As ESG moves from voluntary to regulated, data governance is no longer optional.
In Australia, the incoming ASRS framework will require limited assurance from day one, with a pathway to reasonable assurance by year three. That means sustainability data needs to meet the same expectations of reliability, traceability, and control that financial data has long been held to. Anyone who has started the ESG journey will appreciate how much work everyone's data needs. No one starts with data where they want it to be. Data Gaps, Data quality, and misalignment between silos are only some of the challenges our customers face when implementing ESG solutions like Envizi.
IBM Envizi's latest product roadmap shows strong progress toward this goal. Here's a breakdown of the key enhancements:
Account-Level approvals for emissions data
For large, decentralised organisations, multiple teams often input and manage emissions data. The new account-level approval workflow allows organisations to:
- Assign reviewers and approvers to specific emissions accounts or entities
- Prevent unauthorised changes once data is locked
- Create a clear chain of accountability across business units
This aligns well with audit requirements and internal controls frameworks.
Emissions factor governance
Custom emissions factors are powerful — but risky without control. Envizi will now support:
- Locking default emissions factors from being edited
- Clear tracking of factor source and methodology
- Controlled override workflows with explanation fields
This ensures data consistency and confidence when third parties review calculations.
Enhanced audit trails
All changes to key emissions data will be logged, timestamped, and attributed to a user. This means auditors can:
- Reconstruct what was changed, when, and by whom
- Differentiate between data entry errors and approved corrections
- Quickly trace anomalies back to their source
This is a foundational control feature that supports both internal reviews and external assurance engagements.
Certified report exports
Envizi is working toward providing "certified" report outputs — exports that include metadata, calculation assumptions, and embedded source references. This will be especially valuable when working with external auditors or submitting disclosures to regulators.
Why this matters
These enhancements may not grab headlines like AI or carbon forecasting — but they’re essential. They show that Envizi isn’t just focused on insight and automation (but it does that too), it sets up the framework for the next level of rigour required for audit-ready ESG disclosures. For which Envizi is already a strong leader in this area.
If you’re preparing for ASRS or aligning to frameworks like CSRD or IFRS S2, governance features like these help:
- Build trust
- Simplify assurance
- Reduce risk
And most importantly, they give you confidence that your ESG disclosures can stand up to scrutiny. How does your data capture, quality, and assurances align with where you need to be?
Michael Kasteel
Director - ESG & Industry Solutions