As global regulatory bodies transition from voluntary disclosures to mandatory climate reporting, the era of “annual estimations” for IT emissions is ending. For the modern enterprise, cloud computing often represents the largest share of Scope 3 emissions. However, static, retrospective reports provided by cloud service providers (CSPs) are insufficient for high-frequency ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance.

To meet the requirements of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the SEC’s climate disclosure rules, organizations must integrate real-time carbon tracking directly into their cloud infrastructure. This article provides a technical roadmap for moving from vague estimations to granular, auditable evidence by building a “Carbon Ledger” that correlates real-time telemetry with grid-level carbon intensity.

1. The Death of Annual Reporting

Historically, ESG reporting was a manual, once-a-year exercise conducted by sustainability teams using spreadsheet-based models. These models relied on “spend-based” averages (e.g., $1,000 spent on cloud = X tons … Read More