Top 1,000 listed Indian companies see 53% jump in FY25 carbon emissions: IIM-Bangalore study

More than half of India’s top 1,000 listed companies drove a 53% surge in their operational greenhouse gas emissions, even as 57.1% failed to disclose their supply chain emissions entirely. The stark climate footprint emerged from a comprehensive analysis by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B).

Conducted by the institute’s Supply Chain Management Centre, the study evaluated the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) filings submitted to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for FY 2024-25. The analysis, published this month, evaluated an effective sample of 982 companies with valid filings spanning 22 sectors under the NSE’s standardised framework.

Rising carbon emissions 

Absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions climbed 4.29% year-on-year, driven by 53.1% of companies reporting an increase in their operational footprint. The power sector accounted for roughly 32.9 million tCO₂e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) of the total 53.7 million tCO₂e net increase.

This renders energy-intensive industries disproportionately consequential to the nation's corporate climate trajectory. Scope 1 covers direct operational emissions from boilers, furnaces, or vehicles, while Scope 2 accounts for indirect emissions generated by electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumption.

Meanwhile, Scope 3 reporting — which measures value chain and supply chain emissions — grew 44% year-on-year, marking the single most significant governance improvement of the cycle. Total disclosed Scope 3 emissions reached 1.48 billion tCO₂e, officially surpassing the combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 1.31 billion tCO₂e.

The data confirms that supply chain footprints vastly dwarf direct operational emissions, yet 57.1% of listed entities still do not report Scope 3 data.

Poor renewable adoption 

Clean energy adoption across corporate India remains structurally low. About 68.43% of evaluated companies derive under 20% of their total energy consumption from renewable sources. At the same time, absolute energy consumption is expanding, with 37.58% of firms registering a year-on-year increase of over 10%.

Despite low baselines, the share of renewable energy is growing faster than overall energy consumption, pointing to a gradual positive shift in the energy mix. Energy intensity per rupee of turnover also improved, showing that economic output outpaced energy growth for most reporting firms.

However, significant reporting gaps persist: 47.15% of companies failed to report physical output energy intensity, while nearly one-third could not provide year-on-year changes in their renewable energy share.

Jump in water demand 

Industrial water demand continues to expand rather than contract, with 33.60% of companies recording a water withdrawal increase of more than 10% year-on-year. Furthermore, 76.07% of firms consume 80% to 100% of the water they withdraw. This confirms that corporate water use is almost completely consumptive, returning minimal flows back to natural systems.

Wastewater treatment coverage remains critically inadequate. A striking 77% of companies either do not treat their discharge or lack the metrics to report on it. Only 19.35% of firms successfully treat 80% to 100% of their discharged water. Treatment quality is actively worsening as well, with 323 companies reporting a year-on-year decline of over 10% in their treated discharge ratio.