New York, NY; November 21, 2022 – The Digitalization of Sustainability Data Lab (DSD Lab), a collaboration of international standard-setters and data management experts focused on sustainability, has launched its Accelerator Program at COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The DSD Lab founders include Capitals Coalition, EDM Council and XBRL International. The DSD Lab is aimed at facilitating the exchange of data needed for statutory reporting across industries worldwide. The goal is to make the resulting information more trusted, actionable and discoverable, in support of better sustainability decisions that lead to more positive outcomes for people, the planet and the global economy.
The objectives of the DSD Lab Accelerator Program are to:
- Spearhead the development of a Smart Shared Dictionary to include all ESG (environmental, social and governance) topics to drive the consistency, comparability and quality of sustainability data inside enterprises and across supply chains
- Accelerate the alignment of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) sustainability taxonomies through collaboration among relevant standard-setters and regulators
- Develop and implement a verification and certification program to help ensure that software and services can seamlessly move data between systems
- Introduce a global registry for identification of all entity reporting (statutory and non-statutory) to vastly improve data discoverability
- Launch the development of an emerging economy digital sustainability reporting playbook to help accelerate regulatory digital transformation
While the call for climate-related data continues to grow, it lacks uniformity to be useful. “There is both a growing appetite and need for better sustainability data, but one of the biggest challenges we’re facing globally is the fragmented state of corporate data,” said David Wray, co-founder of the DSD Lab. “Many of the costs that firms are facing are due to the disparities in the measurement of sustainability criteria and the lack of a common framework to connect and compare the data across systems. The DSD Lab will address this over the next two years and help firms reduce costs of complying with mandatory disclosures.”
The co-founders of DSD Lab spoke on November 10 at COP27 on a series of panels titled “The path to global digital sustainability disclosure.” These panelists included:
- Liv Watson, Senior Advisor, Capitals Coalition
- David Wray, President of DFCG International Group
- John Bottega, President of EDM Council
- John Turner, CEO of XBRL International
About the Digitalization of Sustainability Data (DSD) Lab
The DSD Lab Accelerator Program is an open collaboration among international consortia, technology standard-setters and other influencers committed to greater access and discovery of decision-useful sustainability information that also significantly lowers data management costs. The DSD Lab designs approaches to digital sustainability disclosures that promote trusted and actionable data that is machine-readable.
For more, visit www.dsdlab.org
About Capitals Coalition
Capitals Coalition is a global collaboration redefining value to transform decision making. It sits at the heart of an extensive global network which has united to advance the capitals approach to decision-making. The ambition of the Coalition is that by 2030 the majority of businesses, financial institutions and governments will include the value of natural capital, social capital and human capital in their decision-making and that this will deliver a fairer, just and more sustainable world. The Coalition has published two international protocols – the Natural Capital Protocol and the Social & Human Capital Protocols – that provide a standardized framework for businesses to identify, measure and value direct and indirect impacts and dependencies on stocks of natural, social and human capital.
For more, visit https://capitalscoalition.org/project/digitalizing-sustainability-data/
About EDM Council
The EDM Council is the global association created to elevate the practice of data management and analytics as a business and operational priority. The Council is the leading global advocate for the development and implementation of data standards, best practices, and comprehensive training and certification programs. With more than 350 member organizations globally from the Americas, EMEA, and Asia, and more than 25,000 data management professionals as members, EDM Council provides a venue for data professionals to interact, communicate, and collaborate on the challenges and advances in data management and analytics as critical organizational functions. For more, visit https://edmcouncil.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About XBRL International
XBRL International is a global, not-for-profit consortium working through the XBRL Standard to improve business reporting for the public good. We are a member-supported organization, with dedicated volunteers from all over the world offering their time and expertise to develop specifications to support the collection, sharing and use of structured data for data reporting and analysis.
For more, visit https://www.xbrl.org/
Media Contact:
Greg Tarmin
+1 917.868.7791greg@paragonpr.com