Regardless of regulatory obligations, the majority of medium-sized companies are already capturing sustainability data. However, collecting, processing, and evaluating this data is often a challenge: 68 percent of companies struggle with heterogeneous data sources, and less than half of them currently use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure sustainability. Furthermore, many lack suitable tools, as shown by the current "IT & Sustainability - Maturity Index 2023." For the study, market research company PAC surveyed 150 IT and business decision-makers from the automotive industry, manufacturing sector, and logistics sector on behalf of Lufthansa Industry Solutions.
Norderstedt, July 7, 2023 Against the backdrop of climate change, it is becoming increasingly important across industries to gain the trust of customers and investors by making non-financial metrics transparent. The European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will require almost all companies to produce annual sustainability reports in the coming years, disclosing the impact of their business activities on people and the environment. But what is the maturity level of companies regarding the collection, processing, and evaluation of the necessary data? Therefore, Lufthansa Industry Solutions (LHIND) has determined a sub-index for the "Monitoring, Controlling & Reporting" area in the "IT & Sustainability - Maturity Index 2023." This year, it achieved a score of 6.7 on a scale from "0" (immature) to "10" (mature).
Half of the companies state that they already produce a sustainability report today, partly without regulatory pressure. Another quarter plans to do so due to future reporting requirements. Two-thirds (67%) also conduct a sustainability risk assessment of their suppliers. "This commitment shows how important sustainability is to companies and its relevance for customers, investors, and employees," says Stephanie Hackenholt, Product Owner Customer Sustainability at LHIND.
From CO2 emissions to recycling rates - making sustainability measurable with tools and KPIs
Nevertheless, companies continue to face numerous challenges: Four out of five companies (80%) criticize the data quality, half lack the appropriate data foundation, and two-thirds of companies are concerned about data sovereignty. For more than two-thirds (68%), consolidating heterogeneous data is also a problem. Sustainability expert Hackenholt says, "Sustainability becomes measurable through the consolidation of data from different sources, using suitable KPIs, such as for CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, or recycling rates."
So far, just under 43 percent of companies use such sustainability KPIs, allowing them to strategically consider sustainability. "These metrics enable the integration of sustainability with financial factors. This way, investments can be evaluated, suppliers selected, and new products developed," explains Stephanie Hackenholt. However, manual data collection and analysis are personnel and time-intensive. LHIND consultant Hackenholt says, "To meet the requirements, the use of tools and a high degree of automation in data collection and processing are essential." However, lacking tools are also a problem for four out of ten companies (41%).
