How to Mobilize Healthcare ESG Reporting and Enhance Business Value with Intelligent Data Management

In healthcare and life sciences, a profound shift is underway. This shift encompasses not only the drive for sustainable practices but also the imperative of impeccable environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, which hinges on having clear, accurate and accessible data. Regulatory demands are tightening, societal expectations are evolving, and organizations are finding themselves at the intersection of sustainable transformation and stringent compliance. The question isn't just about sustainability anymore — it is about how well data management can rise to meet these twin challenges.

With the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s proposed January 2024 deadline, public companies must disclose ESG performance using the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework.¹ In Europe, stringent directives like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will come into effect in January 2024, are shaping the future of ESG reporting.² These directives emphasize the pressing and strategic need for robust data management solutions to enable accessible, fit-for-use data to satisfy regulatory demands.

Now, envision an ESG data hub – a digital nucleus where diverse streams of ESG data converge, regardless of their origins or formats. The ESG hub doesn't merely collect data — it refines, organizes and fortifies it for analytical insights and reliable reporting measures. It's the fulcrum for steering sustainability strategies with precision, including:

• Regulatory compliance, with data discovery and tagging to find, flag and manage sensitive data
• Scope 3 ESG due diligence, with data ingestion and integration from third-party ESG rating agencies to capture ESG risks in the supply chain
• ESG integration, by democratizing clean, trusted ESG data through a self-service data marketplace and integrating it into business decision making to decarbonize the target operating model as well as enable responsible sourcing
• ESG impact measurement, with features that let you discover, tag, and manage reference data so you can align with key imperatives (such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals³) and mitigate the risk of greenwashing
• Net-zero carbon emissions, by creating clean, trusted, governed, auditable and verifiable ESG data and measuring progress toward net-zero carbon emissions

But this progressive solution should be more than a response to regulatory mandates and sustainability practices. An ESG data hub must also bring about trust and prove to stakeholders that your commitment to ESG reporting is grounded in transparency and accuracy. By tapping into a centralized ESG data repository, the C-suite, including CFOs, CSOs and more, should be able to instill confidence in investors, consumers and regulators alike.

And the ESG data hub cannot be merely an instrument of compliance. Its impact should be multi-dimensional. The hub should not only address concerns like supplier sustainability, but should also bring into account health equity and increased value to healthcare and life sciences’ objectives of improving patient care and discovering safer, more effective drug treatments. The results of a recent Deloitte survey of 100 healthcare and life sciences leaders make it clear that sustainability initiatives and business objectives like attracting talent go hand in hand.⁴

Delving into these facets, an ESG data hub can provide insights that refine operations and bolster intrinsic value. This hub should not just be about meeting rules — it must also be capable of harnessing data to elevate business excellence.

In the sustainability arena, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) materiality framework serves as a guide for industries to report on ESG-related materiality factors.⁵ These industry-specific materiality factors include a variety of business areas, including customer welfare, employee health, safety and diversity, business ethics and product quality, among many others. By aligning an ESG data hub and its potential reporting capabilities within these structured frameworks, healthcare and life sciences organizations can zero in on not only addressing the most crucial ESG issues specific to their industries but also bringing value to the organization.

At the forefront of this accelerating journey stands the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud™ (IDMC). As the backbone of an ESG data hub, this comprehensive, AI-powered data management solution can help orchestrate the convergence of disparate ESG data sources. It can help to ensure coherence and accuracy in data for ESG reporting and assess progress toward sustainability goals. More than a tool, IDMC can act as the strategic counterpart in delivering transparent ESG reporting and aligning sustainability ambitions with tangible results.

Increasing demand for sustainability and transparency makes data management essential in healthcare and life sciences. Explore the Informatica solution for excellence in sustainability practices and ESG reporting. Download our paper, “How Healthcare and Life Sciences Can Prioritize Sustainability with Data Management” or visit www.informatica.com/esg-sustainability.

¹https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/proposed/2022/ia-6034.pdf
²https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en
³https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2023/
⁴https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/audit/articles/esg-survey/life-sciences-healthcare-companies-sustainability-reporting.html
⁵https://sasb.org/standards/materiality-map/