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The Rising Pressure for Sustainability Reporting

In today's corporate world, the push toward sustainability is both a trend as well as a mandate. Regulators, the public, and investors are exerting immense pressure on companies to report on the sustainability impact of their business activities. This is evident in the latest significant regulatory development, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which has brought into focus the need for comprehensive sustainability reporting. Affecting 60,000 large companies globally, including 50,000 in the EU and 3,000 in the US, the CSRD encapsulates the most sustainability frameworks.

We have embraced this development as a compelling business opportunity and created a comprehensive Alteryx solution around it, targeting a significant number of potential clients. The benefit of this solution has already been recognized and has won the Alteryx Marketplace Add-On Competition 2024! In this blog post, we will outline the business problem and explain how Alteryx can help companies tackle the issues related to mandatory sustainability reporting.

ESG Data Challenges in Sustainability Reporting…

Despite the growing emphasis on sustainability, many companies face significant ESG data challenges. A Bloomberg survey reveals that 41% of companies cite the constantly evolving nature of ESG data as their top data management challenge. Baker Tilly's findings are even more telling: 88% of respondents feel unprepared for CSRD compliance, with only 7% confident in their current reporting systems. Moreover, as per ESG Today, nearly half of companies still rely on spreadsheets to manage their ESG data, indicating a continued dependence on inadequate and outdated methods for handling complex, heterogeneous, and disparate datasets.

…that the Alteryx CSRD-ESG Reporting Solution solves perfectly

To address these challenges, we have developed a comprehensive solution using Alteryx:

Pre-packaged Alteryx workflow accelerators, configurable to your CSRD data sources allowing you to:

Connect directly to a multitude of systems, applications and files
Ingest high volume and granular data to complete data validations and cleansing
Manage data quality and transform the data for reporting and analysis purposes

‘Plug-and-play’ CSRD reporting Alteryx macros, our off-the-shelf solution provides:

Pre-defined reporting coordinates that map quantitative data inputs to the CSRD disclosures and sub-forms.
Assurance of meeting CSRD compliance requirements.
Documentation that supports third-party risk assessment with transparency on data lineage and transformations.

Automated reporting and analysis, enabling:

Generation of reporting datasets ready to publish to relevant CSRD disclosures.
Management reporting with driver-based analysis to explain movements in positions against ESG targets.
Correlation analysis to help identify opportunities that optimize performance and consider ESG factors.
Alteryx Auto Insights provides visual, interactive reports for a more detailed overview of results. Alteryx Auto Insights leverages AI for a more detailed trends analysis and tracking of key metrics, essential for making strategic decisions and driving overall strategy.

Macros covering every quantitative reporting requirement

We’ve designed macros for every quantitative requirement in this sustainability regulation, working as a plug-and-play solution. Our solution is not limited to CSRD compliance. It is also adaptable to other ESG reporting frameworks. These tools are readily available for download in the Alteryx Marketplace, ranging from more basic free macros like the one currently on the Marketplace to advanced ones handling complex tasks like Scope 3 emissions for company investments and mortgage portfolios.

The Alteryx Advantage

The challenges of ESG data management are vast, but our Alteryx solution leverages the full potential of Alteryx to address them. With our macros, businesses can move beyond inadequate tools like spreadsheets, embracing a more robust and efficient approach to sustainability reporting.

You can find our solution on the Alteryx Marketplace here.