Technology will be the bridge between sustainable ambition and concrete results

Like every year, the International ESG Day was held on 30 November, a day aimed at promoting the principles of environmental sustainability, social responsibility and ethical governance, an opportunity to reflect on the importance of measuring and improving performance in these areas, promoting dialogue among stakeholders and encouraging the sharing of best practices and useful tools for developing effective ESG strategies. On this occasion, an alarming fact emerged: 47% of companies still use the ‘old’ spreadsheets to manage ESG data, a practice that can generate errors, difficulties in aggregating information and operational inefficiencies, compromising regulatory compliance and the overall effectiveness of the process, despite the fact that 83% express great confidence in their sustainability reporting capabilities. ‘Building a credible ESG programme requires verifiable, accurate and high-level data that meets the needs of stakeholders and regulators,’ comments Bruno Natoli, CEO of Mia-FinTech.  A goal that becomes difficult to achieve when most ESG data is stored in disconnected and separate reporting systems or even spreadsheets’.

Therefore, the use of technology to collect, analyse, report and ensure the accuracy of verifiable ESG data becomes crucial. It is no coincidence that the global ESG software market is projected to reach 2.7 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.3% between 2024 and 2032 and an increase of approximately 222% over 9 years, according to a very recent report by Global Market Insights. This growth is mainly driven by increasing pressure related, on the one hand, to the focus of companies and investors on sustainability and, on the other hand, to regulatory compliance, especially in Europe, where the ESG software market is strongly influenced by legislation such as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which oblige companies to implement detailed and transparent ESG reporting practices, stimulating the growth in demand for advanced technology solutions.

‘Legacy systems make it difficult to address these challenges because they lack the flexibility and integration capabilities required to collect and manage data from multiple sources. Today, in order to overcome information silos and facilitate effective communication with stakeholders, companies need scalable and rapid solutions that allow sustainability data to be aggregated in a centralised manner. This approach not only improves operational efficiency, but also ensures greater transparency and the ability to respond in a timely manner to the needs of regulators and investors,’ Natoli concludes.