappuram Finance Limited, a prominent Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) listed among India's top 500 companies, had to submit a comprehensive Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) for the fiscal year 2022-2023, in accordance with SEBI's regulations for listed companies. As an institution that has been actively engaged in Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR) in prior years, the transition to BRSR represented a significant step towards embracing a more intricate and data-intensive reporting process. Manappuram Finance was keen to demonstrate a strong commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations, which fueled its determination to publish an extensive BRSR report, even though it was the first time the firm was going to do it.

BillionLives Services

To navigate the challenges of BRSR reporting and ensure a seamless transition, Manappuram Finance partnered with BillionLives, a firm specialising in ESG consulting and technology solutions. Billionlives provided consulting expertise, enabled by its in-house ESG software platform, Impact Grows. The platform helps companies streamline their ESG management needs and generate sustainability reports on various global frameworks, including BRSR.

Impact Grows Software Platform

The Impact Grows platform empowers companies to bolster their sustainability performance by offering a range of functionalities, including:

  • ESG Maturity Self-assessment: A tool to gauge the company's maturity in implementing ESG practices.
  • Supplier ESG Maturity Assessment: Evaluating suppliers' ESG performance to enhance the overall supply chain sustainability.
  • Materiality Assessment: Identifying and prioritising ESG issues relevant to the company's stakeholders.
  • ESG Strategy: Developing a robust ESG strategy aligned with the company's Material objectives.
  • Central Data Hub: A centralised repository for ESG data to ensure data accuracy and accessibility.
  • ESG Reports in Multiple Formats: Enabling the generation of ESG reports in various global reporting formats such as GRI, SASB, BRSR etc.

Approach and Methodology

Recognizing the complexities associated with BRSR reporting, BillionLives took a hands-on approach to guide Manappuram Finance through the process. The collaboration followed a comprehensive methodology, detailed below:

  • Gap Identification: The first phase involved analysing the disparity between the data disclosed in the company's previous BRR and annual reports and the requirements stipulated by BRSR. This process was crucial to understand the extent of data collection and reporting adjustments needed.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Through close coordination with Manappuram's Secretarial team, the BillionLives team engaged with various internal stakeholders. These engagements helped identify the responsible parties for data provision and the specific data points required.
  • Data Collection and Consolidation: The stakeholders' input facilitated the establishment of data collection processes. This phase involved determining the already-reported data points, identifying the available data, and defining processes to collect the missing data.
  • ESG Strategy: Developing a robust ESG strategy aligned with the company's Material objectives.
  • Impact Grows Platform Implementation: Leveraging the capabilities of the Impact Grows platform, the BillionLives team imported the collected data. The platform's existing mapping of BRSR disclosures, streamlined the alignment of data with the relevant disclosure questions.
  • Report Generation: Once data collection was completed and verified, the Impact Grows platform simplified the report generation process. With a single click, the platform produced a comprehensive report, which could be edited to comply with Manappuram Finance's formatting requirements.

Outcome:

Manappuram Finance's journey towards BRSR reporting was characterised by significant challenges in terms of adapting to new data requirements and setting up effective data collection processes. However, with strong collaboration from stakeholders within the organisation and the expertise of the BillionLives team, these challenges were successfully navigated. The implementation of the Impact Grows software platform not only eased the report generation process, but also ensured data accuracy and alignment with BRSR disclosure requirements. This collaborative effort resulted in the creation of a detailed and comprehensive BRSR report, marking a significant achievement for Manappuram Finance Limited in its commitment to ESG considerations and responsible business practices.

Mr. Manoj Kumar

Company Secretary,

Manappuram Finance Limited

We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our BRSR report. As this was our inaugural experience at Manappuram, we sought guidance to initiate the process. The team at BillionLives adeptly designed a delivery methodology and established effective processes, leading to the seamless streamlining of the entire procedure. With these robust processes now in place, we are better equipped to meet the reporting requirements for the upcoming years as well. Leveraging their platform, Impact Grows, further expedited the process, enabling us to have the final version of the report ready within a day of collecting and reviewing all the submitted data.