Why is ESG data management essential for business?

Corporate sustainability practices sustainability are becoming more and more sought-after, not just by shareholders, but for all business stakeholders. In contrast to the shareholder capitalism concept which we have seen for decades, the corporate world is moving towards a structure in which all stakeholders are relevant to the long-term strategy of the company, which is defined as stakeholder capitalism.

Investors are losing interest in companies with risky ESG practices; consumers no longer want to buy the most affordable option, but instead demand more and more transparency with regards to a product’s origin and the way it is made; personal values and quality of life have also become extremely relevant to employees.

This means that companies will increasingly be required not just to disclose positive impact performance, but to truly embed sustainability at the heart of the business. Sustainable practices no longer need to be the responsibility of an isolated department: they should be incorporated into all company activities.

With this in mind, let’s return to our initial question: why is ESG data management essential for your business? Here are some of the main reasons why your company should not only adopt sustainable practices, but also understand the real value of the data you probably already generate and how to manage it efficiently.

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1. The market demands transparency

When it comes to evaluating a business’ sustainability, investors and consumers are becoming increasingly demanding with regards to data transparency, as a business’ responsibility starts with internally recognising their strengths and areas for improvement.

To support businesses with this process, institutions such as the GRI, SASB and BCorp have developed methods and interanational standards to guide individual companies. Identifying the relevant indicators for your company and promoting the transparency of this data is an initial commitment on the part of the company.

However, to encourage this transparency, companies must make use of efficient methods to manage their data, avoid human error and to ensure that all means of verification are easily verified.

2. Achieve credibility

As well as transparency, data management also provides greater credibility, both to the data itself and to the business.

Through transparency in sustainability practice, whether the data is positive or not, organisations are under pressure to monitor their data and to evaluate how they can improve their sustainability practices. This gives the company credibility, as it is not just more transparent to its stakeholders, but it also demonstrates its commitment to constant improvement.

3. Dedicate your time to what is really important

Don’t waste your time on data management: we are here to do it for you. A company’s job is to analyse the data and with it make strategic decisions.

As with sales, marketing, human resources and operations, the management of raw data is very inefficient and tends to induce a lot of human error. A software that manages your sustainability data and that keeps up to date with the latest updates gives you more time to dedicate to what really matters: decision-making based on data, without worrying about human error.

Our platform facilitates exactly this process, by optimising the data collection processes, validation and goal tracking, and by creating visualisations which facilitate your analysis of the evolution of the business and how to plan your next steps towards sustainability.

4. Ensure that your business is always one step ahead in ESG data management

To stand out, your company needs to do something more than just let itself be pushed by change.

The businesses considered to be the ‘best in class’ in sustainability are not those that are pushed by the markets or by laws and regulations, but are instead those that are constantly innovating their sustainable strategies. They track their ESG data to identify risks, opportunities and ways to continuously improve their sustainable practices.

A specialised ESG data management platform is extremely useful for keeping up with the latest developments in international standards. APlanet’s platform, for example, is constantly updated so that our clients are always up-to-date with ESG indicators, as well as ensuring their compliance with regulations such as those of the European market and, above all, to solve our clients’ main difficulties.

The sooner a company realises that sustainability will be increasingly integrated into strategic planning, the sooner it will understand how an ESG management platform can be its main ally to stand out in the market.

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