Manufacturing industries are transitioning toward Industry 5.0 with renewed focus on human-centric, sustainable and resilient practices. At the same time, companies in Finland and Europe are seeking to improve business operations in tandem with rising customer expectations and growing regulatory requirements from the European Union, and beyond.
Sustainability is often central to corporate strategy, but can we leverage sustainability data beyond collecting and reporting? VTT’s internal research project on sustainability data examined commonly collected data sources and demonstrated that sustainability data can be used to amplify profitability and guide investment decision-making.
Sustainability data as a source
Companies subject to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are required to report in accordance with European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). These standards employ a “double materiality” perspective: companies are obliged to report on their impact both in terms of people and the environment, and on how social and environmental issues create financial risks and opportunities for the company. Data for ESRS can be collected on multiple levels, ranging from manufacturing processes, machine tools, work cells, production lines, company-wide operations and the entire supply chain.
Beyond ESRS, several other regulations may require additional data collection for various purposes. As organisations gather this data, it is essential to ensure that it is appropriately scaled and interoperable with other datasets. The question is: can this data be utilised for a wider range of business scenarios?
System dynamics modeling enhances sustainability data insights
System dynamics modelling is a technique for modelling complex systems and understanding causalities between different parameters. As ESRS and other sustainability standards gather data across diverse categories – including pollution, workforce and resource usage – we sought to explore what kinds of business scenarios would benefit from this data and what causal relationships could be established. To support this, we developed example sustainability datasets and constructed causality models.
This causal loop diagram illustrates a decarbonisation scenario which demonstrates how company image, customer satisfaction, sales and earnings can be amplified via investments into climate change action and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. CLD is the first step in system dynamics (SD) simulation model building. Comparable models can be developed for a wide range of typical business scenario evaluations.
VTT encourages companies to seize this opportunity by analysing their sustainability data for application in various business scenarios. These may include areas such as decarbonisation, investment decisions, manufacturing technology choices, and so on. Data applicability can reach many different company levels from the corporate sphere to the factory floor.
We at VTT are committed to continuing this research with the goal of developing market-ready tools.
Building on extensive research on sustainability, VTT supports companies in translating sustainability data into concrete action across their supply chains. Sustainable supply chains are not built through reporting alone, but they require data-driven decision-making, resilience to disruption, and transparency across multiple supplier tiers. Through VTT’s sustainable supply chain offerings, companies can assess how sustainability data supports strategic target-setting, identify vulnerabilities and risks in their supplier networks, and improve visibility into what truly happens across the value chain. By combining sustainability data with supply chain analysis, VTT helps organizations move from compliance-driven reporting toward resilient, transparent, sustainable and performance-oriented supply chains.
