GreenBiz 23: 3 reasons to be optimistic about sustainability progress

Nothing fuels optimism like group problem-solving, and that’s what the annual GreenBiz conference is all about. This year, sustainability decision-makers came together to find new approaches and solutions to perennial topics including net zero, circular economy, social justice, biodiversity, and resilient supply chains. In the conversations, side meetings, panels, and dinners, I saw reasons for optimism and progress everywhere. Increasingly, leaders are leaning in to drive progress from their existing and future technology solutions to help achieve business-critical outcomes.  

“GreenBiz 23 is your annual reminder that we have the numbers, the might, the tools, and the mass market support to address the existential crisis we’re facing.”—Dylan Siegler, SVP and Senior Analyst, Sustainability, GreenBiz

Across the many sessions and conversations, data and regulations persisted as themes of the week.  

1. Organizations are taking charge of their ESG data infrastructure. 

Because progress on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals requires measurement, effective management of the organization’s data infrastructure is key. Until recently, the need for real-time, automated sustainability data to deliver insights hasn’t always been seen as business-critical. This is changing with the emergence of more significant investor and regulatory pressures. Organizations are looking to improve the quality of data across their systems—otherwise known as their data estate—to enable accounting and reporting solutions that cover their entire operations.   

At Microsoft, we’ve built our sustainability business based on our own need to track and manage our ESG data, turning out sustainability technologies that are built for and tested by us first. We’ve learned that data provides the basis for all impactful decision-making—revealing baselines for measuring progress and a portal for monitoring that progress over time. This is why getting the data estate in order is the first to-do for sustainable transformation for any business. Microsoft technologies like Azure Data Lake and Azure Synapse Analytics can help with this—providing data storage and analytics for organizations to optimize their data infrastructure and get more out of their technology investments.  

With the house in order, organizations can achieve efficiencies faster and accelerate environmental progress by using Microsoft Sustainability Manager, our extensible solution that unifies data to more easily record, report, and reduce environmental impact.  

2. We’re using data to influence transformation. 

Unified sustainability data is critical for ESG progress—but it can also be transformative for business management and stakeholder outcomes. The same efficiencies that drive ESG progress can translate to operational efficiencies and lower costs that can be passed along to suppliers, partners, and customers in the value chain.   

At GreenBiz, we discussed our work with Willow, a leading provider of digital twin solutions for critical infrastructure and real estate, and how its Azure-based WillowTwin™ solution helps customers of all sizes drive savings through advanced operational and energy efficiency, transform their sustainability management, and improve the Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology security across their assets. The solution not only helps customers accelerate progress but also supports a commercial ecosystem that’s aligned with science-based targets and contributes to overall momentum.

3. We’re moving past reporting to become collaborative change-makers. 

In the area of compliance, organizations are embracing technology as an enabler for establishing baselines and tracking progress at scale, especially leading up to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) published in January 2023 and the pending rule from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Addressing ESG compliance comes back to establishing a strong foundation for data tracking with an organized data estate. Taking steps now to track data across ESG areas can help organizations position themselves for whatever the future holds in terms of regulations. Once the data is tracked and adequately measured, reporting becomes much more manageable and new opportunities for efficiencies can emerge. Leaders can begin optimizing and tweaking operations to drive improvements—and this is where progress comes into play. Measurable goals become real, and businesses get a full-picture view of operations rather than siloed perspectives. 

With a broader perspective, organizations can build new partnerships to accelerate innovation and progress. And these in turn can deliver profitable outcomes for stakeholders. On the main stage at GreenBiz, we talked with Starbucks about our work with the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), where data and corporate collaboration are enabling water replenishment at scale for severely water-stressed areas. The WRC is a CEO-led coalition of the United Nations Global Compact CEO Water Mandate to reduce water stress by 2050. The coalition includes Microsoft, Starbucks, and five other companies.

This example underscores another important learning—that no business can take on transformation alone. In Microsoft’s case, to help deliver the magnitude of progress the world needs, we’re continuously co-innovating with global partners whose specialized knowledge helps customers optimize solutions for their industries. And to help sustainability technology skilling keep up with demand, we’re taking measures to help close the global sustainability skills gap.  

Ready to take the next steps on your ESG data journey? 

• Get your data estate in order with Azure Data Lake and Azure Synapse Analytics. 
• Help to unify your sustainability data intelligence, drive efficiencies faster, and reduce the environmental impact of your operations and value chain: Get started with Microsoft Sustainability Manager. 
• Want to stay informed about Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability? Sign up for news and updates.