How will enterprise sustainability solutions evolve?

The leading analyst firm Gartner has recently published a report which provides useful insight into aspects of the rapidly evolving sustainable business software landscape.


The report entitled “PE INTERNATIONAL Emerges as a One‐Stop Enterprise Sustainability Vendor” identifies some key trends in Carbon‐Reporting:

• Supply chain carbon‐reporting trends and client RFPs for sustainability solutions are increasingly looking for organizational and product‐based tools for assessing sustainable performance.

• The number of respondents (U.S. manufacturing companies) required to provide both operational and embedded carbon data has more than doubled from 2008 to 2010.

“The disclosure, reporting and management of sustainability data is evolving rapidly.” writes Gartner analyst Stephen Stokes who is a research vice president in the Supply Chain Leaders group and coordinates sustainability and green technology research. “Emissions data (or embodied energy or environmental data) has potentially significant utility for product innovation and process improvement”.

The report recommends companies ensure the full spectrum of emissions and sustainability is considered when scoping products and services for sustainability. And also consider the extent to which vendors are able to provide sustainability consulting to support software tools. According to Gartner real domain expertise in sustainable production, sustainable design and sustainable business remain rare commodities in the marketplace. 

Read the full Gartner report here