Managing sustainability data in 2025: From Fragmented to Strategic
Using sustainability data strategically can preserve and create value.
Time and again we see the number one challenge in sustainability reporting is fragmented data collection and management. Obtaining information from disparate systems, with inconsistent definitions and uses makes it difficult, if not impossible, to produce comparable, reliable, and timely sustainability information. Regulation has provided the scaffolding necessary to identify material information and develop a shared sustainability reporting language. Compliance has introduced a new level of rigor around sustainability data that often leaves us missing the forest for the trees. By focusing solely on accurately calculating greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption or pollution, management misses the opportunity to reduce its environmental impact and the related costs. Without evaluating the sustainability of current products, management misses the opportunity to retain customers or unlock new revenue streams. Using sustainability data strategically can preserve and create value.
But this begs the question – how do organizations maximize the value that exists within their sustainability data?
What does good sustainability data management in 2025 look like?
The principles of good sustainability data management in 2025 have been characterized by three fundamental shifts: from manual to automated, from siloed to integrated, and from reactive to predictive..
Leading companies have deployed AI and machine learning solutions that rapidly capture, validate, and analyze sustainability data across their businesses. This is not to simply reduce errors— these efforts free resources for strategic analysis and decision-making. For example, instead of 20 regional managers manually inputting energy consumption from 150 facilities around the world into a single spreadsheet, direct feeds and the use of AI can rapidly identify consumption anomalies and pinpoint the facilities with material opportunities to enhance energy efficiency.
Rather than treating sustainability metrics separate from financial and operational data, forward-thinking companies have created unified data ecosystems. This enables real-time visibility into how environmental and social factors impact business performance. An illustration of this is how large utility companies are leveraging smart technologies to feed real-time data into centralized repositories and generate digital twins of key assets, enabling better operational and strategic decision making.
Instead of simply reporting past performance, sophisticated sustainability data management systems use advanced analytics to forecast trends, enable effective transition planning, identify emerging risks, and model scenario outcomes. This proactive approach is especially notable in the insurance industry, where forecasting increasingly severe climate events has become critical in the face of $162 billion in global economic losses resulting from natural catastrophes.
Closing the gap: Where do you go from here?
There is a widening performance gap between companies with sustainability data that is manual, siloed and reactive compared to those with sustainability data that is automated, integrated and forward-looking. The financial implications are stark. According to a 2024 MSCI study, companies with higher sustainability ratings typically benefit from lower financing costs – averaging 6.8% versus 7.9% for lower rated peers, due to enhanced resilience to sustainability-related risks, improving overall risk profiles and reducing both equity and debt costs across markets and sectors.. They also demonstrate greater resilience during market volatility, as their integrated data systems enable rapid adaptation to changing conditions.
For companies ready to bridge the alignment gap, the path forward requires both strategic vision and tactical execution. The transformation isn't just about technology—it's about reimagining how sustainability data serves the broader business strategy.
- Start with how sustainability can strategically create or preserve value for your business. For example, consider how changes to process, products, and technology can generate new revenue streams, reduce raw material, packaging costs, and energy or water consumption.
- Conduct a data audit to understand what Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you currently collect and where you might have gaps in being able to measure and monitor this value. During this process, many companies discover they're collecting more sustainability data than they realize, but it's trapped in isolated systems that limit its strategic value.
- Evaluate existing technologies within your enterprise to determine whether they are meeting your sustainability objectives and provide the flexibility to adapt in an evolving competitive environment.
- Establish clear data ownership, quality standards, and approval processes to ensure consistency across sustainability metrics. Define roles, implement validation protocols, and build feedback loops that improve data quality over time. Support this with training that helps teams interpret sustainability insights and apply them in decision-making.
- Adopt a phased implementation approach that delivers quick wins, addresses near-term needs, while building toward long-term transformation. Start with high-impact, low-complexity initiatives—automating data collection for key metrics, establishing owners for sustainability data, or implementing early warning systems for critical risks.
The companies that will thrive in 2025 and beyond view sustainability data management as a strategic imperative, not a compliance burden. In an increasingly transparent world, the ability to collect, analyse, and act on sustainability data isn't just a competitive advantage—it's a prerequisite for sustainable success. The question isn't whether to make this shift, but how quickly you can make it happen.
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