Data Infrastructure in Preparing for TSRS Reporting

The Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRS) expect disclosures on climate-related risks and opportunities to be consistent with financial reporting. This expectation requires sustainability data to be as traceable as financial data. When it is unclear which figure comes from which source, by which method it was calculated and who approved it, the report does not inspire confidence, however carefully it has been written.

In most organisations this data is kept in different departments and in different formats. Energy consumption comes from the technical service, water data from facility management, waste quantities from the person responsible for waste, and purchasing information from accounting. When no owner and collection routine is defined for each data item, the reporting period arrives with incomplete and contradictory tables. In large facilities, relying solely on main meter data is not sufficient either, as it does not show how much each unit consumes.

The carbon footprint calculation is the most comprehensive part of this picture. While direct emissions and emissions from purchased energy are relatively easy to calculate, indirect emissions from the supply chain, transport and waste require far more data and cooperation with suppliers. Organisations that start preparing early therefore do not face time pressure in their first reporting period.

A sound data infrastructure does more than make statutory reporting easier; it also ensures that investments in energy and water efficiency, waste reduction targets and cost improvements are measured accurately. The sustainability report thus stops being a document prepared at the end of the year and becomes a decision-making tool for management.