Choosing the best ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) software for your company can seem like an impossible task. But tracking and reporting ESG benchmarks, such as your company’s carbon footprint, is becoming increasingly important. This article will help you make the most informed decision when it comes to choosing the right ESG solution for your needs.
A quick internet search will tell you that there are endless ESG software solutions available, each presenting its own set of advantages, features, and challenges.
Below, we provide a comprehensive guide to the ESG sector and the top 10 ESG software offerings currently available. We hope to empower you to make the best decision for your company and a sustainable future.
What is ESG Software?
ESG software is a tool designed to collect, validate, and compile Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data. ESG management and reporting solutions enable organizations to set performance benchmarks and track their progress over time. They also allow for that information to be shared with investors, stakeholders, and regulators to ensure compliance and transparency.
Corporate stakeholders, including investors, consumers, regulators, and employees, are demanding greater accountability and transparency when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact. Government regulatory laws and frameworks are also becoming increasingly rigorous.
For example, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive was released in January 2023. New regulations mandate that over 50,000 firms disclose the social and environmental risks and opportunities their businesses encounter and their operational effects on society and the environment. These disclosures are scheduled to begin in 2025.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also introduced a comparable proposal in 2022, focusing on climate risk disclosures for companies listed on the stock exchange.
The term ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) first appeared in a 2004 report titled “Who Cares Wins,” a joint initiative of financial institutions invited by the United Nations to collaborate. By 2021, the ESG movement has grown from a UN corporate social responsibility initiative into a global phenomenon worth $30 trillion in assets under management in 2022 and potentially $40 trillion by 2030.
The rise in ESG jobs is a reflection of the growing importance of environmental, social, and governance issues within the corporate sector. More corporates are creating their own ESG and sustainability teams and these teams will need ESG software solutions.
Watch this ESG Overview video from the Corporate Financial Institute.
What Are Some Of The Key Features In Most ESG Platforms?
- Data Management: ESG software includes systems for collecting, storing, managing, and disseminating data, allowing organizations to centralize their data in a streamlined platform, ensuring accuracy and comparability.
- Automated Data Entry: Automated data entry is a crucial component of ESG software that helps organizations efficiently manage and compile data. It increases efficiency and accuracy and allows real-time data to be available when and where it is needed.
- ESG Data Analytics: Companies can use this software to gain better insights into their sustainability efforts and grasp the influence of their actions. This empowers them to make more informed decisions based on robust data.
- Integrated Reporting: This feature allows organizations’ ESG software to combine financial and non-financial data to provide an integrated overview of their performance as it relates to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. Integrated reporting aims to improve transparency for all stakeholders and regulators and demonstrate that a company’s ESG projects are legitimate and progressing.
- Performance KPIs: ESG platforms allow for KPI tracking, which assists companies in monitoring key performance indicators related to their environmental, governance, and sustainability goals. It provides a framework for measuring progress over time against specific targets and benchmarks.
- ESG Metric Calculations: Enables companies to compile the collected data into relevant ESG metrics and customizable calculations that align with their ESG requirements or goals. This feature helps businesses to meet regulatory requirements by ensuring the ESG data is accurate and verifiable.
- Supply Chain Networks: ESG software can follow the process flow throughout the supply chain and report on ESG metrics at every point. These assessments can be used to evaluate suppliers, risk factors, best practices, and other variables relevant to your company’s ESG reporting requirements.
- Sandboxing: The term ‘sandboxing’ refers to a feature of this software that allows for simulated scenarios where ESG strategies can be tested without affecting actual data or operations. This allows a company to measure the impact of different predicted circumstances, accurately calculate risk assessment, apply innovations, and develop strategies in an experimental setting.
Top 10 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Software Platforms
Facilio offers a unified cloud platform to make buildings operationally efficient.
Facilio’s property operations platform, aimed at CRE (Commercial Real Estate) owners, aggregates building data, optimizes performance, and controls portfolio operations – all from one cloud-based interface.
Customers in the commercial office, healthcare, retail, education, and other real estate categories can use Facilio to reduce operations costs, increase net asset value, and de-risk operational liability.
This ESG platform streamlines real-time sustainability insights, detects inefficiencies, and forecasts consumption.
IoT-driven Energy Monitoring: IoT-driven energy monitoring refers to Internet of Things (IoT) technology that tracks and analyzes energy consumption across the whole supply chain in real time.
Automated Work Order Management: The Facilio system can streamline, track, and automate work order management with an intelligent CMMS function.
Energy Optimization Strategies: Can provide strategic energy solutions and suggestions to enhance efficiency.
Predictive Maintenance Model: Facilio ESG software can predict when equipment will require maintenance, helping to prevent downtime and extend asset life.
