The ESG Parade No One Questions
Somewhere between the glossy sustainability report PDFs and LinkedIn posts boasting “net-zero goals,” I started laughing.
Not out of joy. Out of disbelief.
Here were billion-dollar firms spinning tales of carbon reduction, “inclusive governance,” and female empowerment — all while sourcing from factories where workers couldn’t afford clean water. These companies weren’t lying outright. They were performing. Playing a game where perception outsold substance. And regulators? Most of them applauded the act.
That’s when I knew BRSR Decoded needed to be written — not as a guidebook for greenwashing, but as a scalpel. To cut through the self-congratulating ESG noise that has infected Indian boardrooms like a well-dressed virus.
Everyone wants to look good. That’s the trap. ESG became a reputational costume party, where real progress was buried beneath posturing. No company wanted to be the odd one out.
The Ugly Truth Inside Corporate ESG
Let me tell you a story that didn’t make the final book draft.
An Indian conglomerate approached a well-known ESG consulting firm for their BRSR report. The consultant asked for environmental impact data.
“Just copy-paste from last year,” said the CFO.
“But there are new emission sources this year—”
“Doesn’t matter. Just tweak the numbers slightly so it doesn’t look identical.”
The company received an ESG award six months later.
If you think that’s rare, I envy your optimism.
Most ESG reports in India aren’t strategic or data-driven. They’re theatre. The goal isn’t impact — it’s optics. This truth burned as I wrote each chapter of BRSR Decoded. I wasn’t crafting a business manual. I was untangling a performance industry.
For startups, MSMEs, and honest companies playing by the rules, this charade is infuriating. You follow the norms. You invest in sustainability. And you watch others game the system and win awards.
What No One Tells You About Writing a Book Like This
There’s a myth that books on ESG are written in polished rooms, surrounded by policy papers and corporate input. That wasn’t my process.
I wrote BRSR Decoded in fragments — on trains, between client calls, often rewriting entire sections after reading yet another whitewashed ESG report. I had to unlearn consultant-speak. I tore up drafts that sounded too clean, too bureaucratic. This book needed to feel real — bloodied by the truths I’ve seen behind closed doors.
One night, while reviewing disclosures from a public sector unit, I found 17 ESG metrics marked “Not Applicable.” These included gender diversity, energy efficiency, grievance redressal, and child labor risks.
This was a power generation company.
Not applicable?
That’s when I stopped editing and started exposing.
Readers deserve to make real decisions based on real data. BRSR shouldn’t be an illusion. If ESG reports hide behind “not applicable,” stakeholders lose control. Investors. Employees. Citizens. Everyone.
The Lipstick Problem
BRSR is not the villain. It’s a decent framework. A necessary push. But it’s too easy to game.
Let’s not pretend that companies report on their true emissions if it hurts quarterly numbers. Or that every boardroom welcomes disclosures about their toxic workplace culture. Or that ESG ratings in India are immune to lobbying.
Lipstick on a pig is still a pig.
I’ve reviewed dozens of ESG reports from India’s biggest firms — FMCGs, IT giants, real estate, pharma. Some are excellent. Most are suspiciously vague. A few are downright misleading. One claimed “zero waste” while outsourcing their industrial sludge to a third-party recycler… in another country. Out of sight, out of report.
Investors crave predictability. Stakeholders want truth. When ESG reporting becomes a puzzle of half-facts and narrative massaging, the one thing lost is certainty. What is a “green” company anymore? No one knows.
What BRSR Can Be — If We Want It To
Despite everything, I remain hopeful.
Because BRSR can evolve into something honest. It can become a bridge — between truth and trust, between governance and grassroots. But only if companies stop treating it like a checklist and start using it as a mirror.
It’s hard. It’s messy. But it’s the only way ESG survives this credibility crisis.
And that’s why I wrote BRSR Decoded the way I did — as a brutal, honest, founder-friendly, myth-busting guide. A toolkit for those who want to comply without selling their soul. For those who refuse to fake it.
You’ll find frameworks, templates, case studies. But more than that, you’ll find a tone that doesn’t flatter — it confronts.
Because we’ve had enough lipstick.
It’s time for legacy.
You’re not alone. If you’ve ever felt like your ESG efforts are overshadowed by louder, faker voices — this book is for you. This fight is yours too.
Why It Had to Be Said
BRSR Decoded isn’t just a book. It’s a rebellion wrapped in documentation. A hand extended to founders, sustainability heads, CFOs, and investors who are tired of the ESG circus.
I didn’t write it to help companies look better. I wrote it to help them be better.
If you’ve read it, share it with your team. If you haven’t, start with the chapter that makes you uncomfortable.
Because that’s where the truth begins.
And we’re long overdue for some.