Investors increasingly demand detailed data to understand their companies’ ESG efforts

The impact of the current cost-of-living crisis, combined with climate concerns and global supply chain disruptions, will no doubt remain at the forefront of business leaders’ minds in 2023, and in the years to come.

Many will be rethinking their business strategies to mitigate the challenges they’ve faced over the last year and maintain profitability in the months to come. 

In fact, new research shows that nearly 79 percent of businesses report data will be more important to their strategic decision-making over the next 12 months. 

Value of detailed ESG data

To drive more confident business decisions, organisations will ultimately need to be able to rely upon trustworthy data to fuel them. 

With this in mind, Pat McCarthy, chief revenue officer at Precisely, told ESG Insight how consistent, accurate, and contextual data will increasingly play a decisive a role in decision-making for environmental, social, and governance (ESG).

“While stellar products and services used to be enough for companies to attract new customers, investors, and employees – and win their loyalty over time – expectations are now changing,” McCarthy explained.

“Stakeholders increasingly want to dive deeper and understand how the companies that they’re engaged with support sustainable ESG initiatives.”

Pat McCarthy, chief revenue officer at Precisely

Moreover, ESG’s already fast-evolving regulatory landscape is putting extra pressure on tech companies to know where they are on their ESG journeys, McCarthy added.

“This pressure will only increase in 2023.”

However, organisations can only create and achieve ESG targets with accurate, consistent, and contextual data for ESG reporting, he stressed.

“Data is one of the most important factors for gaining insight, measuring metrics, and filling in the gaps when it comes to ESG practices.”

Data infrastructure

Although many companies already have a data infrastructure in place, many find it is not detailed or trustworthy enough to properly report on these initiatives, McCarthy pointed out.

“Companies will find they need to establish a foundation of data integrity to make strategic decisions based on trustworthy ESG data,” he noted.

“As part of this, more companies will invest in technology that combines data integration, data governance and quality, location intelligence, and data enrichment capabilities,” McCarthy concluded.