{"id":3004,"date":"2023-03-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/innovation\/blog\/ms-industry\/get-ready-for-esg-reporting-with-increased-data-transparency\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:41:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T19:41:43","slug":"get-ready-for-esg-reporting-with-increased-data-transparency","status":"publish","type":"ms-industry","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/microsoft-cloud\/blog\/general\/2023\/03\/21\/get-ready-for-esg-reporting-with-increased-data-transparency\/","title":{"rendered":"Get ready for ESG reporting with increased data transparency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every senior business leader knows that we can\u2019t manage what we can\u2019t measure. Better insights inform better decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, organizations around the world will face new regulatory reporting requirements designed to increase the transparency of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact and progress. For many, it will entail gathering more granular data from across their operations and value chains. But rather than being seen as a burden, it should be embraced as an opportunity. Greater visibility into activities across the business will help decision-makers improve both ESG and business performance and boost long-term competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors are increasingly factoring ESG into their strategies. At the same time, consumers are placing more weight on sustainability, creating a compelling case for every organization to show action <\/em>and progress<\/em>. It\u2019s good for business, people, and the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many organizations voluntarily issue sustainability reports already\u2014on their own timetable and against self-selected parameters\u2014new policies will require public, audited, and robust ESG reporting that disclose their impact on the environment, communities, workers, and consumers and describe their corporate governance practices and performance. To generate reliable reports, organizations will need to reimagine how they are collecting and analyzing their data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Record, report, and reduce your environmental impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get started today<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Expected new legislation based on the European Union\u2019s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)<\/a>, adopted in December 2022, will require roughly 50,000 organizations to issue ESG reports to regulators, many for the first time. CSRD guidelines will compel companies to disclose factors about climate change mitigation and adaptation, water, circular economy, biodiversity, human rights, equal opportunity, and lobbying activities related to these topics.1<\/sup> In addition to CSRD, Sustainable Disclosure Requirements (SDR)<\/a> in the United Kingdom designed to centralize ESG reporting for financial firms are expected to be finalized this year. Other countries and regions are also reviewing and proposing new ESG reporting requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many of our customers and partners, we\u2019re navigating these regulatory developments closely, but we\u2019re not new to sustainability reporting. Microsoft has retained an A average rating in voluntary reporting like CDP<\/a> and we publish an annual sustainability report that\u2019s audited by a third party. As we examine how new rules impact the scope of our reporting, we\u2019re helping our customers do the same, because our own experience has shown us that collecting and analyzing data at scale\u2014that is, across entire operations and value chains\u2014requires increasingly automated, data-driven digital technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving and reporting ESG progress demands effective data management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No matter how mature an organization\u2019s infrastructure may be, elevated standards for reporting ESG impact, risk, and opportunities will require refining and potentially reconstructing data management systems, processes, and controls. Reliance on historical or siloed data introduces problems of accuracy, relevancy, and consistency\u2014all impeding cohesive reporting and informed decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability<\/strong>, we can help standardize data from sources across operations and value chains and provide calculation against emissions factors across ESG criteria\u2014delivering consolidated financial, operational, and sustainability intelligence. We\u2019re rapidly expanding ESG capabilities<\/a> within Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability and through our global partner ecosystem to help organizations track Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, water data, and more to improve reporting, governance, and accountability and drive sustainability performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrated data strategies propel ESG transformation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We believe organizations that will be best positioned for long-term success are those that modernize and scale<\/em> their data platforms. Applying advanced digital solutions will allow these organizations to effectively manage the data required to track and report ESG risks and progress while also driving the organizational and digital transformation critical for lasting change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Market-leading organizations are consolidating data in a modern sustainability data estate that\u2019s platform-and system-agnostic and standardizes disparate data. They\u2019re using a network of application programing interfaces (APIs) to provide connective tissue so they can retrieve the intelligence they need. By building a comprehensive ESG data estate in a data lake like Azure Data Lake<\/a>, they\u2019re able to aggregate environmental, financial, and operational data across business units and supply chains and stage data for advanced analytics through Azure Synapse Analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This integration of databases, analytics, and governance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n