Future-proofing your business: a New Year’s priority

Navigate 2024 and beyond by future-proofing your business with data-driven strategies, aligning with new regulatory demands like the CSRD, and integrating Business Intelligence into ESG management.

As 2023 fades into our collective rear view, I firmly believe that wherever we look in 2024 and beyond, the power of data will be the magic ingredient which permits us to move on towards net zero.

Amid a climate crisis which affects every single one of us, company bosses must now align with new regulatory and societal demands, not least by adopting new practices in order to assure their own long-term viability - and become what we at Sweep call “Forever Companies”. 

Non-financial reporting requirements take a major step up

Life moves fast, but regulatory change moves faster. Businesses had a leisurely 20 to 30 years to bring technology into their financial reporting practices. But now, for non-financial reporting, the timelines are far less generous, with just 2 to 3 years available for corporations to get their non-financial houses in order. 

Aligning to the new reporting requirements is no longer merely optional. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, or CSRD, and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), mean that sustainable practices are now high on the list of strategic business priorities.

Compliance assures the future of your business. Non-compliance exposes you to both financial sanctions which will only increase over time, and to ever-more restricted access to commercial opportunities. 

In December 2023 my home country of France was one of the first EU member states to incorporate the new CSRD into national law, via its “Green Industry” law, which rewrites the rules of public procurement. This includes requiring bidders to report their carbon footprint. At the same time, societal pressure and the likely reputational costs of inaction are a growing risk to long-term business viability. 

Business Intelligence as the key to sustainable success

Faced with these new realities, it’s becoming increasingly urgent to bring Business Intelligence practices into ESG management. Matching up climate and commercial targets calls for strong data management, and a good dose of pragmatism. Empowering yourself and your business to take strategic decisions by basing those decisions on a granular and transparent database, is key. Doing so will improve performance and increase resilience as we collectively transition into a low-carbon economy.

An Executive Committee overhaul

In 2024, leadership teams will find the transition to a better carbon and ESG performance will fall increasingly more under their own direct mandate, and that of their executive committee. It’s likely we will see ever more climate action incentives in the same vein as the ESG BSPCE - a category of French securities which is ESG-performance-based.

Increasing diversity among boards of directors will be vital. As PwC reminds us in their annual Corporate Directors’ Survey, female leaders in the US are much more likely to concern themselves with the impacts of climate change than their male counterparts, by 87% to 67%.

Gender equality and corporate sustainability go hand in hand, and their development should mirror each other in years to come.

How Sweep can help

Sweep enables you to take the lead on your decarbonization strategy, and support the transition to a net zero economy.

Using our platform you can easily set targets at different levels across your value chain. The network approach is key to collaborative reduction.

Contact our teams to find out more and book a free demo.