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with US and EU climate control regulations with regulatory compliance management abilities.
Integrations: Microsoft Power BI, IBM Maximo Application Suite, Slack, Okta, Domo, Autodesk, QuickBooks and more
Pros:
- IoT-Driven Energy Monitoring
- Automated Work Order Management
- Predictive Maintenance Model
- Comprehensive Data Centralization
- Scalable Energy Optimization
Cons:
- Data entry complexity
- The need for more enhanced graphics
- Lack of translation features
Pricing is available on request and dependent on the organizational requirements.
Greenly
This ESG platform emphasizes transparency and detailed reporting, providing users with a clear understanding of their environmental impact and the offsetting projects they support. Users appreciate its straightforward and intuitive interface, which also integrates effortlessly with widely-used business applications such as Xero, QuickBooks, and Salesforce.
Carbon Accounting: Greenly provides tools for companies to assess and manage their CO2 emissions effectively.
Intuitive Interface: The ESG software is user-friendly, allowing for easy customization and navigation.
Data Analytics: It offers a robust reporting facility for detailed data analytics and strategic planning.
Actionable Insights: The platform provides recommendations to help companies to reduce their carbon footprint sustainably.
Health & Safety Monitoring: Greenly monitors the work environment, maintaining healthy conditions and providing alerts for harmful emissions.
Integrations: Xero, QuickBooks, Salesforce
Pros:
- User-Friendly Interface
- Insightful analytics
- Cost-effective
- Carbon Management
- Transparency
- Efficiency
Cons:
- Limited data sources
- Time-consuming results
- Price Clarity
Starting at US$1 950,00/year, this may vary depending on company size and requirements
Envizi
Envizi is a comprehensive software suite from IBM designed to streamline the capture, management, analysis, and reporting of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. As a cloud-based platform, it offers a robust and easy-to-access data management foundation that serves as a single system of record for auditable ESG data and greenhouse gas (GHG) calculations.
Data Foundation: Envizi offers a comprehensive system for capturing, consolidating, and managing ESG data, ensuring auditable and accurate GHG calculations.
Simplifies Compliance: Flexible data management tools that enable easy reporting and simplify compliance with regulatory laws and guidelines.
Integration with Frameworks: Access to multiple frameworks and their reporting standards, such as SRS, GRI, SASB, SFDR, UN SDGs, and TCFD2.
Analytical Strategy Tools: The Envizi platform provides analytical insights to identify strategic opportunities and enhance performance.
Reporting & Disclosure: Comprehensive reporting capabilities that streamline internal and external ESG reporting.
Integrations: Turbonomic, Maximo Asset Management, Sterling Supply Chain
Pros:
- Comprehensive Data Management
- Streamlined Reporting
- Decarbonising Insights
- User-friendly interface
- Strong customer support
Cons:
- Data entry complexity
- The need for more enhanced graphics
- Lack of translation features
Offers modular pricing packages to suit companies of all sizes.
Workday
Workday ESG software is a comprehensive suite designed to help organizations manage and report on sustainability as well as social impact initiatives. The software is praised for its user-friendly interface and real-time collaboration features.
Sustainability and ESG Reporting: Offers critical insights into finance and people data to support ESG initiatives
Supplier Sustainability: Enables organizations to measure and analyze the carbon footprint of their supply chains and engage with suppliers on sustainability.
Social Reporting for ESG: Provides dashboards and configurable reports for easy social reporting, helping organizations understand workforce composition and diversity.
VIBE™ Approach: Focuses on social impact and progress in diversity that aligns with broader ESG goals. With the VIBE Index™, you can measure many people-based factors, such as hiring and promotions, to your people’s sense of belonging – to see where you stand and then take action.
Adaptive Planning: Assists in measuring the impact of climate risk on business and planning for carbon reduction with tools for automating emissions reporting.
Integrations: Gallup, Google, CData, Adobe and more
Pros:
- Integrated solutions
- Supplier sustainability measuring
- Adaptive planning
- Social Impact reporting
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- Customization limits
- Pricing transparency
- Third party app integration is not seamless
Pricing is dependent on company requirements and is available on request.
Ecovadis
The platform focuses on providing detailed insights and managing value chain risks and compliance. It also assists companies in achieving their net-zero and sustainability targets. Ecovadis distinguishes itself with comprehensive sustainability ratings and an intelligence suite grounded in global standards. The EcoVadis reporting system is built with the guidance of analysis by a global team of sustainability experts from 50+ nationalities.
Universal Sustainability Ratings: Provides a comprehensive view of a company’s sustainability performance across various metrics.
