Data collection · versions · audit trail
Sustainability data management software: every value with its owner and evidence
Sustainability data management software is the layer under every report: it collects values from their owners and keeps the trail behind each one.
Most reporting errors start here, with a missing period, a wrong boundary or an out-of-date factor.
For the outputs, see ESG disclosure software and ESG reporting software.
The data record
What should each value in sustainability data software carry?
Every value should carry the same six fields, whatever the framework.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Owner | Someone has to answer the assurance provider’s question about it |
| Period | UK reports close on the conversion factors for that reporting year |
| Boundary and entity | UK SRS S1 ties disclosures to the same reporting entity as the financial statements (UK SRS S1) |
| Method | Measured, calculated or estimated, and how |
| Factor and version | For UK reporting, the named DESNZ factor set (DESNZ 2026) |
| Evidence | The invoice, meter read or supplier response behind it |
ESG data collection software
How should ESG data collection software gather the data?
Good collection tools combine three routes: connectors to systems of record, structured questionnaires for people, and uploads with evidence attached.
For carbon, the main sources are energy and fuel invoices, meter reads, travel records and purchasing data.
For SECR, the data has to cover UK energy use in kWh as well as emissions (SI 2008/410 Sch 7 Part 7A).
Ask how each route flags a missing or late value, rather than silently filling it; see emissions tracking software.
Carbon data management software
What is different about carbon data management?
UK SRS S2 asks for gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions measured under the 2004 GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, with location-based Scope 2 (UK SRS S2 ¶29(a)).
Carbon data therefore needs the activity data, the factor applied and the calculation, kept separately so a factor change can be re-run without retyping.
See carbon accounting software and Scope 3 emissions software.
Audit-ready data
What does audit-ready ESG data mean?
No UK entity is required to obtain sustainability assurance, and ISSA (UK) 5000 was issued for voluntary use (FRC).
Where a company does obtain assurance, the provider will sample figures and ask for the trail from report back to source.
Audit-ready means that trail exists for every reported figure, not that anyone has checked it.
The demonstration
What should you test before buying?
Ask the vendor to load one month of your real data and trace one figure end to end.
Software demo · evidence check
Sustainability data demo coverage
Tick a test only when the vendor has demonstrated it with a representative record and shown the evidence or export.
0 of 5 tests demonstrated (0%). This is a checklist result, not a score for the vendor.
Still to test: Show the owner, period, boundary and method on a single value; Apply the DESNZ factor set for the right year and re-run it after a change; Flag a missing value instead of estimating it silently; Attach and retrieve the evidence behind a figure; Export the raw data, factors and calculations in an open format.
Frequently asked
Sustainability data software, answered
What is sustainability data management software?
Software that collects sustainability data from its owners, records the period, boundary and method for each value, applies versioned factors and keeps the trail from source to report.
What is ESG data collection software?
The collection layer of the same job: questionnaires, uploads, connectors to meters, invoices and HR systems, and reminders to data owners.
It is only useful if every value keeps its owner, period and evidence.
Why does the reporting entity matter for sustainability data?
UK SRS S1 ties sustainability disclosures to the same reporting entity as the financial statements, so the data model must match the consolidated group.
Do I need sustainability data software for assurance?
Assurance is not mandatory in the UK, but where a company obtains it the assurance provider will ask for the trail from source to figure.
Software that keeps that trail makes the engagement cheaper.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- DBTUK SRS S1 General Requirements
- DBTUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
- FCAPS26/19
- DESNZGreenhouse gas conversion factors 2026
- DESNZGovernment conversion factors collection
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Standard
- GHG ProtocolScope 3 Standard
- GHG ProtocolScope 2 Guidance
- LegislationSI 2008/410 Schedule 7 Part 7A (SECR)
- FRCISSA (UK) 5000
- ISOISO 14064-1:2018
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy