Global Frameworks That Shape Your Roadmap
Sustainability roadmaps align with internationally recognised frameworks that investors, regulators, and supply chain partners use to evaluate performance. Here’s what each one means and why it matters for your organization.
GRI Standards — The Global Reporting Initiative provides the world’s most widely used sustainability disclosure framework, covering economic, environmental, and social impacts across all sectors.
TCFD—The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommends how companies disclose climate risks and opportunities to financial markets—now mandatory in many jurisdictions.
The SBTi—Science Based Targets initiative validates corporate Net Zero and emission reduction targets against 1.5°C climate pathways, adding third-party credibility to your commitments.
GHG Protocol — The global accounting standard for measuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions — is the foundation of any credible carbon footprint.
CDP — The global disclosure system enabling companies to report environmental data to investors, customers, and policymakers, covering climate, water, and forests.
UN SDGs — The 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide a universal language for mapping business contributions to global challenges, from climate action (SDG 13) to decent work (SDG 8).
BRSR — SEBI’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report is mandatory for India’s top 1,000 listed companies, requiring structured ESG disclosure across nine principles.
CSRD — The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive requires large companies to disclose sustainability impacts in detail with third-party assurance — affecting Indian exporters through EU supply chain requirements.
ISO 14001 — The international standard for environmental management systems, providing a framework to improve environmental performance through efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a sustainability roadmap and an ESG report?
An ESG report communicates past performance to external stakeholders — what you did and how it compared to targets. A sustainability roadmap is forward-looking: it defines where you want to go and how to get there. The two are complementary. A good roadmap makes future ESG reporting credible and consistent because the data collection, governance structures, and targets are already built in from the start.
How long does it take to develop a sustainability roadmap?
For most organisations, the full process — from baseline assessment through to the final roadmap document — takes 6 to 12 weeks. This includes data collection, stakeholder workshops, target-setting, and governance design. Larger organisations with complex supply chains may take longer. The roadmap itself typically covers a 3–5 year horizon, with annual review cycles built in.
Do we need to be a large company to benefit from a sustainability roadmap?
No. While large listed companies face mandatory BRSR or CSRD disclosure requirements, mid-size and growing businesses increasingly need sustainability roadmaps too — because customers, export markets, banks, and supply chain partners are demanding sustainability credentials at every level. Starting early provides a competitive advantage and avoids costly catch-up when regulatory pressure increases.
What data do we need to get started?
You don’t need perfect data to begin. We start with whatever you have — energy bills, fuel records, supply chain spend, production data, HR records — and identify gaps during the baseline assessment. A key part of our work is building the data collection systems you need going forward, so reporting becomes progressively easier over time.
What is the difference between Net Zero and carbon neutral?
Carbon neutrality typically means offsetting emissions through external carbon credits, without necessarily reducing them first. Net Zero, as defined by SBTi and the IPCC, requires deep emission reductions across your entire value chain first — with offsets used only for genuinely residual emissions that cannot be eliminated. Net Zero is the more rigorous standard, and the direction that regulatory frameworks and investor expectations are moving toward globally.
How does a roadmap help with BRSR compliance?
BRSR requires disclosure across nine National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct principles, covering environmental, social, and governance dimensions. A sustainability roadmap aligns your data collection, governance structures, and reporting processes with these requirements — making BRSR disclosure more accurate, less burdensome, and strategically useful rather than a reactive exercise completed under pressure.
Can the roadmap be updated as our business evolves?
Yes and it should be. A sustainability roadmap is a living document, not a static deliverable. We design every roadmap with annual review cycles built in, allowing you to recalibrate KPIs, add new initiatives, and respond to changes in regulation, technology, or business strategy. Our Phase 5 continuous improvement service specifically supports this ongoing evolution.
Sustainability Glossary
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- Carbon accounting—The process of measuring, recording, and reporting an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes, per the GHG Protocol standard.
- Decarbonization — Reducing CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency, fuel switching, renewable energy, and process redesign.
- Double materiality — A concept requiring companies to assess both how sustainability issues affect the business (financial materiality) and how the business affects people and planet (impact materiality).
- Scope 3 emissions — Indirect emissions across the entire value chain, from raw material extraction to product end-of-life. Often 70–90% of total footprint and the hardest to address.
- Carbon offset — A credit representing one tonne of CO₂ reduced or removed elsewhere. Useful for residual emissions — but not a substitute for genuine reduction.
- Transition plan — A time-bound business plan explaining how an organisation will shift its strategy to align with Net Zero, increasingly required by regulators and financiers.
- Greenwashing — Making misleading or unsubstantiated environmental claims. Increasingly subject to regulatory enforcement. A rigorous, data-backed roadmap is the clearest protection against this risk.
- Carbon intensity — Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output or revenue—useful for tracking efficiency improvements even as production grows.