How Enterprise Architects Can Track Sustainability (ESG) Metrics

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“As of 2020, 88% of publicly traded companies, 79% of venture and private equity-backed companies, and 67% of privately-owned companies had ESG initiatives in place.” (Navex)

Governments and stock exchanges globally, are already enacting mandatory reporting on corporate social responsibility [2] . Enterprise architects are in prime position to track compliance and reporting across the enterprise. What do we need to know to be prepared for ESG reporting?

What is ESG?

ESG or environmental, social and governance, is a set of criteria used to assess the sustainability and social impact of an organization. The criteria aim to evaluate the stakeholder impact of a company’s operations through a sustainability lens.

In 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a set of metrics and disclosures to standardize ESG reporting and frameworks; and as of May 2022, over 150 companies have committed to the initiative and over 70 companies have adopted the measures. [3]

Why is ESG important?

Boards are beginning to assess business priorities with ESG top of mind. The value of incorporating ESG principles into business practices is becoming more apparent; particularly for brand and reputation, risk management, cost reduction, asset optimization and in attracting talent.

ESG for Enterprise Architects

Enterprise architects have a holistic view of an organization’s processes. This favourable vantage point paves the way for EAs to play a pivotal role in developing a uniform ESG approach for their organization. By harnessing the right tools to examine ESG metrics, EAs can produce regular, consistent reporting which guides decisions to bring about change.

Roadmaps, heatmaps and process diagrams can help identify lagging factors and motivate stakeholders into action. Tracking the progress of ESG objectives establishes a mechanism for continuous improvement.

Using World Economic Forum ESG metrics

The Avolution Enterprise Architecture framework available as standard with the ABACUS toolset now includes the 21 core and 34 expanded ESG metrics and disclosures outlined by the World Economic Forum. This gives architects the scope and flexibility to choose which measures are most applicable to their organization and its priorities.

So how can these metrics be added to compliance reporting as part of your enterprise architecture strategy?

In ABACUS, core and expanded disclosures can be used to arrive at an overarching score for an ESG pillar.

 Architecture dashboard showing the World Economic Forum ESG Metrics, plus visualizations for reporting (in ABACUS)

Users across the business (with appropriate permissions) can update an underlying metric in the ESG catalog, such as details of greenhouse gas emissions or air pollution, and the score for Sustainability will update in the ABACUS dashboard.

Automate calculations of your enterprises’ chosen sustainability metrics to streamline regular reporting. In ABACUS this can be done using no-code algorithms.

Use no-code algorithms to roll up metrics and automate ESG reporting

Business leaders will want to identify areas for improvement plus appropriate strategies to drive timely ESG outcomes. Enterprise architects can work with teams across the business as they monitor progress by providing roadmaps and models and assessing a range of future-state scenarios.

ESG Reporting Framework for Enterprise Architects

As ESG reporting continues to gain momentum, the enterprise architecture function can take advantage of the opportunity to integrate sustainability metrics with the business goals, strategies and methodologies already captured in the enterprise repository. With the right toolkit at their disposal, EAs are well positioned to guide ESG implementation within their organization.

Overseeing transformations is a recurring objective in the enterprise architecture wheelhouse; now is the time to focus these efforts on creating a better, more sustainable working world.

Discover how ABACUS can help enhance your ESG objectives

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[1] https://www.navex.com/blog/article/environmental-social-governance-esg-global-survey-findings/ 

[2] https://www.corrs.com.au/insights/mandatory-esg-reporting-gains-momentum 

[3] https://www.weforum.org/impact/stakeholder-capitalism-esg-reporting-metrics/ 

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