Preparing for ESG Audits: Simplifying Compliance with IBM Envizi

The ESG landscape is growing more complex and more regulated. From the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), organisations are facing a maze of reporting expectations. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has implemented climate-related disclosure rules for asset managers, life insurers, and FCA-regulated pension providers, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).  

There is also increasing scrutiny from investors, auditors, and stakeholders, making ESG reporting a board-level priority for many businesses. For corporates operating internationally or managing diverse portfolios, maintaining data consistency and auditability when conducting ESG reporting across multiple jurisdictions and frameworks is imperative. 

According to PwC’s 2023 Global Investor Survey, 94% of investors believe corporate sustainability reports contain unsupported claims. Furthermore, 55% of FY2024 companies foresee hurdles in maintaining data quality and consistency, while 45% are concerned about having enough resources to meet the requirements. However, sentiment for ESG reporting is high, with 50% of companies viewing the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) as a driver of long-term strategic value. 

IBM Envizi: Built for ESG Audit Success 

IBM Envizi is purpose-built to help businesses simplify the complexity of ESG compliance and streamline audit readiness. It offers a centralised ESG data platform with robust controls, verification support, and automated reporting capabilities. The platform provides: 

  • Full Data Traceability: Envizi maintains a timestamped audit trail for every data point, ensuring complete transparency of source, collection method, and assumptions. 
  • Framework mapping: Built-in mapping to TCFD, ISSB, CSRD, GRI, and CDP ensures your ESG reporting aligns with global standards. 
  • Automated Data Capture; Integrates with existing business systems (utilities, HR, procurement, finance) to automatically ingest and standardise ESG data, reducing manual errors and increasing efficiency. 
  • Evidence-Based reporting: Enables export-ready, verifiable reports for internal review or third-party assurance, with built-in calculation logs and methodology documentation. 
  • Portfolio and Entity Level reporting: Ideal for complex operations or multiple business units, offering performance tracking across departments, assets, or regions. 

The platform reduces the manual effort needed to map and validate data across standards, allowing businesses to save considerable costs in ESG reporting fees, speeding up the audit preparation through real-time data access, and improving strategic ESG decision-making and investor confidence. 

With IBM Envizi, your business can stay ahead of audit expectations, simplify compliance, and turn ESG data into a strategic advantage. Contact us to learn more about audit-ready sustainability solutions.