COP30 Take-Home: Trusted Data Systems Will Power Compliance, Competitiveness, and Climate Markets

By Catherine Atkin and Liv Watson

After spending time at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, for this year’s United Nations climate conference, one message stood out from the noise in the programming we attended: the current focus in the sustainability field on reporting is limiting action, and what we really need are trusted digital data systems that can unlock compliance, competitiveness, and participation in the fast-growing climate economy. Across the pavilions participants underscored that closing critical data gaps will help effectively manage risk, support new and emerging markets, and unlock climate finance. Investor-grade sustainability data is now essential for organizations operating in an increasingly transparent, climate-conscious world.

But what does it take to make this vision a reality? Three takeaways from Belém should inform the future sustainability data agenda: modernize and unify data systems, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) data capabilities, and shift toward sustainability reporting as a foundation for emerging markets and climate finance.

1. Build Unified, Investor-Grade Data Systems

Fragmented sustainability reporting practices no longer keep pace with what markets and financial institutions now expect. Investors, lenders, and rating agencies are rapidly reshaping their decision-making around high-quality sustainability data, treating it as a core indicator of risk and long-term performance. This shift is transforming reliable, assurance-ready data systems from a “nice to have” into a strategic advantage.

Platforms like Workiva’s are meeting this need by connecting sustainability, carbon, and financial data in one place, enabling real-time transparency, audit readiness, and AI-supported reporting at scale. Companies embracing these integrated systems are positioning themselves at the forefront of a marketplace where sustainability and business performance are now deeply intertwined.

2. Close the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) Data Gap

The imperative to ensure  the transition to sustainable, low-carbon economies is done  in a way that's fair and inclusive, ensuring workers, communities, and vulnerable populations aren't left behind was a key theme at COP30. We participated in a panel hosted by the UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub focused on how to close the data and financing gap that currently excludes SMEs from green finance, carbon markets, and global supply chains. 

These businesses and organizations - the backbone of economies across the globe - want to participate in green finance and carbon markets, yet they lack the digital tools and automated data systems needed to produce the verifiable, machine-readable information that lenders, buyers, and regulators now expect. This gap doesn’t just hold SMEs back, it undermines the ability of large companies to meet supply chain reporting requirements.

During the discussion, Andromeda Wood, Vice President for Regulatory Strategy at Workiva, Inc., shared that without trustworthy SME data, neither credible corporate reporting nor meaningful decarbonization can scale. Her insight captured a sense of urgency felt throughout COP30, in that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks quickly become business risks when the data foundation is weak.

3. Transform Reporting into Market-Enabling Infrastructure

COP30 revealed how rapidly sustainability reporting is evolving into market infrastructure. Reliable, interoperable data is now the backbone of climate finance, Article 6 transactions, supply-chain partnerships, and national investment strategies. Financial institutions are demanding assurance-ready information to assess risk and allocate capital, accelerating the push toward systems capable of delivering consistency and trust at scale.

Solutions like Workiva’s platform are supporting this shift by enabling the gathering anmore rigorous carbon accounting, financial reporting, and sustainability disclosure into one seamless environment. In the climate economy that is emerging, trusted sustainability data isn’t merely a compliance requirement, it's a passport to global markets.

The next wave of climate leadership will belong to organizations that invest in strong, integrated data systems. Those who act now will be the ones best positioned to compete, attract capital, and shape the future of sustainable and resilient economic growth.

Catherine Atkin and Liv Watson are Senior Fellows with the Data Foundation’s Climate Data Collaborative, which seeks to improve the quality of climate data, make climate data more accessible to decision-makers, and break down silos that impede climate action. In a recent webinar, they shared a longer list of 10 takeaways about climate data from their participation in COP30. Learn more about their work and the Collaborative at www.ClimateDataCollaborative.org.