Tech — lately, the role of AI — is of looming interest for professionals looking to grow in any sector.
“The role of technology is shifting within ESG, dramatically advancing the analytics and integrations of our organizations’ impact data,” Jill Standish, senior managing director and global lead of Accenture’s Retail practice, said at WWD’s sustainability forum on June 20. “Because of this, it’s actually expanding and deepening the role of ESG itself, leveraging sustainability measurements as a tool for business in ways that can add financial value to our companies across many parts of the value chain, all while getting us closer to our critical goals, many of which we will publicly need to be disclosing.”
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In her virtual talk, Standish covered three chapters spanning how businesses are using the ESG tools, how data is supercharging existing systems and the impending role of artificial intelligence. For one, Standish said ESG data is giving “more power” to traditional apparel applications like Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), preferred fiber and material sourcing decision-making, regulatory compliance and more.
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More information is a blessing to industry. And information access is “accelerating rapidly,” per Standish, across planning and supplier engagement practices. This comes into practice when companies are vetting facilities for certifications or compliance.
This data is empowering for a few reasons. “We can immediately understand the effect of our decisions before we make merchandising or inventory commitments,” Standish explained.
As for climate commitments, disclosure relies upon validated science-based targets, especially around Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions (indirect operations). “In 2019, only about a dozen fashion brands had approved science-based targets. Today, that number is nearly 400 with thousands of other organizations making commitments,” Standish said, quoting a June Apparel Impact Institute report.
But that’s not all of the tech advancements to come. Forecasting models that enact win-win outcries to “buy less, sell more” are part of the fold of advancements.
“Envision a dynamic planning system that blends orders across offshore, near-shore and onshore production, placing orders in a cadence across all of those three and allows AI’s large language model, geospatial data and complex simulation engines to combine early sales information with constantly learning and improving predictive models,” Standish said. “In other words, it keeps getting better. These models can hone [stock keeping unit] production at different facilities, at different times and at varying margins, leveraging external influences from things like weather, transportation efficiencies and replanning any time throughout the day.”
Given the volatility of the climate crisis and continuation of Canadian wildfires, for one, the material risks of inaction are visible.
Calling for the adoption of technology now, Standish said: “The common denominator is that sustainability is at the basis of our business economics. Ours is an industry that depends on people and natural resources, and without protection of both, we risk heavy volatility in the near term.”