Customized Questionnaires: Tailored assessments based on a company’s industry, size, and geographic location to ensure relevant and accurate evaluations.
Actionable Insights: This report offers detailed insights into managing value chain risks and compliance and supporting and attaining sustainability targets.
Benchmarking: Allows companies to compare their performance to their industry peers, fostering a competitive environment for improvement.
Supplier Sustainability Monitoring: Helps companies assess the sustainability performance of their suppliers, which is crucial for managing missions and ensuring responsible sourcing practices.
Integrations: This platform integrates with a host of third-party tools and critical data sources.
Pros:
- Global sustainability ratings
- Comprehensive assessments
- Gold standard recognition
- Alignment with international standards
- Credibility and trustworthiness
Cons:
- High resource investment
- Process complexity
- Subscription-based
You can request a quote from this company for various solutions and options.
AuditBoard
AuditBoard ESG is lauded for its customer support and ability to centralize data management. It accomplishes this all within a user-friendly interface. This reporting system is an endlessly adaptable solution that drives impactful change and sustainability efforts.
Policy Management: This feature dramatically simplifies understanding and achieving compliance with various frameworks. It allows teams to easily publish, track, and update policies across the business.
Customer Service: World-class, responsive customer service that ranks high with reviewers and customers.
Audit-Readiness: Ensures all ESG data and evidence are centralized, aiding efficient collaboration with internal and external auditors.
Materiality Assessments: Allows organizations to engage stakeholders and analyze what’s important to set ESG initiatives and goals.
Simplified Reporting: This feature supports ESG topics and data metrics tracking based on materiality assessments, frameworks, and disclosure guidelines. This makes reporting more straightforward.
Integrations: AuditBoard has numerous integration options. You can see them all here.
Pros:
- Streamlined ESG program management
- Centralized Data Collection
- Materiality assessments
- Simplified reporting and disclosure
- Risk and opportunity identification
Cons:
- Complex reporting creation
- Customisation limitations
- Steep learning curve
You can contact AuditBoard for pricing and a custom quote.
Workday
Whether you’re a seasoned sustainability professional or new to the ESG landscape, Workiva’s platform is engineered to elevate reporting standards.
Workiva’s commitment to transparency is evident in its detailed audit trails and precise reporting capabilities. This makes it an indispensable tool for organizations looking to enhance their ESG efforts.
The strength of Workiva lies in its ability to integrate data connectivity and management seamlessly. They accomplish this by merging ESG, audit, risk, and financial reporting into one comprehensive ecosystem.
This integration is vital as companies increasingly seek to align their financial objectives with sustainability goals.
Cross-Team Collaboration: The platform enables end-to-end solutions that facilitate cross-team collaboration, allowing for audit-ready ESG reports.
‘Link’ functionality: This feature allows for easier KPI and MI reporting by effortlessly and automatically updating links on a given spreadsheet to wherever that data may appear, whether on a presentation, a document, a chart, or a compliance report.
End-to-end accountability and data trail: Workiva creates an end-to-end trail from data collection/review/approval to content creation/revisions and design implementation to publication.
Data Accuracy and Validation: The software helps identify risks, validate data, and maintain accountability to achieve accurate ESG results.
Adaptability and Innovation: With emerging technologies like AI and automation, this platform is built to adapt and grow with your business. It ensures you’re always regulation-ready.
Integrations: Microsoft SharePoint, Google® BigQuery®, Oracle HFM, and many others. More here
- Cloud-based collaboration
- Audit trail
- Data integration
- Financial rigor
- Real-time reporting
Cons:
- Learning curve
- Customization limitations
- Licensing Cost
Contact Workiva directly for a demo and custom quote..
Ethos Tracking
Whether you are a multinational company, a non-profit, or a family foundation, Ethos Tracker captures 100% of a company’s impact data. Organize and analyze donations, sustainability efforts, volunteer hours, advocacy wins, or employee initiatives. The software is intuitive and easy to use. With its focus on social impact to make this world a better place, Ethos Tracking is not just about the metrics but about real-world changes.
Stakeholder Engagement: This feature helps companies understand and prioritize the interests of their stakeholders. These efforts are crucial for shaping sustainable social change plans that reflect the concerns of customers, employees, and other valuable stakeholders.
Materiality Assessment: Ethos offers a quantitative materiality assessment tool that aids in identifying and ranking the most pressing sustainability issues for a company. This ranking is based on the recommendations of various ESG frameworks.
Data Management and Tracking: The software provides robust tools for managing and tracking a company’s sustainability performance. This allows for setting targets and monitoring progress across a wide range of metrics.
