Why trusted sustainability data matters

Businesses, governments, and investors are under increasing pressure to show how their activities affect the environment. Transparent reporting of carbon emissions and other sustainability measures is vital if we are to meet global climate targets and build trust with the public. Yet current reporting practices fall short. Many companies rely on incomplete or estimated data, which can undermine credibility, enable greenwashing, and make it harder for stakeholders to act on reliable evidence.

The Oxford Commission on Sustainability Data was established to tackle this challenge. It brings together researchers, policymakers, and business leaders to find practical ways of ensuring sustainability data is accurate, verifiable, and trusted.

The problem with current sustainability reporting

Unlike financial reporting, which has evolved over more than a century, sustainability reporting is relatively new. Standards and regulations vary widely, data is fragmented across multiple systems, and much of it remains inaccessible or unverifiable.

Key challenges include:

• Data quality and reliability – companies may underreport emissions or present selective data to appear more sustainable than they are.
• Lack of standardisation – with multiple frameworks in use, data is difficult to compare across sectors and countries.
• Costs and accessibility – collecting and managing environmental data can be expensive, and only a small proportion is publicly available.
• Supply chain blind spots – most emissions lie in supply chains, where data is often missing or withheld.

These weaknesses not only obscure the true environmental impact of businesses but also erode trust among consumers and investors, leaving markets vulnerable to greenwashing.

A new approach: transactional data

The Commission proposes a breakthrough solution – harnessing transactional data. This is the data generated automatically by the everyday operations of companies: the energy consumed, raw materials purchased, goods transported, and products sold.

By capturing emissions data directly from these operational systems, sustainability reporting could move away from estimates and proxies towards real, verifiable information. This approach has several advantages:

• Accuracy – data is drawn from the actual processes that create emissions.
• Reliability – records can be encrypted, preventing tampering or falsification.
• Scalability – software systems already track much of this information, so only modest revisions are needed.
• Supply chain integration – data can flow downstream and upstream, making hidden impacts visible.

In practice, businesses would retain confidentiality over sensitive operational data, while regulators, investors, and consumers gain confidence in trusted, standardised sustainability metrics.

Benefits for stakeholders

The shift to transactional data has wide-reaching implications:

• Businesses would produce credible, auditable sustainability reports, reducing reputational risk and helping them identify efficiencies.
• Investors and consumers could base decisions on reliable information, rewarding genuinely sustainable organisations.
• Regulators could mandate or encourage the use of verifiable data, closing the door on fraudulent reporting.
• Software companies would play a crucial role in embedding these systems, helping set the standard for a new era of sustainability accounting.

Building on global initiatives

The Commission’s work complements international frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the recommendations of Oxford Net Zero and the Oxford Martin Principles for Climate-Conscious Investment. It builds on initiatives, such as Google’s Data Commons project, which is revolutionising data access and analysis. It also aligns with the E-ledgers Institute, which is developing methods for real-time, auditable carbon accounting across supply chains.

Together, these efforts strengthen the global movement towards transparency, accountability, and collaboration in tackling climate change.

Towards trusted sustainability data

The Commission’s vision is simple but transformative: move beyond estimates and averages, and instead report on actual emissions data derived from company operations. Just as financial markets would never accept revenue figures based on industry averages, sustainability reporting must be based on verifiable facts.

By advancing this approach, the Oxford Commission on Sustainability Data aims to restore confidence in sustainability reporting, empower stakeholders to make informed choices, and accelerate the transition to a sustainable global economy.