An in-house perspective: challenges of collecting real-time ESG data

– The challenges of collecting ESG data timely to track a company’s progress.
– Some companies are partnering with those more capable of facilitating this process.

Matthew Sekol of Microsoft has this interesting blog that analyzes the challenges of collecting real-time ESG data. Microsoft has a partner, ESGeo, to help collect ESG data. Here is an excerpt:

Corporates: The (In)Complete ESG Data View

ESG data starts with the Corporates, whether private or public. The data challenges start as teams gather data from internal systems, collaborating across business units. This data shows their own ESG footprint and could include things like building and product CO2 emissions, diversity strategies, and transparency reports.

Fortune reported that “94% of the Fortune 1000 companies are experiencing disruption to their supply chains as a result of COVID-19,” a black swan ESG event. To understand their ESG risk, Corporates need to gather data externally from their supply chain. This data collection could range from tens to hundreds or even thousands of suppliers. Corporates will encounter a wide range of ESG maturity across their supply chain, including those downstream companies that are not equipped to respond.