(Credit: Salesforce)Salesforce has revealed its new Net Zero Cloud technologies, with AI capabilities that will make ESG reporting more efficient for companies.
Many companies have begun to value their ESG goals more as they become more important to investors and governments have implemented more reporting standards. Many U.S. companies will be required to comply with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive beginning in 2024. The regulations require disclosure of information such as climate-related financial risks, societal impact, and Scope 3 emissions reporting.
Salesforce introduced three major new capabilities for the Net Zero Cloud, which are all intended to save companies time on ESG data collection and disclosure.
The new Einstein technology uses AI in order to suggest responses for prompts given by specific regulatory framework criteria. The system may access a company’s previous ESG data from uploaded documents and other Net Zero Cloud data, and then can automatically populate responses for a report’s written questions.
The CSRD Report Builder will build on Salesforce’s already available Net Zero Cloud report builders, such as GRI and CDP.
The new builder allows companies to automate reporting to align with CSRD requirements, such as double materiality. The CSRD includes disclosure of Scope 3 emissions, those that occur outside of a company’s value chain and are more difficult to track. This feature should allow for a smoother emissions-tracking process.
With improved materiality assessment tools, ESG managers will be able to more easily identify areas that are most relevant to a given business. Stakeholder input may be used to rank topic importance and calculate scores, then the information may be visualized in a matrix.
Overall, the three new tools should make the constantly changing nature of ESG easier to navigate, allowing for accurate, transparent climate-based reporting.
“Meaningful corporate transparency benefits us all, yet businesses can find themselves lost in the complex landscape of regulatory frameworks,” said Ari Alexander, vice president and general manager of Net Zero Cloud at Salesforce. “Equipped with Einstein, Net Zero Cloud will help simplify the process of reporting ESG data, offering a valuable solution that any company can leverage toward achieving net zero.”
The Einstein technology is expected to be available in the spring of 2024, and CRSD Report Builder and the materiality assessment tool should be available starting in October of this year.
