Measureda

Measureda is a framework and open-source platform designed to quantify the environmental, social, and governance performance of digital services. It provides a standardized data model, measurement pipelines, and reporting formats to enable apples-to-apples comparison across services and organizations.

Origins and governance: Measureda emerged through collaboration among researchers, NGOs, and industry groups in the early 2020s. The project is coordinated by the Measureda Consortium, with contributions from volunteers and corporate sponsors. Version 1.0 was released in 2023, and subsequent releases expand data sources and indicators.

Architecture and data model: The core is the Measureda Data Model (MDM), defining entities such as services, metrics, emissions, energy usage, and user impact. A measurement engine computes indicators from telemetry streams, while connectors ingest data from cloud platforms, logs, and usage analytics. Provenance and identity features support traceability of measurements.

Applications: Measureda is used by cloud providers, software companies, and researchers to generate ESG reports, benchmark performance, and inform procurement. It supports reporting formats aligned with common standards and can be extended with custom indicators.

Advantages and challenges: Proponents cite improved comparability and transparency, while critics point to data quality, privacy concerns, and the need for consistent interpretation of indicators across industries.

See also: Sustainability metrics, ESG data, data provenance, open standards.