Ökologische Kennzahlen im ESG-Reporting: Messmethoden und Datenquellen in der Industrie

Abstract

In recent years, the European Union has introduced various frameworks intended to increasing transparency and set clearer guidelines for sustainability reporting. The implementation of these legal requirements causes significant challenges for many companies. The greatest difficulty arises from measuring the numerous quantitative data points (key figures) and collecting the necessary data for these figures. Many companies do not yet have the required data available in their systems or generally do not have it at all. The aim of this thesis is therefore to identify essential ecological key figures for industrial companies. Furthermore, it seeks to determine how the key figures required by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards in the environmental area (ESRS E1 to E5) can be measured and where companies obtain the necessary data. Additionally, practical challenges and possible solutions will be outlined. To address these research areas, a literature review was conducted first. Initial information was gathered in this process. The topic of sustainability reporting is still in its early stages. Hence, there is currently limited literature available in recognized journals. Therefore, experts from Austrian industrial companies were interviewed on these topics. This also helped to establish a practical connection. The results of the thesis show that there are indeed many challenges related to measurement methods and data sources for determining ecological key figures in sustainability reporting. In some areas, the collection of key figures already works well. This includes key performance indicators that are also used internally to manage sustainability strategies. For example, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and metrics related to the circular economy. Calculating key figures in newer subject areas, such as biodiversity or microplastics, is more challenging. Moreover, data collection for Scope 3 emissions is demanding. Measurement methods and data sources vary depending on the key figure. Typical measurement methods include direct measurements (energy or water), calculations (GHG emissions Scope 1 and 2), or estimates (Scope 3 emissions or product lifetime). The most important data sources include ERP systems, measuring devices, invoices, product descriptions, disposal certificates, as well as external databases for country-average values of energy sources, emission factors, climate scenarios or biodiversity risks. Although many challenges have already been solved, companies still recognize potentials for improvement in various areas of sustainability reporting, especially in data management and IT systems.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christoph Eisl (Supervisor)