ESG data collection is the process of gathering reliable environmental, social and governance information from a company’s operations, workforce, suppliers, financial systems and management records. UAE companies should begin by defining their reporting boundary and material topics, then assign an owner, methodology, reporting frequency and evidence source to every relevant metric.
Typical data includes electricity, fuel, emissions, water, waste, workforce turnover, safety, training, diversity, ethics, cybersecurity and board oversight. The objective is not to collect every available number. It is to create a controlled dataset that supports regulatory submissions, customer questionnaires, management decisions and credible ESG reporting.
An ESG report is only as reliable as the information beneath it. A polished publication cannot correct inconsistent definitions, missing invoices or unsupported calculations.
IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 organise sustainability-related financial disclosures around four areas: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. Reporting against these areas requires companies to collect both quantitative indicators and qualitative evidence explaining how sustainability matters are governed and managed.
GRI Standards take a wider impact perspective, helping organisations report their significant effects on the economy, environment and people. The selected reporting framework therefore influences which information the company must collect and how it should be presented.
For UAE-listed companies, DFM and ADX guidance also contains defined environmental, social and governance indicators. Issuers should use the current exchange guidance and reporting templates applicable to their reporting year.
| Data area | Information to track | Typical records | Likely owner |
| Energy and emissions | Electricity, district cooling, fuel, refrigerants and Scope 1–3 emissions | Utility bills, fuel cards and maintenance logs | Facilities, operations and finance |
| Water and waste | Water use, waste quantities, recycling and hazardous waste | Bills and contractor reports | Facilities and HSE |
| Workforce | Headcount, turnover, diversity, Emiratisation and training | HR system and payroll | HR |
| Health and safety | Incidents, injuries, hours worked and corrective actions | HSE registers | HSE and operations |
| Supply chain | Supplier screening, materials, outsourced transport and labour practices | ERP, supplier questionnaires and audits | Procurement |
| Ethics and compliance | Training, whistleblowing, confirmed cases and regulatory breaches | Compliance and legal registers | Compliance and legal |
| Cybersecurity | Incidents, affected records, controls and training | IT security reports | IT and risk |
| Governance | Board composition, ESG oversight, committees and approvals | Board records and minutes | Board secretariat |
| Targets | Baselines, milestones, owners and progress | Strategy and performance reports | ESG and management |
The company does not necessarily need every metric in the table. The final list should reflect applicable requirements, material topics, sector exposure and stakeholder needs.
Before collecting performance figures, define what the dataset covers. Record:
The boundary should be applied consistently across reporting periods. Where the ESG boundary differs from the consolidated financial statements, the difference should be documented and explained.
Environmental data commonly creates the largest data-collection workload because records may sit across several sites, utility providers and contractors.
Companies should consider collecting:
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard provides the widely used basis for preparing a corporate greenhouse gas inventory. It covers seven greenhouse gases and supports the measurement of direct emissions and emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat and cooling.
A company developing its carbon baseline should connect emissions data with its wider Climate Risk & Decarbonization Strategy. This helps management use the data for reduction planning rather than treating it only as a reporting requirement.
Renewable Electricity Evidence
Where a company reports certificate-backed renewable electricity, it should retain:
Social indicators should be collected from HR, payroll, HSE, procurement and customer-service systems.
Relevant information may include:
Definitions must remain consistent. For example, employee turnover can vary materially depending on whether the calculation uses average headcount, year-end headcount or another denominator.
Contractor and outsourced-worker information should also be considered where these workers are material to the company’s operations or impacts.
Governance information is not limited to the names of board members. Companies should collect evidence showing how ESG risks and commitments are controlled.
This may include:
Narrative disclosures should be supported by formal records such as committee charters, minutes, policies and approval papers.
Finance systems frequently contain the first available source of ESG data. Useful records include:
A controlled Accounting and Bookkeeping process can improve ESG data collection by keeping transaction categories consistent and allowing physical consumption records to be reconciled with invoices and ledger balances.
Financial expenditure should not automatically replace physical activity data. A higher electricity cost may result from a tariff change rather than increased consumption. Where available, the company should use kWh, litres, kilograms, tonnes and kilometres.
Every KPI should have five basic controls:
| Control | What the company should document |
| Owner | Person or function responsible for producing the data |
| Definition | Exactly what the KPI includes and excludes |
| Frequency | Monthly, quarterly, annual or event-based collection |
| Evidence | Original documents and system reports supporting the result |
| Reviewer | Person responsible for checking and approving the data |
The ESG team should coordinate the process but should not become the original owner of every number. HR should remain responsible for workforce data, facilities for utility information and compliance for ethics records.
A single consolidated total makes it difficult to identify missing locations and compare performance. Request separate data for each significant facility and legal entity.
Electricity, fuel, workforce and financial data should normally cover the same reporting year. Differences should be documented.
Keep the utility statement, system extract or contractor report behind each figure. Do not rely solely on annual totals copied into a spreadsheet.
Scope 3 and supplier data may require estimates. Record the assumption, source, methodology and intended improvement.
Invoices received after year-end may relate to the reporting period. The company needs a consistent method for assigning consumption to the correct period.
Large year-on-year movements should be investigated. The cause may be a new site, acquisition, incorrect unit, missing month or methodological change.
IFRSLAB recommends that companies begin ESG data collection with a focused readiness assessment. The purpose is to establish which information is legally required, strategically material or commercially requested before departments are asked to produce large volumes of data.
The next step is to create a controlled information architecture. IFRSLAB supports management in defining KPI methodologies, reporting boundaries, source documents, ownership and approval responsibilities. Environmental information can be connected with emissions accounting and climate planning, while workforce and governance indicators are reconciled with HR, compliance and board records.
The process should also identify where the current systems are insufficient. Some gaps may require better invoice coding, supplier questionnaires, maintenance records or site-level metering rather than expensive ESG software. Once the data structure is established, IFRSLAB can use the approved dataset to support ESG strategy, external reporting and assurance readiness.
The intended result is a repeatable reporting process in which each material figure can be traced to a source record, reviewed consistently and updated without rebuilding the entire system each year.
Discuss ESG data readiness and reporting requirements with IFRSLAB.
Zainab Ahmed
Senior ESG Data and Reporting Consultant, IFRSLAB
Zainab advises organisations on ESG data architecture, reporting controls, KPI methodologies and sustainability disclosures. Her work focuses on helping UAE businesses convert operational, workforce and governance records into reliable and decision-useful ESG information.
Start with data connected to material risks and stakeholder requirements. Common priorities include electricity, fuel, emissions, water, waste, headcount, turnover, safety, training, ethics and board oversight.
Companies should collect the current reporting period first and retrieve prior-year information where reliable comparisons are required. Several years of consistent data may be useful for trend analysis and target setting.
Yes. A controlled spreadsheet can be suitable for an initial or smaller reporting process. It should include validation, version control, defined methodologies, supporting evidence and management review.
Ownership should remain with the function producing the underlying information. Finance may own expenditure data, HR workforce indicators, facilities energy and water, and compliance ethics information. The ESG function should coordinate and review the overall process.
Not every UAE company is required to obtain assurance. Independent review may nevertheless be required by a regulator, lender, investor or reporting arrangement, and it can improve confidence in material disclosures.
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