Microsoft has unveiled a significant expansion of its sustainability solutions, aimed at addressing the complexities of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure reporting.
The newly introduced Project ESG Reporting (currently in preview) offers standardised templates aligned with various ESG frameworks, thereby facilitating more efficient and transparent reporting processes, according to ESG News.
This initiative is expected to enhance compliance and streamline the structuring of ESG disclosures.
Matthew Sekol, Microsoft’s ESG and Sustainability Advocate, expressed enthusiasm about the new offering, “Exciting news! We’re thrilled to announce the expansion of our sustainability solution offerings, easing reporting and alignment with various frameworks. This preview addresses the reporting challenges faced by sustainability offices, allowing them to shift their focus towards utilising data to drive business value, foster improvements, and encourage innovation.”
Accurate ESG reporting is crucial for companies striving to achieve their sustainability objectives.
The Project ESG Reporting tool is designed to streamline this process by enabling organisations to collaborate on multiple ESG standards and frameworks simultaneously. It provides templates for several prominent standards, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).
These templates assist organisations in generating comprehensive reports that cover both quantitative and qualitative metrics, with seamless integration through Microsoft Sustainability Manager.
The introduction of a Workflow UI further enhances the tool’s functionality by allowing for effective task management and content approval. This feature facilitates the collaborative creation of voluntary and regulatory disclosure reports, ensuring data accuracy and compliance through streamlined approval and audit workflows.
Microsoft Sustainability Manager, a key component of the expanded offerings, continues to play a central role in unifying data intelligence and automating sustainability management.
It enables organisations to efficiently monitor, report, and reduce environmental impacts related to emissions, water, and waste. The platform integrates with various business systems, breaking down data silos and providing real-time visibility into sustainability activities.
Among its notable features, Microsoft Sustainability Manager includes standard templates for various ESG frameworks, workflow management for improved data quality, and the ability to create custom templates tailored to specific organisational needs.
Additionally, its water and waste management capabilities support organisations in meeting regulatory reporting requirements by allowing for the recording, analysis, and reporting of water and waste data.
To further enhance the transparency and traceability of sustainability data, Microsoft Sustainability Manager now includes a data trail capability, which covers the entire data lifecycle.
This feature helps companies navigate the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, ensuring compliance and building trust with auditors, investors, and stakeholders.
The alternate emissions feature within the platform’s calculations engine allows users to quantify their emissions using diverse methodologies.
This functionality enables the generation of alternative emission reports that meet the specific requirements of different regulatory bodies or regional standards, using the same underlying activity data but tailored to distinct emission scopes and classifications.
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