From Reporting to Action: How Companies Are Operationalizing Sustainability

Key Points:

• At the recent Sustainability Data & Reporting Europe 2026 conference, UL Solutions led a workshop alongside other industry leaders to discuss how organizations are turning sustainability data into a business decision-making tool.
• Workshop participants emphasized that companies with integrated, high-quality sustainability data are better positioned to respond to evolving regulations, strengthen supply chain visibility and connect environmental performance to measurable business outcomes.
• Tools such as UL Solutions' ULTRUS® software portfolio can help organizations connect fragmented sustainability data, generate product-level insights and support proactive decision-making across enterprise operations.

Leading organizations today utilize sustainability data as an essential tool for making enterprise-wide strategic decisions. This was one of the key themes that emerged during the June 2 workshop "Advancing Sustainability Strategies by Overcoming Operational and Economic Challenges," presented in London as part of Reuters Events' Sustainability Data & Reporting Europe 2026 conference.

The workshop, which was chaired by Marc Hobell, director and general manager of enterprise sustainability software at UL Solutions, included Melissa Goncalves Ferreira, global head of sustainability at Experian, Lizzie Jones, group sustainability director at Savills, and J R Van Order, partner, EHS and sustainability digital services at EY.

"In 2026, among top-performing organizations, sustainability compliance is no longer a differentiator; it's an expectation," Hobell said following the conference. "What sets leading organizations apart is their ability to move from reporting to execution, and from insight to impact."

Workshop panelists pointed out the limitations of past approaches, when companies viewed ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting as a compliance exercise. Today, setting targets, publishing disclosures and demonstrating transparency through data remains essential for many organizations. However, as technology has made more data available, expectations to use that data to strengthen business resilience have increased. Leading organizations are now using reporting data as an intelligence tool to inform day-to-day business operations, not just an output.

In a 2025 ESG survey published by BNP Paribas, 84% of respondents expressed the view that "the pace of progress of sustainability is either going to continue or accelerate between now and 2030," and 85% indicated they "integrate sustainability-related criteria into their investment decisions."

Commitments to Execution

Regulatory issues are clearly a critical issue for the Reuters conference attendees. Developments such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in the European Union are drawing focus on the importance of access to reliable, auditable, actionable data. Plus, many customers expect robust sustainability credentials.

As a result, companies are increasingly treating sustainability as an operational discipline. With credible data, supply chain visibility and intentional cross-functional integration, companies can translate regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations into measurable action and business outcomes.

The workshop highlighted that sustainability is being integrated into core functions and existing workflows for procurement, supply chain, operations and financial planning, rather than a parallel reporting activity owned by one department or function.

The Operational Gap

Another theme that emerged is that many organizations today, especially those with global operational footprints, are still struggling to translate intention into action.

Data management can be a key barrier. Relevant sustainability data often is stored across fragmented systems and suppliers, limiting visibility and slowing decision-making. This challenge is particularly evident with the Scope 3 emissions attributed to an organization's value chain, where control and oversight can be limited.

In addition, sustainability processes are not always embedded into operational workflows. Without integration into supply chain, product or finance decisions, their influence remains constrained.

A Significant Shift

The workshop highlighted the fact that leading organizations are taking these strategic steps:

• Embedding sustainability metrics into core business processes
• Aligning sustainability data with financial and operational decision-making
• Treating sustainability data as a driver of efficiency and risk management

When handled this way, sustainability is no longer just a reporting output; it becomes a management discipline.

This approach is also changing how value is defined. Sustainability efforts are increasingly being used to identify inefficiencies, reduce operational risk, inform resource allocation and uncover opportunities for innovation, thereby linking environmental performance directly to business outcomes.

The Role of Data and Systems

To operationalize sustainability, organizations need access to consistent, high-quality information, particularly across products and supply chains. This is where advances in data management and artificial intelligence (AI) are beginning to reshape expectations.

Sophisticated approaches enable organizations to move beyond averages and proxies toward more granular, product-level insights. The ability to calculate product carbon footprints using supplier-specific data is one example of this shift.

Platforms such as UL Solutions' ULTRUS® software portfolio are helping organizations connect fragmented datasets and translate them into actionable intelligence, supporting a move from retrospective reporting to proactive financial planning.

A New Phase of Sustainability

Although companies are at varying stages along the journey toward operationalizing sustainability, a key trend is an ambition to embed data-driven decision-making across an organization. Businesses that have high-quality data and well-integrated systems are better positioned to respond to regulation, manage supply chain complexity and improve performance.

A key takeaway from the workshop was that for leading organizations, sustainability is no longer a parallel activity. It has become part of how businesses are run, and a defining factor in how they compete.

Information about using software to assist sustainability strategy and navigate regulatory challenges is available on the ULTRUS Enterprise Sustainabilitypage at UL.com.