The REP Wrap: 47% of firms use spreadsheets to manage ESG data

Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.

Nearly half of companies are still using spreadsheets to organise sustainability information, according to a survey by KMPG. The US arm of the financial services giant asked 550 people from companies around the world how they aggregated their ESG data. 47% used spreadsheets. Enterprise Resource Planning systems “with ESG modules” were used by 38%, and 37% used dedicated ESG software. Just 23% used integrated financial and ESG reporting tools. The survey was originally conducted in October, but the findings on sustainability data were published this week. 

EU politicians reached an agreement on how they want businesses to substantiate their environmental claims on Wednesday. The Internal Market and Environment committees of the European Parliament agreed with the European Commission that, as part of the new green claims directive, companies should have to submit environmental marketing claims for approval, and breaches of the directive could result in fines of up to 4% of annual turnover, or blacklisting from public procurement opportunities. The draft report will be put to a full Parliamentary vote next month, and if it passes, it will constitute the official position of MEPs as they go into political negotiations after the European elections.  

Microsoft has signed a six-year carbon removal deal with a Swiss firm. As part of the agreement, Neustark has committed to delivering more than 27,000 tons of ‘carbon removal’ credits to the tech giant, by capturing carbon and permanently storing it in mineral waste, such as demolition concrete. The pair have been working together since 2022. They did not disclose the value of this week’s deal. 

German chemicals producer BASF has said it will “accelerate” plans to withdraw from two joint ventures in China, following media reports about alleged human rights breaches at its partner company. Articles in the German press suggest Xinjiang Markor Chemical Industry had carried out “home visits” on workers to gather evidence for Chinese authorities. BASF said that it had conducted “regular due diligence measures including internal and external audits” that had found no evidence of human rights violations in the two joint ventures, but that it would exit the partnerships in light of the allegations, which it said “point[ed] to activities that are incompatible with BASF’s values”.  

A major vote on the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive has been postponed again this week. Originally scheduled for last week, it was moved at the last minute in order to give European Council more time to negotiate a clearer outcome. The law was provisionally signed off in December, and seeks to hold companies accountable for their contribution to environmental and human rights harms, but is now being contested by Member States including Germany. It has been confirmed that the vote has again been removed from today’s coreper agenda, and is now expected to take place next week.