Antoine Roex, OAKland Group
Environmental laws are increasingly shaping the way companies collect, organise, and utilise their data. Faced with accelerating regulatory demands around sustainability, information management systems are undergoing significant transformation, now integrating environmental dimensions that were previously overlooked.
Stricter environmental regulations around data
The emergence of regulations such as the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the EU Taxonomy is forcing companies to rethink how they collect and structure their data. These frameworks require increased transparency regarding CO₂ emissions, energy consumption, and resource management, as well as strict traceability of the associated data.
This means companies must implement robust internal processes to consolidate, verify, and make data accessible to auditors and external stakeholders.
What was once a marginal regulatory concern has become central, especially for listed companies and those with international operations. Environmental data is no longer just an administrative obligation; it has become a strategic performance indicator, one that impacts a company’s reputation and economic appeal.
Integrating environmental requirements into information systems
To meet these new demands, companies must adapt their IT systems by incorporating modules to monitor environmental indicators. This often involves adopting dedicated ESG platforms capable of automatically gathering data from various departments (operations, logistics, procurement, human resources) and turning them into actionable KPIs.
The integration of IoT sensors in production chains or energy monitoring software can automate data collection and improve measurement accuracy. At the same time, IT departments must ensure compliance with personal data protection laws, especially when combining environmental data with HR or financial information.
This creates a dual challenge: building a robust, interconnected technical architecture while maintaining strict data governance aligned with regulatory standards.
Collection, reliability, and transparency: a complex triangle to master
Ensuring the quality of collected environmental data has become a critical issue. Companies must navigate a wide range of information sources, some manual, others automated, but rarely standardised. This raises major challenges in terms of unification, normalisation, and consistency.
A single misclassification or measurement error can jeopardise an entire sustainability report. Furthermore, growing societal expectations around transparency are pushing organisations to publish verifiable and auditable information.
To achieve this, many companies are turning to internal audit systems, third-party compliance experts, or technologies like blockchain to certify data authenticity.
Today, extreme rigour is required at every stage of the data lifecycle: from collection to processing, visualisation, and publication.
A strategic opportunity for forward-thinking organisations
Although the constraints imposed by environmental legislation may seem heavy, they also represent a real opportunity for agile organisations. By properly structuring their environmental data, these companies can not only ensure compliance but also identify practical ways to reduce costs and optimise resources.
For example, better visibility into energy consumption or product lifecycle data can lead to process reengineering, the adoption of circular models, or improvements to overall carbon footprint. In the long term, this boosts both economic and environmental performance.
Moreover, ESG-focused data governance is becoming a competitive differentiator for investors, partners, and clients. It demonstrates a tangible and measurable commitment, far beyond greenwashing.
The businesses that manage to turn this constraint into a strategic asset will be those that thrive in the years to come.
Conclusion
Environmental regulations are fundamentally transforming how companies collect, process, and leverage their data. It is no longer just about compliance, it has become a powerful driver of digital and strategic transformation.
Structured, reliable, and sustainability-oriented data management is now a key factor in competitiveness. The time for reactive measures has passed, anticipation is the new standard.
Organisations that successfully integrate these environmental challenges into their information systems will have a clear edge in tomorrow’s markets.
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