Checklist for Real-Time ESG Performance Tracking

Real-time ESG tracking is no longer optional. With ESG investments projected to reach £27.1 trillion by 2026 and sustainability regulations tightening globally, businesses must shift from outdated periodic reporting to continuous monitoring. This enables immediate decision-making, better compliance, and stronger stakeholder trust.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how to implement real-time ESG tracking:

• Set Clear ESG Goals: Define SMART targets (e.g., "Cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% by 2030") and prioritise key issues through materiality assessments.

• Centralise Data Collection: Break down silos by integrating internal metrics (e.g., energy use, HR data) with external benchmarks and frameworks.

• Ensure Data Accuracy: Use automated tools for validation, regular audits, and adherence to global standards like ISSB, GRI, or CSRD.

• Leverage Real-Time Monitoring: Set up custom dashboards, automated alerts, and analytics to track progress and respond to risks instantly.

• Align Reporting with Standards: Map data to global frameworks, prepare audit-ready reports, and maintain strong governance to meet compliance needs.

How to Master ESG Compliance: Scalable, Automated, and Audit-ready (walkthrough)

Step 1: Set ESG Goals and Identify Key Areas

Start by determining exactly what needs to be measured. Establish clear ESG targets and conduct a materiality assessment. While the average Fortune 50 company has 17 ESG goals, it’s not about how many you have - it’s about setting goals that lead to real change.

The success of ESG tracking hinges on identifying the most critical ESG issues for your organisation. Nail this step, and your tracking efforts will yield meaningful insights instead of just noise. Clear, measurable goals are the foundation for every subsequent step in real-time ESG tracking.

Create Measurable ESG Targets

Avoid vague aspirations like "reduce environmental impact." Instead, focus on SMART targets - those that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Here’s an example of the difference: A generic goal might say, "Reduce our environmental footprint." A SMART goal, on the other hand, would specify: "Cut companywide absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 45% by 2030, based on a 2019 baseline". This approach provides clarity, measurable results, and a clear timeline.

Take Walmart as an example. In 2025, they set a target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 18% from a 2015 baseline. They track progress using KPIs like annual emissions changes, carbon intensity (both absolute and as a percentage of revenue), and fuel efficiency.

To make these goals impactful, align them with your broader business strategy. Seventy-six percent of companies see ESG as a way to gain business advantages, but this only works when ESG goals are integrated into the overall business objectives, rather than treated as standalone initiatives.

"ESG ratings impact profitability – regardless of what industry your company is in. People like to know that the companies they interact with and buy from are companies that do good in the world." – Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

Set KPIs for each ESG target to enable real-time tracking. These KPIs should include both quantitative metrics (like emissions reductions or diversity ratios) and qualitative factors (such as stakeholder satisfaction or governance quality). The more detailed your KPIs, the more actionable your data will be.

Publicly sharing your ESG goals can also boost accountability and credibility. In fact, 91% of investors say non-financial measures have influenced their investment decisions in the past year. By making your commitments public, you create external pressure that drives internal action, while showing stakeholders you’re serious about ESG.

Run a Materiality Assessment

After setting clear goals, a materiality assessment helps you focus on the most critical ESG issues. Think of this assessment as your strategic guide, ensuring your efforts and resources are directed where they matter most. The importance of this step is highlighted by the fact that 68% of public feedback supported including materiality assessments under the CSRD.

Using a double materiality lens is key. This means assessing both your organisation’s internal impacts and the external risks you face. It ensures you don’t miss risks or opportunities that could affect your performance or relationships with stakeholders.

Samsung’s 2024 strategy is a great example. They conducted a materiality assessment using a Double Materiality Approach (DMA), looking at both their environmental impact and external risks to the business. From this, they identified 11 key topics, including climate change, water management, and product safety, based on their value chain and stakeholder input.

Engage both internal stakeholders (like executives and directors) and external ones (like customers, vendors, regulators, and NGOs). This approach is crucial, as 79% of investors say a company’s management of ESG risks influences their investment decisions.

Bank of America offers a strong example of stakeholder collaboration. Their National Community Advisory Council (NCAC) includes senior leaders from diverse sectors such as civil rights, consumer advocacy, and environmental organisations. The council provides external perspectives and feedback on the bank’s policies and products.

