Sustainability reporting has moved from optional to expected. In India, the largest listed companies report under the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) framework. In Singapore, listed issuers publish sustainability reports under the exchange's rules. And the requirements are spreading along supply chains, as large companies ask their suppliers for data.
Reporting requirements are evolving. Check the current rules for each client.
Why it suits small consultancies
- Recurring work: reports are annual, and data collection is continuous.
- Specialist knowledge: materiality, emissions accounting, framework alignment.
- Room for smaller firms: suppliers to large companies often need practical help, not a global advisory firm.
The shape of a typical engagement
- Framework and materiality: which framework applies, and which topics matter to the client and its stakeholders.
- Data collection: energy, emissions, water, waste, people, safety, governance, from many departments.
- Calculation: emissions under the GHG Protocol across scopes 1, 2 and 3, where relevant.
- Drafting the report.
- Review and board approval.
The real challenge is data
Most of the time goes into collecting and checking data from people who have other jobs. Practical steps:
- Send templates to each department, with clear definitions.
- Set due dates per template and track them.
- Check early: incomplete data found in week two is easy to fix; found in week eight, it delays the report.
Price for the data work
Clients tend to underestimate data collection. Make it a separate, visible stage of the engagement, with its own fee and timeline.
How MSMEPulse helps
MSMEPulse includes sustainability (ESG) report and carbon footprint assessment templates, with stages, tasks and a data checklist that client departments complete in their portal. Track progress per data area, log time against each stage, and invoice by milestone.
