{"id":118255,"date":"2024-09-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/?p=118255"},"modified":"2025-04-10T17:18:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T00:18:37","slug":"driving-business-value-with-esg-data-readiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/industry\/blog\/sustainability\/2024\/09\/25\/driving-business-value-with-esg-data-readiness\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving business value with ESG data readiness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Customers from many industries have been reaching out to us to discuss how they can move beyond their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, to where they can also spot opportunities to drive sustainability progress and reduce carbon across their value chains. At Microsoft, we\u2019ve been tackling related questions for nearly two decades, and in 2020 we committed<\/a> to becoming carbon negative, zero waste, and water positive, and to protecting more land than we use. We share our successes and setbacks annually in our Environmental Sustainability Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, we\u2019re sharing additional learnings\u2014from our efforts and those of our global ecosystem of partners and customers, and from advice we\u2019ve received from external sustainability experts\u2014in the Leader\u2019s Guide to Sustainable Business Transformation<\/a>. The guide offers practical tips to help business leaders consider what steps can help their organizations build a culture and infrastructure around ESG data, and provides context for taking the Microsoft ESG Data Readiness Assessment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For quick examples of industry-specific considerations addressed in the guide, see the chart below<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ESG Data Readiness Assessment<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t
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<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTake the assessment<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Leveraging the Leader\u2019s Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we began our own sustainability journey, we learned that to make progress on our ESG goals we had to bring sustainability out of siloed reporting efforts and into the core of our business. The Leader\u2019s Guide discusses approaches to this operational shift, including ways to facilitate cross-functional conversations within your organization around the value of harnessing ESG data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guide also shows how Microsoft customers in different industries are using sustainability solutions to transform their operations. For example, international forestry group S\u00f6dra<\/a> had been limited to a labor-intensive process\u2014siloed within its sustainability unit\u2014to answer routine inquiries about its environmental data. Since collaborating to adopt Microsoft Sustainability Manager in 2023, S\u00f6dra\u2019s IT and sustainability teams have been generating significant insights for stakeholders, including the organization\u2019s estimate that its positive climate impact is equal to about one-fifth of Sweden\u2019s reported carbon dioxide emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re ready to partner with your organization so you can also use ESG data to uncover operational insights to support your sustainability progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How ESG data supports business resilience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As organizations worldwide try to predict and prepare for emerging ESG disclosure requirements, they also need to respond to expanding market expectations. Investors, consumers, and shareholders are tracking companies\u2019 sustainability commitments, and they\u2019re looking for products and solutions that champion those commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\tsustainability for retail and consumer goods\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\tUnlock business value<\/span> <\/span>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our customer King Steel<\/a>, a Taiwan-based global shoe manufacturer, faced this situation when major brands like Nike and Adidas began expecting sustainable and recyclable products. To align with its customers, King Steel started collecting and digitizing its ESG data using Dynamics 365 and capabilities within Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability<\/a>. This shift to a digitized data estate not only enabled King Steel to deliver transparent data to demanding customers, it also helped the company uncover insights into materials and operations that resulted in more sustainable production, reduction of waste, and innovation of new customizable products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By implementing a robust ESG data infrastructure, your organization can also respond to sustainability-driven market demands with speed and insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From commitments to solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Early in our journey, we quickly realized our environmental commitments necessitated better tools to manage the increasing number, size, and complexity of our ESG datasets. We also needed to unify siloed data and ensure traceability and transparency\u2014to execute our plan to publicly self-disclose our ESG progress, and to prepare for the evolution of sustainability reporting requirements. Simultaneously, we wanted to use our ESG data to identify opportunities to drive sustainability efficiencies and business growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led us to Microsoft Fabric<\/a> and AI tools built on Microsoft Azure. By adopting these capabilities, we\u2019ve now integrated our ESG, operational, and financial data, empowering our employees to access timely data intelligence so they can contribute ideas and innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Three key actions to achieve ESG goals with Microsoft Fabric<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But to meet our ambitious sustainability commitments, we must also drive change across our value chain. In 2023, we estimated that 75% or more<\/a> of our carbon footprint was coming from indirect, or Scope 3 emissions, which organizations accrue from suppliers. To address this, the Microsoft Procurement team needed customized ESG inquiries, granular data, and flexible, collaborative reporting. The team partnered with Microsoft engineers to add new capabilities to our data technologies, including low-code customization and self-service features to help our value-chain partners find ways to reduce their environmental impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then we carried these robust solutions forward to our customers, so organizations like US farming powerhouse Land O\u2019Lakes<\/a> can access their ESG data for day-to-day decision-making. For example, the company relies on Azure Data Manager for Agriculture <\/a>to collect and unify data on weather, soil, and irrigation\u2014freeing Land O\u2019Lakes data scientists to help optimize planting decisions. The Azure-based ESG data infrastructure also boosts the Land O\u2019Lakes competitive stance by providing consumers with visibility into the organization\u2019s farming practices and environmental outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring industry-specific considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With the right tools, ESG data can support each industry\u2019s unique set of goals, challenges, and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at some of the issues our Leader\u2019s Guide and ESG Assessment can help you start exploring:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Visit the Leader\u2019s Guide<\/a> for in-depth information and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you rethink operations to support your organization\u2019s sustainability progress, we\u2019re ready to share our learnings and continuous innovation to help advance your ESG priorities, accelerate your growth, and partner for a shared sustainable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dive deeper into ESG data readiness strategies for your industry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n