Integrating materiality assessments with your sustainability management system ensures your reporting is audit-ready. This is especially important for compliance with frameworks like ISSB, where materiality directly affects disclosure requirements.

Today, materiality assessments often highlight topics like health and wellbeing, business continuity planning, and resilience. These reflect how environmental concerns now intersect with social and governance priorities to create holistic sustainability strategies.

"Businesses that want to be here for the long term need to understand the impact of their business on people and planet, and how social and environmental issues present financial risks and opportunities. Looking at both these perspectives – so-called 'double materiality' – is necessary so leaders can review their current business model, stay relevant, and ultimately thrive in these uncertain times." – Adam Garfunkel, Chief Impact Officer, Junxion Strategy

Incorporate stakeholder feedback into your risk management processes to ensure ESG factors remain central to your decision-making. These defined targets and identified risks form the foundation for effective, real-time ESG performance tracking.

Step 2: Bring Together Data Collection and Integration

Once you've set your ESG targets and identified key material issues, the next step is to gather data from across your organisation. The challenge? ESG data often sits in isolated silos, making it difficult to compile and report effectively. To overcome this, you need a unified approach that combines both internal and external data sources for a clear picture of ESG performance. With 98.6% of S&P 500 companies publishing sustainability reports in 2023, organisations that centralise their data early and maintain consistency are better equipped to meet reporting demands. This centralised data will also play a vital role in consolidating information across departments.

Combine Data Across Departments

Internal data - such as energy consumption, HR metrics, governance records, and risk assessments - needs to be centralised and standardised. Finance teams can take the lead here by linking ESG metrics to financial transactions, creating audit-ready data. This approach integrates sustainability into financial reporting, ensuring compliance with both sustainability and financial audit requirements. If you're curious about how ISSB reporting aligns with this financially-integrated strategy, check out this resource.

Centralising data enables real-time, actionable insights, turning ESG goals into tangible progress. Collaboration across departments is key to achieving this. Form a dedicated team with representatives from finance, operations, HR, supply chain, and sustainability to establish clear data collection protocols, standardise ESG metrics, and ensure consistent reporting practices.

External data sources are equally important for context and validation. Providers like Bloomberg, Refinitiv, and MSCI offer industry benchmarks and peer comparisons, while regulatory filings from organisations such as the SEC and EU regulators, along with standards from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), help you align with global frameworks. Additional insights can come from stakeholder feedback, such as input from customers, suppliers, and communities, as well as reports from NGOs and media outlets - for instance, carbon footprint analyses.

Use Automated Data Capture Tools

Manual data collection is slow and prone to mistakes, but automation can address these issues. Automated systems reduce errors, speed up data gathering, and meet the growing demand for efficient ESG data management. This trend is reflected in the rise of modern platforms that streamline ESG reporting, offering features like automated data validation, customisable dashboards, and analytics.

These platforms work by integrating data across departments and systems, breaking down silos and providing a consolidated view of ESG performance.

"ESG data should be considered a data 'ecosystem.'" – Iyngaran Panchacharam, Sustainability Tech and AI Expert

When choosing automation tools, prioritise those that offer real-time monitoring, risk management capabilities, and compatibility with multiple ESG frameworks. Look for software with customisable templates and dashboards to simplify reporting and tailor disclosures to your specific needs.

Cloud-based solutions are particularly effective, offering scalable and secure storage while enabling collaboration across departments in real time. Advanced platforms like neoeco take this a step further by not only capturing data but also validating it. Using AI-driven automation, neoeco integrates finance and sustainability data, embedding ESG factors directly into financial transactions. This ensures audit-grade accuracy and compliance with global standards like ISSB, CSRD, and GHGP. Plus, their ability to sync with existing accounting software, ERP systems, and operational data sources eliminates silos, creating a single source of truth for ESG performance.

The goal is to select tools that not only gather data but also validate it against recognised frameworks, turning raw information into actionable insights. This way, your ESG tracking delivers meaningful results instead of just more data to manage.

