The biggest challenge in sustainability data isn’t collection, it’s creation. And the reason so many companies struggle with reporting is because they’ve never stopped to ask: Where is this data actually coming from? Who is responsible for generating it?
The Responsibility Bottleneck: A System Built to Fail
In most companies, sustainability data management is treated as a centralized task, something assigned to an ESG team, compliance officer, or corporate sustainability lead. These individuals are expected to gather data from suppliers, verify its accuracy, and ensure compliance with regulations like CSRD, CSDDD, and the GHG Protocol.
But this model doesn’t scale because:
- Data doesn’t exist until it’s measured: Many suppliers simply don’t track the sustainability metrics that buyers need. If the data isn’t being generated at the source, there’s nothing meaningful to collect.
- One person can’t do it all: Sustainability teams are often small, and supply chains are vast. If the entire burden of ESG reporting falls on a single department, bottlenecks are inevitable.
- Scattered, incomplete data leads to bad decisions: Without a structured system that involves suppliers in data creation, organizations end up relying on estimates, self-reported numbers, or third-party assumptions, none of which provide real transparency.
The Solution: Turning Data Collection into a Common but Differentiated Responsibility
Companies that take sustainability seriously need to move beyond traditional reporting models and start treating data creation as a collective effort. This means:
- Empowering suppliers: Instead of just requesting data, businesses must enable suppliers to generate and structure sustainability data at the source.
- Automating data workflows: Rather than relying on emails, spreadsheets, and manual processes, companies should use platforms that automate sustainability data creation and collection.
- Distributed responsibility + collective action: ESG reporting should be a supply chain-wide effort, not just an internal corporate function. When suppliers are given the tools to track and share their sustainability performance, compliance becomes effortless.
A Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
Many organizations are struggling with ESG reporting not because they lack the right collection tools, but because they’ve never thought about data creation as a shared responsibility.
The companies that recognize this blind spot now will be the ones who build transparent, efficient, and resilient supply chains in the future. Those who don’t will continue chasing missing data, never realizing that the real problem was never collection, but creation.
