MatchZINE – The MarTech Magazine
ho Cares Wins' is the title of a UN report from 2004, in which ESG was first mentioned: Those who care, win. But what exactly do they win? And most importantly: What does it mean for companies to care? One thing is clear: Sustainability is, from now on at the very least, an important part of both corporate management and communication. We explain to you what exactly is meant by ESG and how ESG platforms can support you in implementing the respective frameworks and integrating these into your sustainability management.
You are already one step ahead in the topic of sustainability and would like to directly compare the providers for ESG software? Click here to go to the software matching for ESG.
The acronym ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance. These are sustainability-related areas of responsibility that companies above a certain size must comply with. They include aspects such as reducing CO2 emissions, using resources sparingly, ensuring diversity in the company and respecting human rights along the entire value chain.
The European Union has recently extended the ESG reporting obligation so that it now affects all companies listed on an EU-regulated market. Only micro-enterprises are exempt. ESG regulations comprise various laws and directives, including for example the Supply Chain Act (LksG) or the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
Social justice and environmental protection are playing an increasingly important role for companies, because future consumers in particular expect more than greenwashing. The Fridays for the Future generation wants concrete results, but for many companies, these are not something that can be achieved in the blink of an eye.
The focus on ESG helps companies to implement their sustainability and social goals without losing sight of their economic interests. Another focus of ESG is to include all stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders. All in all, this is definitely a sensible structural guideline and template.
For companies, ESG is therefore essential in order to not only approach sustainability superficially, but to find a holistic and economic approach. After all, the future of the market is green and social, and companies that are already successfully managing sustainability give themselves a clear competitive advantage. So here it is almost 20 years later: Who cares really does win!
So much for the background and it already becomes clear here that the initial assumption of the management: “Sustainability does marketing on the side” is simply illusory and wrong.
Numerous companies are already required to implement ESG standards, and the trend is increasing. For many companies, this presents an enormous administrative challenge. This is where ESG platforms, software and tools come into play! They help companies meet their obligations and goals related to sustainability, ethical business practices, and social justice by providing data companies need to comply with all mandates.
ESG software features vary depending on the tool, but basic features include the following:
Data collection and analysis, and centralization
ESG software collects data on environmental, social, and governance performance and automatically analyzes it to identify areas for improvement.
Training and education
Software is an important resource, especially at launch, for the ESG team to address new issues in a structured way. Many platforms offer intelligent help assistants so that know-how is passed on to the user when using the tools.
ESG reporting
The ESG platform creates reports on the company’s ESG performance that can be used for documenting compliance, stakeholder engagement, and internal decision making.
Risk evaluation
ESG software can help companies identify and manage potential risks. These include supply chain vulnerabilities and climate or social risks.
Target tracking
To guarantee the implementation of ESG targets, they can be defined and tracked in the ESG platform. Real-time results provide transparent and unbiased insight into a company’s ESG status quo.
Involvement of all stakeholders
ESG software enables companies to engage with stakeholders such as investors, customers and their workforce on ESG issues and create transparency on the implementation of ESG measures.
There are several disciplines that you will need to address (in the future). In general, ESG platforms or separate tools are divided into the following four areas of application and with offerings on the market:
CO2 emissions / decarbonization
Supply chain management
ESG Reporting
EU Taxonomy
Furthermore, there is a distinction in the wording (at least for us): ESG platforms are primarily designed for corporations with high data volumes, many locations and an international infrastructure due to their enterprise functions (and prices). Medium-sized companies usually use ESG software that has strong USPs in their area and corresponds with other systems via interfaces.
In general, it is not mandatory for companies to use ESG software. However, it offers valuable support in the implementation of ESG goals – and thus saves time and financial resources.
Especially if you are starting out in the sustainability sector, you should definitely save yourself the trouble of using Excel to get started!
ESG platforms as a complete solution for all areas of sustainability and for large medium-sized companies and corporations are to be anchored in the high five-figure or six-figure range due to the numerous functions and interfaces.
For individual ESG solutions, we are happy to give you a first benchmark: Assuming that you have about 250-500 employees and generate 100-500 million € in sales, you should calculate an annual budget of 15-30k € for the CSRD reporting modules. If the supply chain is relevant, you should multiply this amount by 2. It is also recommended to set a one-time special budget (approx. 30% of the annual software costs) for external consulting at the beginning.
Have you already set a budget and would like to use it to find out which providers come into question? Please enter the number of employees, your locations, your turnover (if public) as well as your budget in our ESG-Match-Assistant below. These are the most important parameters for the price calculations for the software providers.
With ESG software, companies track their own and the legally binding sustainability requirements. However, the implementation of ESG targets is only truly effective and adds value if it is approached with conviction and implemented in the corporate strategy in the long term. It is therefore up to managers to align corporate values with ESG requirements in order to reap lasting benefits and fulfill their responsibility to our planet. An ESG platform (or software) is a useful first step to keep track of the thicket of environmental, social and governance issues and to build a sustainable structure for it.
Compare ESG software – the vendor matching processLooking for an ESG platform or ESG software for your company? Due to the new mandatory challenges, the market of software providers in all areas of sustainability management has exploded in recent months. Start-ups with various ESG features, the large enterprise suites or even software providers previously unfamiliar with the industry are developing corresponding ESG modules. According to our research, there are 120 software providers in the sustainability sector in Europe alone – quite confusing, as you might have experienced during your own research!?
The Matchilla team continuously screens ESG software providers in this dynamic market. As of June 2023, our database contains more than 50 providers – with hard and soft factors such as features, interfaces, support scope, industry expertise, pricing, reporting standards, etc.
You can now benefit from this market overview and our expertise from over 50 CSR and ESG provider matchings (for mainly medium-sized companies and corporations). We are happy to help you from the ESG criteria catalog to the final provider selection.
On our matching platform, we will identify three relevant providers of an ESG solution that fit your company. With an investment of only a few minutes in the information of your individual criteria, we assign you the matching matches / ESG software providers. Best of all, this comparison of ESG providers is free and without obligation for you.
Do you want to know which ESG solution fits your requirements? Simply fill out the following match assistant. 
Ulrich Theves is Head of ESG and CSR Matching at Matchilla and works intensively around technical solutions (i.e. software and tools) in the field of sustainability. He has one of the best overviews of the market and shares his expertise in MatchZINE.
Match me if you can!