Finally, strong data governance is critical. With 75% of data leaders lacking end-to-end management systems and 79% relying on over 100 data sources, clear protocols for accuracy, accountability, and compliance are essential. This helps avoid reputational risks or regulatory penalties while ensuring your ESG efforts stay on track.

Step 3: Check Data Quality and Consistency

Ensuring the accuracy and reliability of ESG data is crucial to avoid compliance issues, reputational risks, and poor decision-making. Automated systems can improve data quality by 45% compared to manual processes, making validation protocols essential for maintaining trust with stakeholders and meeting regulatory expectations.

Manual data collection often falls short due to human error, inconsistent formats, and incomplete records. These challenges grow when data originates from multiple departments with varying systems and standards. The solution lies in adopting systematic quality control processes and following recognised ESG frameworks, which provide clear guidelines for consistent data collection and reporting.

Set Up Quality Control Processes

Effective quality control starts with clear protocols for data validation, regular audits, and error detection. These processes should be integrated into your data management workflow. External auditors offer an independent assessment of your data's accuracy, bolstering its credibility.

To start, establish data validation rules that flag inconsistencies, anomalies, or missing information. For example, if energy consumption data shows a sudden 200% increase without a corresponding operational change, the system should trigger an alert for manual review. Use historical data and industry benchmarks to set clear thresholds for acceptable ranges.

Audits should occur regularly at multiple levels. Monthly reviews at the departmental level can catch errors early, while quarterly cross-departmental audits ensure consistency across various data sources. Annual external audits provide the independent verification needed to meet regulatory requirements and reassure stakeholders.

Consider a tiered approach to data validation:

• Primary validation happens at data entry, catching obvious errors immediately.

• Secondary validation occurs during data processing, where automated checks ensure consistency and completeness.

• Tertiary validation involves periodic manual reviews by experts who can identify issues that automation might miss.

Maintain thorough audit trails to support regulatory reviews and ensure transparency. Tools like neoeco simplify these processes by automating real-time validation of ESG data, reducing manual effort while maintaining high-quality standards. These platforms can also integrate ESG data with financial systems, offering an additional layer of validation through cross-referencing.

Follow Standardised ESG Frameworks

Once quality control processes are in place, standardised frameworks provide a strong foundation for reliable reporting. These frameworks ensure consistency and comparability, helping organisations meet stakeholder and regulatory expectations. As SASB Standards explain, "Frameworks provide principles-based guidance on how information is structured, how it is prepared and what broad topics are covered. Meanwhile, standards provide specific, detailed and repeatable requirements for what should be reported for each topic, including metrics".

The choice of framework depends on factors like geographic location, stakeholder needs, regulatory obligations, and sustainability goals. Many organisations use multiple frameworks to address diverse requirements.

• ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board): Focuses on financial materiality and enterprise value, making it ideal for investor-focused reporting. Over 20 countries, including China, Korea, Brazil, and South Africa, have signalled their adoption of ISSB standards.

• CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): Mandated by the EU, this directive applies to large companies and public-interest entities, requiring detailed reporting on social and environmental risks and opportunities. Approximately 50,000 companies will need to comply.

• GRI (Global Reporting Initiative): Popular for its broad, stakeholder-focused approach, GRI is widely used globally. In 2023, over 23,000 companies, including more than 3,700 in North America, reported using the CDP's environmental disclosure system.

Selecting the right framework depends on your organisation's reporting needs, industry sector, and regulatory requirements. Aligning your approach with stakeholder expectations is equally important, as different industries face unique ESG challenges and opportunities.

These frameworks not only standardise metrics and methodologies but also reduce the risk of reporting errors. They enable consistent performance tracking over time and make benchmarking against competitors more straightforward. With the ongoing consolidation of frameworks - such as ISSB building on SASB, TCFD, and CDSB - the process is becoming less complex while ensuring comprehensive ESG coverage.

Adopting recognised frameworks isn't just about ticking compliance boxes. It establishes a robust foundation for managing ESG data, supporting strategic decisions, and strengthening communication with stakeholders. By aligning your processes with these standards, you enhance credibility and prepare your organisation for future regulatory developments.

Step 4: Set Up Real-Time Monitoring and Analytics

Real-time monitoring has become a game-changer in ESG management. It helps organisations stay ahead of risks, track their progress, and tackle issues before they escalate. By building on the solid foundation of data integration and quality controls established earlier, real-time monitoring transforms raw data into insights you can act on.

