Sustainability leaders from small, mid and enterprise businesses were polled in the United States, Germany, the UK and France to understand how data informs carbon reduction strategies.
[NEW YORK], September 24, 2024: More than 80% of sustainability leaders in four leading economies admit their business must transform if it is to survive in the low-carbon economy of the future – according to an independent Censuswide study commissioned by Sweep and in collaboration with Capgemini.
More than 500 sustainability leaders from small, midmarket and enterprise businesses and financial institutions, were polled across four major economies: the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, about their sustainability management programs.
According to the study, more than three-quarters (78%) still use spreadsheets to track their emissions, which could hinder scalability in the face of growing disclosure demands from regulators, investors, and consumers. Almost half (47%) say they are frustrated by the complexity of data they manage and find making sense of it a challenging exercise.
“This study has shown us that organizations in leading economies recognize the need to change,” Rachel Delacour, co-founder and CEO of Sweep commented. “But without a proper grasp of their sustainability data, this will never be possible. We aren’t just talking about meeting regulatory requirements, it’s about the very foundations of a business which wants to not only survive but thrive in the low carbon economy.”
A number of shortcomings in the way organizations track their emissions were also uncovered. Almost three quarters (72%) of organizations say they do not track Scope 3 emissions, despite these typically making up more than 70% of an organization’s total carbon footprint.
Roshan Gya, CEO of Capgemini Invent and member of Capgemini’s Group Executive Committee added, “Achieving climate and social goals goes further than ticking boxes, it involves identifying the right indicators to drive sustainability transformation across the organization. Effective action hinges on precise, actionable data, as granular and verifiable insights are essential for impactful sustainability strategies.”
Faced with the struggle to collect and consolidate emissions data in a meaningful way, two-thirds (61%) of sustainability leaders spend 4 or more hours on these tasks every week, which equates to at least 10% of the average working week. Yet 53% say their data still isn’t comprehensive enough to inform their strategy.
Delacour added: “Our survey highlights that too many hard-working, well intentioned sustainability managers around the world are bogged down in needlessly time-consuming data management tasks instead of being able to spend their time informing business strategy and achieving valuable transformation to secure their organization’s future.”
Res Witschi, Delegate for Sustainable Digitalization at Swisscom experienced the true value of replacing manual tools with specialized software: “By using sustainability data management software, we can model various reduction initiatives and decide which measures to give priority to. This means we can build a solid, evidence-based roadmap to achieving our climate targets, and fine-tune this along the way based on real-time changes in data.”
The study also shows that increasing regulatory requirements are a major driver for organizations to tackle their sustainability data. The number one reported use of this data across the US, UK, France and Germany is to adhere to regulatory requirements (63%), with businesses in the US the most likely to give this answer (73%), followed by France (64%), Germany (63%), and the UK (52%).
Today’s organizations are faced with growing regulatory demands and stakeholder pressure to act responsibly. The findings of the study highlight the role of leveraging technology for effective data-management in order to thrive in a low carbon economy.
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Notes to editors
Methodology
The study involved a survey targeted at sustainability managers and executives across a diverse range of industries and regions. The survey, which was conducted in May, engaged 554 professionals from various sectors, including Aerospace and Defense, Agriculture and Food, Automotive, Construction, Consumer Products and Retail, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Industrial Manufacturing, IT/Professional Services, Public/Government, Telecom, and Utilities. Sustainability professionals were sampled from the United States (23%), United Kingdom (23%), France (27%), and Germany (27%), representing a wide range of businesses segments by revenue: £500 Million or over (43%), £50 Million – £499.99; Million (34%), and < £50 Million (23%).
About Sweep
Sweep is the sustainability data management platform. Its market-leading, AI-powered software helps organizations understand all extra-financial data across their business and value chain to manage increasing disclosure requirements and take action to meet sustainable business goals.
Co-founded by Rachel Delacour, Yannick Chaze and Raphael Güller, Sweep partners with enterprise, midmarket and financial institutions across the world, with customers including L’Oreal, Lacoste, Hewlett Packard, and Balderton Capital.
