Collecting sustainability data across a supply chain is too often a manual, inconsistent, and expensive process. Requests from customers and regulators are never-ending, and change often. And for the smaller companies that make up the majority of supply chains, the ones without a dedicated sustainability team and no budget for consultants, the whole exercise feels like a tax imposed from the outside rather than an exercise they can control to unlock value.
That framing is the problem. Sustainability data is operational intelligence, not a compliance artifact. When it is collected in the right manner, it tells you where risk is accumulating, where efficiency opportunities are being left on the table, and where your supply chain is exposed before that exposure becomes problematic. The organizations that treat it that way are making better decisions, and the ones still treating it as a reporting burden are falling behind.
Large companies that anchor global supply networks hold significant leverage in driving sustainability outcomes, not only through reporting on their supply chains but by actively bringing suppliers along. The value chain moves as one, and supply chain emissions aren’t solved in isolation; they’re addressed when suppliers, customers, and policymakers act with shared goals. The most durable progress happens when sustainability is built for execution, grounded in economics, and designed to last.
Across the technology industry, we’re seeing a clear shift. Sustainability is no longer viewed solely as a reporting exercise; suppliers increasingly want practical tools that help them understand risk, identify efficiency opportunities, and respond to customer and regulatory expectations with confidence.
“Data is valuable when it drives action. By reducing the time spent collecting, reconciling, and translating information, organizations can focus on generating insights and accelerating outcomes. As AI transforms how data is analyzed and applied, the opportunity is to move faster from information to informed decision-making. Solutions like Novata help streamline that process, enabling teams to spend less time managing data and more time delivering measurable business and sustainability impact.”
— Leo Aspauza, Senior Director, Cloud Supply Chain Sustainability, Microsoft
The infrastructure to support this is being built by technology providers, industry coalitions, and the companies with enough scale to set standards. Consistency across frameworks has improved meaningfully in the last five years. AI is compressing what used to take weeks into minutes, and the business case is getting harder to ignore.
These improvements are exactly what Novata and Microsoft’s collaboration has been focusing on over the past year, as we launched a new supply chain solution that streamlines Microsoft’s supplier data collection and supports more consistent, auditable reporting processes. That solution is now available across the value chain, from investors and companies collecting supplier data to those looking to report it to partners and stakeholders.
We have made strong progress but the work is far from done. We know that the direction is right, the pace is accelerating, and the companies with the most influence aren’t waiting for the perfect framework. They’re building toward shared infrastructure and bringing the rest of the value chain with them. And in turn, they are improving risk management and unlocking value, for both themselves and their supply chain partners.