Traditional methods like spreadsheets and email-based data collection often take weeks or months, making them slow and prone to errors. Real-time systems, on the other hand, offer instant updates with automated validation, cutting administrative time by 50% while boosting data accuracy and compliance readiness.

Install Customisable Dashboards

Dashboards are your window into ESG performance, and they work best when tailored to specific roles and needs. For example, finance teams might need an overview of financial summaries, while sustainability managers benefit from detailed operational data.

Customisation can also extend across organisational levels. Multinational companies can use regional dashboards to monitor performance in different markets with varying regulations. Meanwhile, site-specific dashboards let facility managers track local metrics like energy use, waste, and safety incidents. Business unit dashboards help divisional leaders focus on their specific ESG contributions and find areas for improvement.

The best dashboards combine various visualisation tools to make data easy to understand:

• Heat maps: Quickly highlight problem areas.

• Trend lines: Show how performance is changing over time.

• Comparative charts: Benchmark current results against targets or industry standards.

Platforms like neoeco take this a step further by integrating ESG dashboards with financial systems. This unified view connects sustainability efforts with business outcomes, helping organisations identify where improving sustainability can also save money.

Configure Automated Alerts and Notifications

Automated alerts shift ESG management from occasional check-ins to constant vigilance, ensuring immediate attention to critical issues. These systems monitor predefined thresholds and send notifications when something deviates, allowing for quick action.

Alerts can be set at different levels of urgency:

• Critical alerts: Triggered by serious events like safety incidents, regulatory breaches, or major environmental impacts. These should notify senior management and relevant teams through email, SMS, or dashboard notifications.

• Warning alerts: Activated when metrics approach thresholds without crossing them. For instance, if energy consumption rises 15% above normal levels, the system can alert facility managers to investigate before it escalates.

Automated workflows can also streamline ESG data management. As new data enters the system, processes validate its accuracy, flag inconsistencies, and route it to the right people for review. This ensures nothing is overlooked and maintains compliance-ready audit trails.

A 2023 Deloitte report highlighted the growing need for robust internal controls in ESG, underscoring the importance of data accuracy and compliance. Automated alerts not only support these controls but also provide contextual information. Instead of a vague "energy consumption exceeded threshold" message, alerts can include comparisons, trends, and suggested actions, enabling quicker and more informed responses.

Compare Performance and Spot Trends

Dashboards and alerts ensure no critical changes are missed, but analytics take things further by turning data into actionable insights. Comparing performance across time periods, departments, and industry benchmarks reveals patterns and helps organisations make informed decisions about sustainability efforts.

Time-series analysis is particularly useful for spotting long-term trends. Monthly comparisons can highlight seasonal variations, while year-over-year analysis shows the impact of initiatives. These insights help distinguish between normal fluctuations and significant changes that need attention.

Cross-departmental comparisons can uncover best practices. For instance, if one facility excels in energy efficiency, analytics can identify the strategies behind its success, making it easier to replicate those practices elsewhere.

Industry benchmarking adds external context, showing how your organisation stacks up against competitors. This perspective helps set realistic goals and demonstrates progress to stakeholders expecting top-tier performance.

Predictive analytics goes a step further by forecasting future performance based on current trends. This helps organisations anticipate whether they’ll meet targets, spot compliance risks, and allocate resources effectively. For companies managing complex Scope 3 emissions, predictive models can estimate supply chain impacts and guide procurement decisions.

The key is to focus on metrics that align with business goals and stakeholder priorities. Engaging with customers, investors, and suppliers can help identify their ESG expectations. With the push towards standardised ESG metrics, especially around topics like climate change and diversity, comparative analysis has become even more valuable.

Lastly, set clear and measurable ESG targets to guide analytical efforts. Without specific goals, trend analysis risks becoming theoretical rather than actionable. Well-defined benchmarks provide the reference points needed to determine whether trends signal success or call for corrective action.

Step 5: Match Reporting with Global Standards

Once you've implemented real-time monitoring systems, the next step is to ensure that your ESG reporting aligns with global standards. This isn't just about ticking compliance boxes - it’s about creating audit-ready reports that foster stakeholder confidence and demonstrate a genuine commitment to sustainability.

