ESG Data Management Seeks to Improve Business Strategy

Sofia Alarcón Diaz, head of Sustainability Consulting for the Americas at SE Advisory Services, part of Schneider Electric’s global consulting division, has noted that sustainability data is beginning to play a more direct role in the company’s financial and operational decisions, which poses a challenge when it comes to organizing the information and translating it into terms that can be used across different areas of the business.

In her view, Mexican companies have reached different levels of maturity: while some already collect large volumes of information, others are just beginning to build measurement systems. “Data is an essential part of their operations and decision-making,” Alarcón emphasized.

He explained that the work shouldn't stop at simply collecting them; it also requires managing them so that they can support decisions made by departments such as finance, purchasing, procurement, sales, and the boards of directors.

One of the primary obstacles is the fragmentation of information. Data is generated in different departments and expressed in units that do not always correspond, making it difficult to consolidate and compare them. For Alarcón, the availability and standardization of data remain among the most critical challenges, along with the ability to communicate their implications to management.

“We need to translate this environmental information into financial information,” he confirmed. This connection is essential because investment decisions typically take into account long-term returns, costs, and risks.