Sustainability & Climate Risk Reviews — What to Get Right Before You Start
Climate risk has moved from a sustainability-team slide deck to a board-level financial disclosure obligation. Regulators, lenders, and institutional investors now expect companies to identify, quantify, and disclose physical climate risk and transition risk with the same rigour applied to credit risk or liquidity risk. PNPC Global has advised boards and promoter groups across India and the UAE since 1986 on where their real exposure sits — not a generic ESG template, but a review grounded in your sector, your assets, your supply chain, and the specific disclosure regime that applies to you, whether that is SEBI's BRSR framework, an investor's TCFD-aligned questionnaire, or a lender's climate covenant.
What You're Really Buying
A Sustainability & Climate Risk Review is a structured, independent assessment of how climate change and broader sustainability factors could affect an organisation's operations, assets, supply chain, and financial position — paired with a review of the governance and disclosure practices the organisation has in place to manage and report on that exposure. The discipline draws primarily on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which organised climate risk reporting around four pillars — governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets — a structure that has since been carried forward into the IFRS Foundation's ISSB standards (IFRS S1 on general sustainability disclosures and IFRS S2 on climate-specific disclosures). In India, the operative framework for the largest listed companies is SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) format, with BRSR Core introducing mandatory reasonable assurance on a defined set of ESG attributes for the top listed entities by market capitalisation, phased in from the top 150 entities and extending to the top 1,000 by FY 2026-27; a related, separate requirement for assurance over value-chain ESG disclosures has since been eased by SEBI to a voluntary basis.
For the full scope, current process and what PNPC includes, see the dedicated Sustainability & Climate Risk Reviews service page.
When You'd Need This
- Your company is a top-1000 listed entity by market capitalisation and BRSR (or BRSR Core assurance) applies to you under SEBI's phased mandate, or you anticipate crossing that threshold within the next 2–3 years
- An institutional investor, private equity fund, or lender has sent an ESG or climate questionnaire (CDP, TCFD-aligned, or lender-specific) and you need a credible, evidence-backed response rather than a marketing narrative
- Your business exports goods in CBAM-covered categories (iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, electricity) to the EU and needs to understand embedded-carbon reporting obligations and potential future cost exposure
- Physical assets — manufacturing facilities, warehouses, agricultural operations, coastal or water-stressed locations — carry meaningful exposure to extreme weather, water scarcity, or long-term climate shifts that have not been formally assessed
Before You Assume You Need This
- You need a full greenhouse gas emissions inventory (Scope 1, 2, and 3) built from first principles with primary data collection — that is a GHG accounting and carbon footprinting engagement, often a precursor to or component of a fuller climate risk review, but narrower in scope on its own
- You need statutory financial statement audit assurance — that is a separate, mandatory engagement under the Companies Act and Standards on Auditing, distinct from voluntary sustainability assurance
- You are a very early-stage business with minimal physical assets, no export exposure to CBAM-covered goods, and no institutional investor pressure — proportionate sustainability hygiene (a basic policy and periodic check-in) may suffice rather than a full formal review at this stage
Questions We're Actually Asked
What exactly is a Sustainability & Climate Risk Review?
It is an independent assessment of how climate change and broader sustainability factors could affect your organisation's assets, operations, supply chain, and financial position, paired with a review of whether your governance and disclosure practices are adequate to manage and report on that exposure. We assess both physical risk (direct climate impact on assets and operations) and transition risk (the financial impact of the shift to a lower-carbon economy), and benchmark your governance and disclosure against the framework that actually applies to you.
Is climate risk disclosure mandatory for my company in India?
It depends on your listing status and size. SEBI's BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting) applies to the top listed companies by market capitalisation on a phased basis, with BRSR Core introducing a mandatory reasonable-assurance requirement on a defined set of ESG attributes, phased in from the top 150 listed entities and extending to the top 1,000 by FY 2026-27. A related requirement for ESG disclosure and assurance over a company's value chain has since been eased by SEBI to a voluntary basis. Companies below the applicable threshold are not statutorily mandated to file BRSR, but many face de facto obligations through investor questionnaires, lender covenants, or customer/supply-chain ESG requirements even without a direct statutory trigger.
What is the difference between physical risk and transition risk?
Physical risk is the direct impact of climate change on your assets and operations — acute physical risk from extreme weather events like cyclones, floods, and heatwaves, and chronic physical risk from gradual shifts like rising temperatures, changing rainfall, or water stress. Transition risk is the financial and operational impact of the shift to a lower-carbon economy — policy risk (carbon pricing, CBAM), technology risk (stranded assets), market risk (shifting customer preference), and legal risk from climate-related litigation. Most businesses carry some exposure to both, but the balance differs enormously by sector — a coastal manufacturing facility skews toward physical risk, while a carbon-intensive exporter skews toward transition risk.
Working With PNPC Global
Speak directly with a PNPC Chartered Accountant about your organisation's climate and sustainability risk exposure. Not a generic global ESG template, not a disconnected sustainability-only boutique — a practising CA firm that has advised boards across India and the UAE since 1986, and that builds your climate disclosure on an evidenced risk assessment rather than an aspirational narrative.
PNPC Global has advised Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad businesses since 1986. Explore the full Risk Advisory practice for related services, or go straight to the Sustainability & Climate Risk Reviews page for specifics.
Specific rates, fees, thresholds and deadlines are set by the relevant authority and change over time — this article deliberately does not quote figures that could go stale. Confirm current numbers directly with PNPC or the official source before you act.