Data will still be in the driver’s seat in 2023 as companies head towards Net Zero

Data was last year’s hidden hero, but as we charge ahead in 2023, is your company ready to put data in the driver’s seat and accelerate your Net Zero transition?

Sustainability commitments strengthened globally in 2022, with more companies than ever before publicly committed to reaching Net Zero carbon emissions by around 2050. And yet, a growing gap between high organisational willingness and readiness to address climate risk remains, and it’s paved by poor-quality data. 

Over the next five years, access to high-quality, reliable data will be the greatest barrier businesses must confront to address climate risk.

For many companies, data is a critical, often overlooked, and underutilised tool in their Net Zero transition. It has the power to illustrate the need for urgent climate action to avoid the worst catastrophes of climate change and, simultaneously, has a significant role to play in the solution. Optima Technology globally rebranded in July this year, repositioning our SaaS business to meet the growing demand for accurate Net Zero reporting. Our repositioning uniquely enabled us to execute our revised growth strategy, announced in February, to expand into the ESG landscape and capitalise on the significant global market opportunity for accurate and automated data solutions to Net Zero reporting.

We recognise that data is the hidden hero on the pathway to Net Zero but that many organisations struggle to create data clarity from their data complexity to truly harness its power. Research this year confirmed that many companies are yet to close out their data deficit and, as such, are missing out on the opportunity to accelerate their transitions.

• The leading ESG challenge organisations continue to face is data, with only 9% of businesses actively using software to collect and analyse their Net Zero data. Most companies instead rely on manual data capture methods and spot-checking to trace their energy use, a method we know is prone to errors and re-work. A further 24% only use a specific software solution to inform their emissions reduction strategies. Reliable data should underpin all ESG decision-making, starting with smarter, automated data solutions. We need to move beyond spreadsheets and manual data management – SaaS platforms provide accurate and automated solutions that are cheaper, faster, and more accurate than their manual alternatives.
• Data is also a true enabler of Net Zero transformations, yet only 18% of business leaders report they have a single source of data truth to support their Net Zero data, leading to inaccuracy in sustainability reporting, with only 3% genuinely confident about this. Accurate ESG reporting starts with accurate data and tracking tools. With 80% of investors stating that ESG is an important factor in their investment decision-making and more than half claiming they’d be willing to divest from companies that didn’t take meaningful action, accurate data is critical to transparently building and maintaining stakeholder trust.
• We also know that what gets measured gets managed, but only 14% of businesses are ‘well on their way’ to delivering data capture and reporting strategy, despite a whopping 79% agreeing that digital will play a key role in achieving their business sustainability goals. As companies race to net zero amid higher regulatory scrutiny, a company’s ESG strategy is only as good as the integrity of its data. Companies cannot risk having an incorrect baseline of inaccurate data driving their ESG strategy and decision-making.

Data is a powerful driver of change, able to turn business ambitions into a reality, and investment in enhanced and accurate data solutions to Net Zero reporting will only increase this year, with 99% of public companies expecting to invest in ESG reporting tech and tools in the next 12 months. Further, as market trends continue to drive the ESG reporting agenda, new use cases will continue to arise where new industries can benefit from accurate data automation. In December, Optima Technology announced our global strategic partnership with bp pulse to consolidate, measure and manage the energy giant’s energy usage data and support the global rollout of its EV charging stations, one of the largest networks in the world.

When timely insights from accurate, quality ESG data are available and embedded into systems to support day-to-day strategic thinking, companies will reach a tipping point in their Net Zero journeys. Having comprehensive, accurate, assured, and secure data is the foundation for companies to communicate confidently with their stakeholders, effectively transition to Net Zero, and continue to deliver on their climate ambitions in 2023.