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In our latest episode of our Energy Transition Talks series, Marion Braams, Vice-President, Consulting Expert at CGI sits down with Peter Warren to share her expert perspective on emerging trends in IT, sustainability regulations and reporting. Specifically, they discuss different ESG initiatives across regions, the evolution to and impact of legally mandated standards and certifications, plus the role of green IT and AI for optimizing data and ESG reporting.

New laws mandating ESG reporting create fairness and accountability

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly valuable for businesses beyond just sustainability objectives, as they can impact risk management, stakeholder expectations, innovation and operational efficiency.

Until now, greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and emissions reductions have been voluntary for companies, meaning companies that invested in being "greener" faced higher costs than those that didn't. However, new laws, like the CSRD in Europe and the ISSB in the US, are making GHG reporting mandatory, creating a more level playing field and fostering more consistency and accountability across industries.

As Marion explains, without standards developed to measure GHG emissions, people were measuring things in their own ways. “You can't just look at something and know how much greenhouse gases (GHG) it contains, like a beer. You cannot just look at your beer and know its cost or energy use. It depends on how it is made, how much time it was stored, for example. It becomes really complicated to calculate things.”

Companies can apply for certifications from organizations like EcoVadis or the Carbon Disclosure Project to verify their GHG emissions. These certifications require companies to use standardized methods to estimate and report their GHG emissions.

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