Metrics Matter! Tracking and Reporting is Key for Sustainability Accountability

One area where demand for digital solutions is rising fast is in sustainability — and in particular in sustainability data management. If asked what’s driving this, you might assume regulation? 

But increasingly, the real pressure isn’t coming from governments - it’s coming from the market itself. From customers, from procurement teams and from investors.

Despite the reprieve from the omnibus directive, many companies remain in scope — and others are choosing to stay on track. The new reality for a surprisingly high number of mid-sized Irish companies is that if you can’t measure and report your sustainability data, you risk losing existing business, or missing out on new business opportunities.

In many sectors, up to 90% of emissions sit in the supply chain, so large buyers — food processors, construction companies, healthcare, hospitality business, manufacturers — can’t hit their own targets without the cooperation of their suppliers. And this is putting pressure on mid-sized Irish companies.

Procurement has become another key driver with ESG metrics increasingly sitting alongside price and quality in request for proposals. Furthermore, many companies must now ensure supplier data is auditable — and traditional spreadsheets can no longer meet the standard required.

So therein lies yet another challenge that Irish SMEs could probably do without — collecting, analysing and reporting data efficiently and to a high standard, ideally automated and integrated across the business!

But the good news is that local and proven solutions are on our doorstep. In fact with the right digital solution, ESG reporting can shift from a burden to a competitive advantage, especially for those scaling or exporting.

Finding the right solution is also simple thanks to Digital for Sustainability, a new initiative set up to connect businesses with a sustainability data challenge with cost-effective and scalable solutions. This is the latest initiative from The Innovation Exchange which has published over 70 challenges in the Digital Transformation space – helping facilitate over 30 deals (and generating over €5 million for Irish SMEs).

Guaranteed Irish has teamed up with The Innovation Exchange and its Digital for Sustainability initiative to provide members with a trusted local supplier to support the gathering, analysis and reporting of ESG data.

Contact The Innovation Exchange today to discuss your ESG data challenge, or get in touch with Guaranteed Irish for more information on this collaboration.

This collaboration is brought to you as part of the Guaranteed Irish Sustainability Roadmap, a tool designed to support members at every stage of their ESG journey, whether just starting out or looking to advance further. Download our Roadmap to guide your sustainability efforts and take the next step.