ESG Performance Scoring and Reporting: Ethos provides a single score that reflects a company’s progress toward achieving its sustainability performance goals. This simplifies the complexity of various ESG reporting and scoring frameworks.
Project Planning, Management, and Implementation: It assists companies in creating data-driven and achievable sustainability plans. It does this by implementing sustainability projects, and managing their progress in alignment with international ESG integration trends.
Integrations: This platform offers several third-party integration options
Pros:
- Integrated solution
- Quantitative Materiality Assessment
- Data management efficiency
- ESG performance scoring
- Qualitative and quantitative stakeholder understanding
Cons:
- Cost
- Learning curve
- Complexity of the system may intimidate some users
Ethos Tracking
Workday ESG software is a comprehensive suite designed to help organizations manage and report on sustainability as well as social impact initiatives.
Sustainability and ESG Reporting: Offers critical insights into finance and people data to support ESG initiatives
Supplier Sustainability: Enables organizations to measure and analyze the carbon footprint of their supply chains and engage with suppliers on sustainability.
Social Reporting for ESG: Provides dashboards and configurable reports for easy social reporting, helping organizations understand workforce composition and diversity.
VIBE™ Approach: Focuses on social impact and progress in diversity that aligns with broader ESG goals. With the VIBE Index™, you can measure many people-based factors, such as hiring and promotions, to your people’s sense of belonging – to see where you stand and then take action.
Adaptive Planning: Assists in measuring the impact of climate risk on business and planning for carbon reduction with tools for automating emissions reporting.
Integrations: Gallup, Google, CData, Adobe and more
Pros:
- Responsive customer support
- Ability to handle complex data and reporting
- Ease of results
- Technical robustness
- Valuable reporting
Cons:
- Technical user interface
- Steep learning curve
- Customization limitations
Pricing is dependent on company requirements and is available on request.
Nasdaq
Nasdaq’s ESG solutions are designed to support companies in navigating ESG frameworks. This enhances reporting excellence and meets stakeholders’ demands for transparency and impact. This reporting platform brings together data, insights as well as an analytics team to guide ESG efforts.
Sustainability Data Management: A central hub for all ESG data, with automated data collection workflows. In addition, there are custom KPIs, metrics, GHG calculations, and external reporting capabilities.
Framework & Disclosure Management: Tools for reporting to ESG rating organizations and achieving regulatory compliance. Includes intelligent survey workflows and an audit trail for disclosures.
Carbon Accounting & Management: Granular and audit-grade GHG emissions data to help accelerate the path to net zero and track against sustainability goals.
CSR & Sustainability Communications: Nasdaq ESG offers tools for building corporate sustainability reports. This includes crafting one-pagers and PDFs, and launching interactive microsites with data traceability
ESG AI: AI-powered features to answer questions, assess competitive positioning, monitor trends, and ensure evidence-based decision-making.
Integrations: Nasdaq ESG hub incorporates numerous partners and data source.
Pros:
- Comprehensive reporting
- Fully customizable
- Supportive analytics team
- Scalable and flexible data management
- Value for money
Cons:
- Data input complexity
- Lack of visibility of backend data
- Maturity of the platform
You can contact Nasdaq ESG directly for custom quotes.
Conclusions
ESG software emerges as an indispensable tool in the modern business landscape. It streamlines the complex process of collecting and analyzing environmental, social, and governance data. Additionally, it empowers companies to make informed, ethical, and sustainable decisions. By leveraging ESG software’s capabilities, businesses can enhance transparency, improve stakeholder trust, and ultimately drive long-term growth. As the world increasingly prioritizes sustainability, ESG software is a critical ally for organizations committed to building a better future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do companies use ESG software?
ESG software is crucial as it enables companies to remain proactive in their ESG strategies, ensuring they meet investor, customer, and stakeholder expectations. It also aids in managing risks and opportunities related to sustainability.
What should organizations consider when choosing ESG software?
When selecting ESG software, consider your company's size and particular needs. Look for its ability to track relevant metrics, alignment with GHGP (Greenhouse Gas Protocol) standards, customization options, user-friendliness, and the breadth of emissions factors included.
Is ESG Software valuable enough to justify the investment?
Yes, ESG software can be a valuable investment as it helps companies manage their ESG reporting more efficiently and accurately, which is increasingly important for regulatory compliance and stakeholder communication.
References:
United Nations – Sustainable Development Goals
Bloomberg.com – The Twelve Best Carbon Accounting Platforms for SME & Enterprises in 2024
BDO Australia – Stakeholder engagement in the ESG process
Deloitte – Regulations take effect: ESG reporting software sales are expected to soar in 2024
PWC – ESG reporting and preparation of a Sustainability Report