sustabd

Sustabd is a proposed data standard and protocol aimed at describing, storing, and exchanging sustainability-related metrics across information systems. It is intended to support interoperable ESG reporting, lifecycle assessment results, and supply-chain transparency by providing a common data model and encoding approach that can be adopted across industries.

Overview and goals

The design goals of sustabd include a lightweight core model that can be extended through profiles, strong provenance and auditability, and compatibility with existing data ecosystems. It seeks to enable consistent data capture for environmental, social, and governance metrics, as well as qualitative descriptors and methodological notes. The standard emphasizes openness, vendor neutrality, and ease of integration with existing reporting frameworks.

Core concepts

A typical sustabd data instance centers on entities, metrics, time, and values. Each metric is accompanied by a unit, a time stamp, and provenance information such as source, method, and confidence level. The model supports metadata about data quality, versioning, and the reporting scope (organization, facility, or product). Encoding is intended to be JSON-LD or RDF-friendly, with identifiers expressed as URIs to facilitate linking and discovery. Extensibility is achieved through profiles that tailor the core model to sector-specific requirements.

Governance and adoption

Sustabd is described as being governed by an open, neutral standards body or consortium, with a focus on cross-industry collaboration. Early pilots have explored alignment with established frameworks like GRI and SASB, and with broader data standards such as JSON-LD and RDF. Adoption remains exploratory, with attention to interoperability, data quality, and governance assurances.

Criticism and challenges

Critics point to potential complexity, the risk of fragmentation through multiple profiles, and challenges in achieving universal data quality and consistent methodology across sectors. Ongoing work aims to address these concerns through rigorous validation, clear profiling, and transparent governance.

See also

ESG data standards, GRI, SASB, TCFD, JSON-LD, RDF, data governance.