Environmental impact spans the full life cycle of a product or service, from suppliers, assets, travel, raw material extraction, and production, through to consumer usage, disposal, and recycling. Measuring that impact across complex global value chains starts with visibility of what ‘environmental’ actually covers and where those impacts sit along the chain.
To do this, organisations must bring together qualitative and quantitative data from the various categories, including primary data from supplier tiers, using traceability standards and lifecycle analysis approaches. By standardising this information into consistent frameworks and technology-enabled solutions, companies can establish a baseline, identify the areas driving the greatest impact and track progress over time.
Supplier and stakeholder engagement is also essential, as much of a business’ environmental impact sits outside its direct control. By working with suppliers, third-party verifiers, and others across the value chain to improve data quality and assess factors such as carbon intensity, resource consumption, and software efficiency, organisations can build a clearer picture of their overall footprint.
It’s important to remember that the data may not be perfect from day one. However, organisations that commit to using and improving it will be better positioned to reduce environmental impact across the value chain.
Mattie Yeta
Chief Sustainability Officer, CGI UK
About Mattie Yeta
Mattie Yeta is Chief Sustainability Officer for CGI UK and a member of its UK Executive. An award-winning sustainability leader, PhD researcher, and Oxford Climate Change Programme tutor, Yeta has led major public-private initiatives with the UK government, UN partners, and industry.
About CGI
CGI is one of the largest IT and business consulting services firms in the world. They’re insights-driven and outcome-based to help accelerate returns on IT and business investments. Combining human ingenuity with the power of technology, CGI helps clients accelerate return on investment (ROI)-led digital transformation.
The Question is a thought leadership series published on Sustainability Outlook, created to explore the questions shaping climate action, environmental responsibility, decarbonisation, and sustainable business transformation.
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