The regulatory environment has grown more demanding. Globally, organisations now face over 600 ESG-related disclosure requirements, and 85% of companies rely on multiple reporting frameworks to meet these demands. This complexity calls for a strategic, focused approach rather than a scattergun method.

Connect ESG Data to Regulatory Frameworks

Navigating multiple frameworks requires a clear understanding of their unique priorities and finding areas of overlap. For example:

• ISSB focuses on financial materiality.

• GRI prioritises stakeholder interests through double materiality.

• CSRD mandates double materiality for companies operating in the EU.

Despite their differences, these frameworks share common ground on key ESG topics like climate change, governance, labour practices, and supply chain management. A practical way to manage this is by building a master disclosure matrix. This tool maps topics, data sources, and overlaps. For instance, greenhouse gas emissions are addressed in ISSB, CSRD, and GHGP frameworks, though each may require varying levels of detail or calculation methods.

The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) alone demand over 1,100 data points. Given this scale, comprehensive mapping is essential. Yet, 65% of financial institution leaders report challenges in standardising ESG data across providers. This highlights the need for robust data governance right from the start.

One solution is to develop unified data collection templates. These templates allow you to gather information once and format it for multiple frameworks, reducing administrative workload while improving consistency. For example, energy consumption data can serve CSRD’s environmental disclosures, ISSB’s climate-related financial reports, and GHGP’s carbon calculations.

Tools like neoeco’s Financially-integrated Sustainability Management (FiSM) simplify this process by embedding ESG factors directly into financial systems. As Stephen Pell, CEO & Co-founder of neoeco, explains:

"neoeco's Financially-integrated Sustainability Management (FiSM) platform brings ESG into the ledger, not as a bolt-on, but as part of how your business already runs. FiSM isn't another system to manage - it's the connective tissue between your finance and sustainability tools, embedding ESG into the processes you already trust. What used to take consultants months, FiSM does in minutes".

Start with foundational metrics like Scope 1-3 GHG emissions. These metrics are common across most frameworks and provide a strong base for tackling more complex disclosures. Learn more about how ISSB reporting integrates with financial strategies to see how financial and sustainability data can work together effectively.

Staying informed about regulatory updates is equally important. Review changes quarterly and adjust your mapping tools as needed. Recent developments, such as the GHG Protocol’s expanded collaboration with CDP, GRI, ISSB, and EFRAG, hint at greater alignment across climate disclosure frameworks, which could simplify reporting in the future.

This groundwork sets the stage for creating audit-ready reports.

Prepare Audit-Ready Reports

Once your ESG data is aligned with global standards, the focus shifts to producing reports that are ready for external audits. Real-time data, as discussed earlier, forms the backbone of these reports, ensuring compliance and building stakeholder trust. However, only 29% of companies feel equipped with the ESG policies, skills, and systems needed for independent data assurance.

Audit readiness requires clear, traceable documentation that can withstand external scrutiny. The key lies in strong data governance - validate data at the point of entry, assign clear ownership, and maintain detailed audit trails. Every data point should include its source, methodology, and approval process. This is especially critical when tackling complex Scope 3 emissions across supply chains.

Centralising data flow with consistent quality controls is essential. While automation reduces errors, thorough documentation remains crucial. Transparent calculation methods further enhance auditor confidence.

Establishing an ESG steering committee that includes internal audit representatives can provide ongoing oversight. This group should review data quality, approve methodologies, and ensure consistent application of standards across the organisation. Clear role segregation helps maintain data integrity and avoids conflicts of interest.

As expectations around ESG assurance rise, Wim Bartels, European Sustainability Senior Partner, advises:

"CSRD once more calls for a good dialogue with the auditor. One should be aware that the regime of limited assurance does not mean that companies can lower the standards for the information quality for now and invest in this quality later when reasonable assurance is required. In both cases, quality and reliability of the information must be in order".

