Quality-Driven ESG: Build Trust by Improving Data Quality

As we move towards 2030, maintaining high standards for protecting the environment and human rights is becoming very good for business. Investors are increasingly monitoring environmental, social and governance (ESG) intentions and outcomes to inform decision making, and lenders are reducing the cost of capital for organizations that maintain high ESG standards. None of these choices are possible without accurate, reliable and meaningful ESG data and analytics.

The cornerstone of ESG programs is integrity: say what you do, do what you say and demonstrate that your results reflect the ESG strategies and processes that you disclose. This is identical to the approach that many quality management professionals use to build auditable systems of people, processes and technologies. While it may be a little more challenging to articulate and audit data flows, especially if you are new to working with enterprise data and external suppliers, quality management tools can help.

Whether an ESG or EHS professional is just starting to gather data and prepare ESG reports or they’re ready to take the next step and continually improve the processes they already have, describing ESG data flows as processes is essential. Developing a coherent ESG data management strategy starts with transparency and visibility.

This insight report, Quality-Driven ESG: Build Trust by Improving Data Quality, shows how, by using a quality-driven approach to create a strategy for ESG data management, ESG professionals can reduce waste, reduce rework and, most significantly, reveal the mechanisms that might help lenders, investors and leaders better interpret the ESG data they report.