Solving the accountability gap: How technology is helping The Arnott’s Group turn targets into measurable progress

As reaching net zero becomes increasingly important to national agendas, organisations are under growing pressure to be accountable for their commitments. However, this is often easier said than done.

While organisations may recognise the need for transparency, they often lack the insights and robust reporting capabilities needed to measure progress. Or they just don’t know where to start to achieve their goals.

That’s where technology comes in. With the right tools, organisations can better understand their emissions profile, turn sustainability pledges into measurable progress, and develop more impactful long-term strategies that build trust with customers, investors and regulators.

The Arnott’s Group has achieved just this. In 2022, the iconic biscuit manufacturer reimagined its sustainability strategy with a technology-first approach, partnering with Microsoft to deploy Microsoft Sustainability Manager.

Microsoft Sustainability Manager unifies data intelligence and provides comprehensive, integrated and automated sustainability management for organisations, wherever they are in their sustainability journey.

Adopting the platform helped Arnott’s gain greater visibility into its emissions profile. As a result, it can report on the impact and progress of its sustainability initiatives in near real time.

Arnott’s can also access the intelligence needed to refine and scale sustainability initiatives, supporting greater transparency and accountability, and making a real difference across its entire supply chain.

As Arnott’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Sean McLintock, puts it, “Microsoft Sustainability Manager is a single repository of all our emissions data. It collects, ingests and then visualises the data so we can democratise and share it across the business. And it holds us accountable to our targets.”

These targets include achieving 100 per cent sustainably grown and sourced key ingredients, as well as reaching net zero emissions in its own operations by 2040 and across its value chain by 2050. Arnott’s also aims to reduce, reuse or repurpose plastic packaging across Australia and New Zealand by 2025. Microsoft Sustainability Manager will help it report impact and progress against these targets in near real time.

Microsoft recognises the critical role technology can play in helping organisations accelerate their sustainability journeys. That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with companies like Arnott’s as they turn their sustainability pledges into measurable progress and develop more effective long-term sustainability strategies.

I encourage all organisations to get in touch to discuss how this could work for you, or learn more here.