- Measuring EmissioRole of PIM and ERP in Emissions Trackingns Data on Products and Services
- Role of PIM and ERP in Emissions Tracking
- Third-Party Tools and External Emissions Data
- Using product emission data to inform decision-making
- Making sustainability data useful for marketing purposes
- Repurposing corporate-level emissions data for marketing purposes
- A coherent data strategy for the modern sustainable brand
In today’s commerce landscape, sustainability isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a measurable, data-driven responsibility. For modern brands, tracking and reducing emissions requires more than corporate pledges; it demands the right technology stack. By combining systems like PIM, ERP, and composable commerce platforms, businesses can capture accurate emissions data, make informed operational decisions, and turn sustainability insights into compelling marketing stories. This article explores how to integrate sustainability into your data strategy — from product lifecycle tracking to customer engagement — to build a brand that’s both future-ready and credible.
Measuring EmissioRole of PIM and ERP in Emissions Trackingns Data on Products and Services
In order to measure emissions data, there are two particular systems that most businesses will need to deploy. The first one is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This system is great for storing valuable data and automating mundane tasks such as transactions and transaction matching. However, it is often bought as a variety of modules, one of which is product lifecycle management (PLM) software. In short, a PLM is a software product managers use to design the technical requirements for their product which returns a document than can be used by the manufacturer.
Secondly, brand manufacturers, distributors and retailers, will find a PIM (product information management) system useful to scale their organisation. A PIM system allows you to store your product data into a single source of truth rather than it being dispersed across multiple channels, with different versions of the same SKU on the e-commerce website or the Google Shopping feed.
The PIM system ensures that the organization has a single view of the product information, so everyone sees the same information rather than having outdated or incomplete information across the business. This product data can include your product pricing, attributes, fact sheets, ingredients, and more.
So, to measure emissions data, both systems need to store, understand, and document the emissions data appropriately. This would mean including additional data fields in the product taxonomy to account for these measures.
Some PIM solutions we highly recommend include Pimcore and Saleslayer. Pimcore serves more complex enterprise brands with bespoke requirements, while Saleslayer works with smaller, mid-market brands requiring less customizations. Saleslayer is known for an average 6-week go-live approach as it is easier to configure and set up.
Role of PIM and ERP in Emissions Tracking
Once an item is set up in the PIM, it can sync the data via an iPaas from the PIM platform to another system such as the ERP. The PLM, on its part, can send the data of the finished goods into the PIM. Depending on the quantity and size of each part or ingredient that makes up the finished goods, the PIM could pull information from external sources such as third-party suppliers or internal sources, such as an ERP, where the emissions data lies.
Then a calculated value of the emissions data can be derived in the PIM based on different input requirements for a better understanding of the climate impact of a particular product.
Third-Party Tools and External Emissions Data
It’s worth mentioning that the PIM could also call upon other third-party data providers and carbon accounting platforms, which have dedicated modules for measuring emissions. It could also call on regulatory bodies and other data repositories, such as Open Food Facts, which can estimate emissions data.
From a logistics perspective, shipping providers are also providing emissions data related to delivery costs, which is generally collected within the e-commerce platforms, but this could then be sent to the ERP for reporting purposes.
Conclusively, integrating PLM and PIM involves transferring approved product data via APIs to document raw materials' emissions data. The centralized PIM sources data to understand a product's carbon footprint and its supply chain impact accurately.
Using product emission data to inform decision-making
Once a company understands at a SKU level the amount of carbon that a particular product emits and what the carbon footprint of that product is, the business can use this information to make decisions such as:
- “Should we sell this product?”
- “Where should we sell this product? ”
- “Where should we manufacture this product? ”