Avoid reliance on spreadsheets for ESG reporting. Daan Smulders, Partner Technology Risk EV, cautions:

"Workaround solutions (such as spreadsheets) are to be avoided for generating ESG information. It may be a solution in the short term but will probably turn out to be disappointing in the longer run. One reason for this is that the bar for assurance by third parties will be raised throughout time. Workarounds will probably be insufficient to live up to the quality expectations at that point. This will then be a clear case of penny-wise pound foolish".

Start the reporting process early to allow time for corrections if needed. Audit readiness should be an ongoing effort, not a last-minute scramble. With 90% of S&P 500 companies now publishing ESG reports, the quality and reliability of these reports are becoming key factors that separate leaders from the rest of the pack.

Conclusion: Main Points for Real-Time ESG Tracking

Tracking ESG performance in real time has become essential for businesses. With ESG investments projected to hit US$33.9 trillion by 2026, relying on outdated manual reporting methods is no longer practical.

To recap the five-step approach, each stage lays the groundwork for a flexible and audit-ready ESG tracking system. Start by setting measurable ESG targets through thorough materiality assessments, and centralise data collection across all departments. Implement rigorous quality control processes and adopt standardised frameworks to ensure reliable reporting. Real-time monitoring systems then enable organisations to make proactive decisions.

The growing pressure from stakeholders and the importance of loyalty further highlight how effective ESG tracking can enhance relationships and boost overall business performance.

As companies refine their data quality and integration processes, aligning with global standards becomes the next crucial step. Ashly Pleasant, Director of ESG & Sustainability Services at Weaver, emphasises this point:

"Aligning ESG frameworks with voluntary and regulatory standards can enhance compliance, efficiency and credibility for your organisation."

The regulatory landscape is shifting rapidly. For instance, Japan's Financial Services Agency introduced new sustainability disclosure rules for listed companies in 2023, while Brazil's Congress approved legislation for a carbon credit market in 2024. These developments underscore the need for integrated platforms that connect financial and sustainability data.

This final step highlights the importance of technology in scaling real-time ESG tracking. Platforms like neoeco, which integrate sustainability metrics with financial systems, can break down the data silos that hinder traditional methods. For organisations ready to move beyond spreadsheets, adopting financially-integrated sustainability management approaches - like those offered by neoeco - can pave the way for real-time, audit-ready ESG tracking.

ESG tracking should be treated as an ongoing operational activity, not just a periodic reporting task. By embedding ESG metrics into daily workflows and maintaining high data quality alongside regulatory compliance, businesses can better navigate the evolving sustainability landscape and build stronger ties with their stakeholders.

FAQs

How can businesses ensure the accuracy and reliability of their ESG data when consolidating information from multiple sources?

To ensure ESG data remains accurate and dependable, businesses need strong data validation processes. This can include independent audits and verification by third parties. Clear data governance policies, consistent definitions, and automated quality checks are also key to maintaining data integrity.

Frequent reviews and audits play a crucial role, and using specialised ESG management platforms like neoeco can simplify the process. These platforms combine financial and sustainability data, offering real-time insights. They also help businesses stay aligned with global standards like ISSB, CSRD, and GHGP, ensuring compliance and audit readiness.

What are the advantages of using automated tools for ESG data validation compared to manual processes?

Automated tools for ESG data validation bring improved efficiency, higher accuracy, and better data integrity by reducing the likelihood of human errors. They streamline data collection, allow for real-time performance monitoring, and help organisations stay compliant with ever-changing standards - something manual processes often fail to accomplish due to their slower pace and susceptibility to mistakes.

By automating these processes, organisations can cut down on administrative tasks, minimise the risk of errors, and speed up ESG reporting. This makes automation a key component in building a dependable and audit-ready approach to sustainability management.

Why is aligning ESG reporting with global standards important, and how can companies manage compliance across multiple frameworks effectively?

Aligning ESG reporting with global standards plays a key role in fostering stakeholder confidence, promoting clarity, and demonstrating a company’s dedication to sustainable practices. It also aids in reducing risks, improving efficiency, and meeting the expectations of investors.

To navigate compliance across various frameworks, businesses should consider an integrated strategy that addresses all ESG aspects while adhering to regulatory demands. Using advanced tools, such as AI-powered platforms, can simplify this process by providing real-time insights and ensuring reports align with evolving global standards like ISSB, CSRD, and GHGP.

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