The Virtuous Cycle of Improving Data Quality

As global organizations race toward ambitious Net Zero emissions targets, data emerges as perhaps the most powerful asset they’re currently missing. While recent years have witnessed some momentum — both in general decarbonization trends and in some carbon data management adoption — a key challenge persists: according to our 2024 Net Zero Report, lack of data is a major hurdle in implementing swift decarbonization.

The consequences of this go beyond the self-evident — that a lack of trustworthy data makes it impossible to make clear, data-driven decisions. In too many cases, poor quality data or lack of data altogether paralyzes organizations or is even used as an excuse for inaction. They are reluctant to move forward without foundational data, and building the necessary data framework can seem just as daunting as building the necessary decarbonization program that data will inform, so they deliberate, defer, and delay.

The solution to a lack of data is action — starting the recursive process of measurement, analysis, and impact, and repeating it over and over again to build a solid foundation of data.

The Consequences of Data Failures

Data is critical for reaching Net Zero goals. Organizations without advanced data and technology capabilities will be unable to create internal accountability, prioritize activities, measure progress, or continually evolve their overall approach.

Data is also critical for meeting the ever-increasing regulatory and compliance requirements corporations face. Requirements from governments and expectations from shareholders to accurately report various types of sustainability-related data — Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions, as well as water, waste, gas, electricity, and other utilities — reinforces the urgency to act now.

Even without robust data in place, there are some proven decarbonization levers any company can immediately pursue with confidence, like buying renewable energy, energy efficiency programs or even adjusting employees’ behavior around travel.

But that won’t be enough to meet the necessary 2030 and 2050 carbon-reduction goals, so companies need to get their data in order now. That is the immediate next step.

Taking Action Around Decarbonization Data

In our 2024 Net Zero Report, 82% of executives surveyed agree that improving data capabilities will expedite their organization's achievement of decarbonization goals, but progress is slow. Only four in ten (40.1%) state they have a single source of truth for decarbonization data across the organization today, a marginal increase from 36.6% compared to last year’s survey.

A further 39.5% claim they’ll be implementing enhanced data capabilities by 2025, but the timeframe for this is rapidly narrowing, and the slow rate of progress over the past 12 months raises doubts. Regulatory requirements to report progress, and public expectations to increase transparency, are already in place and will only increase in the next few years.

Organizations need to concentrate on capturing a robust assessment of their existing emissions profile — fully understanding the organization's carbon output across Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3, and other resource usage, with sufficient granularity. Initial assessment will likely reveal that a lot of information is missing. There will be elements that have not been captured to-date, or are not as detailed as they need to be, or aren’t currently available to be collected. Again, too often that is used as an excuse for inaction when it is actually a clear indicator of next steps.

Data gaps can be filled in. Our experts are continually bringing together overall market trends and research to serve as proxies to fill in those gaps, as well as ENGIE Impact’s own decades-long repository of carbon, energy, resource, and utility data across various sectors and regions. Comparable facilities — based on industry, square footage, industrial output, country, and other factors — can be plugged into existing data assessments to help build a more robust and complete data picture.

Companies can move forward today, with confidence, to build the robust data infrastructure they need in order to match the data needs of tomorrow.

Data as a Decarbonization Driver

The World Economic Forum estimates that “deploying digital technologies in hard-to-abate sectors could reduce emissions by as much as 20% by 2050” showing how organizations with these capabilities will be better equipped to accelerate their decarbonization journey. Having fundamental data infrastructure in place can uncover additional opportunities for enhancement, leading to efficient, data-driven project implementation. Smart data collection and management breaks down internal barriers, brings together stakeholders, and facilitates necessary conversations.

Without the necessary digital transformation, your decarbonization transformation will sputter, stall, and stagnate. To decarbonize at speed and at scale, data should be integrated into every facet of an organization’s decarbonization strategies. It’s the only way for them to drive meaningful progress toward their decarbonization commitments and a sustainable future.