How can Risk Assessment Help to Overcome Sustainability Data Hurdles?

The clock’s ticking—and the pressure is on. According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) report Delivering the EU Green Deal: Progress Towards Targets, we’re falling behind. Only 21% of sustainability initiatives are on track, while nearly half need to move faster. What’s holding us back? Data.

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Without solid, real-time data and robust risk assessment tools, sustainability goals become abstract ideals instead of operational realities. But there’s a shift happening—and it’s being led by the CFOs.

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More and more, financial leaders see inaction as the greater risk. They understand that sustainability isn’t just a cost center—it’s a growth engine. Profitability and climate responsibility are no longer opposing forces; they’re interlinked.

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As my colleague Juan Miguel Pérez said in a recent episode of his web series: “Green supply chain management is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a competitive necessity.” It’s about embedding environmental thinking into operations and delivering performance. And to get there, risk assessment is the compass.

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The Role of Risk Assessment in Green Supply Chain Management

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Every business faces risk—it’s the nature of operating in a volatile world. But in sustainability, how we understand and manage that risk, can be the difference between progress and paralysis.

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Risk assessment, when backed by reliable data, helps organizations pinpoint vulnerabilities, anticipate disruption, and stay ahead of compliance challenges. And in the context of evolving regulations like the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), structured, flexible risk analysis isn’t optional—it’s foundational.

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Effective assessments don’t happen in silos. They require dialogue—with suppliers, partners, internal teams—and the right tools to turn insight into action. Grouping risks into similar profiles also helps streamline the process. Businesses typically face two main categories of risk: internal and external.

• Internal risks originate within the organization and are within its control. They can disrupt operations, impact productivity, and result in financial losses.
• External risks stem from factors outside the organization's control. They may disrupt business activities, introduce uncertainty, and force strategic adjustments.

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Internal risks are within your control—and manageable with the right systems. External ones, less so. But that’s where digital traceability comes in: it equips companies to adapt, act fast, and stay resilient when the unexpected hits.

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Data Management Challenges

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One of the biggest hurdles in sustainability risk assessment is collecting clean, timely, and standardized data—especially across complex supply chains. When each supplier has a different format (or digital maturity level), inefficiencies multiply. Without the right systems in place, companies risk non-compliance, errors, and missed opportunities.

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Building a Better Approach: Supplier Portals

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To tackle these challenges, we built the Supplier Portals in MARCO Track & Trace—a digital command center for sustainability and compliance data. Think of it as the connective tissue between your risk models and your supplier relationships.

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Key features of the Supplier Portals include:

• AI-Powered Risk Assessment: It analyzes data, identifies emerging risks, and enhances decision-making processes. You can set risk indicators that matter most to your operations—like emissions, EUDR compliance, or accounting irregularities—and let our engine flag suppliers at risk. You’ll get real-time alerts, automated suggestions, and total control over what gets shared and when.
• ESG Rating & Benchmarking: Evaluate ESG performance based on quantitative data and ensure your partners meet your standards. (More on this below).
• Real-Time Data Collection: With blockchain as the backbone, data is immutable and audit-ready—no more version conflicts or manual corrections, as it is collected and updated in real time.

With this digital ecosystem, businesses can, among other things, ensure there are no inconsistencies, reduce human error and risk, and facilitate audits.

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Suppliers can contribute in whichever way suits them best:

1. Direct Access: Log in and upload directly in the MARCO Track & Trace’s interface.
2. Form Integrations: Use Google or Microsoft Forms for quick responses—ideal for onboarding or basic feedback.
3. Secure Forms: Share customized MARCO forms through workflows or APIs, with top-tier security and data integrity.

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Real-World Impact: EUDR Compliance in Action

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One of our petrochemical clients—working at the frontline of EUDR implementation—is already using MARCO Track & Trace’s Supplier Portal to manage deforestation risk.

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To comply with EUDR, businesses must verify that their commodities are sourced from land that has not undergone deforestation after the cut-off date of December 31, 2020. That’s why they needed geolocation data, land-use evidence, and proof of compliance for every supplier. Instead of chasing PDFs or manually checking spreadsheets, they built automated workflows: suppliers input data, the system verifies it, and risk assessments run in real-time. Results?

• Greater visibility into supplier practices and material sourcing.
• Faster compliance processes.
• Reduced manual data.
• Fewer errors.
• Stronger collaboration with suppliers for sustainability reporting.

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A clear edge in green supply chain leadership.

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Allied to Your Risk Assessment: the ESG Shortcut for SMEs

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We know ESG reporting can overwhelm smaller suppliers. That’s why we partnered with esg2go to provide accessible ESG ratings, making it easier for SMEs to report and benchmark their ESG performance inside MARCO Track & Trace.

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This tool simplifies sustainability assessments, offering:

• Transparent Scoring: Suppliers are scored across ESG dimensions—customized by sector and company size. This enables businesses to assess how they are performing relative to their peers.
• Actionable Insights: Understand what’s driving your ESG score and where to focus efforts for performance improvement.

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What's even better? It's incredibly simple—just plug in your data into this user-friendly questionnaire, and get your KPIs. It’s fast, insightful, and levels the playing field for all actors in the supply chain.

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Final Word: Why Risk Assessment is the Real Sustainability Advantage

Risk assessment is no longer a defensive tactic—it’s a lever for transformation. With the right digital infrastructure in place companies can simplify compliance, accelerate action, and turn sustainability from a burden into a strategic asset, positioning themselves as leaders in green supply chain management.

With MARCO Track & Trace’s Supplier Portals, we’re helping businesses make that leap—one data point, one insight, and one risk mitigated at a time. 

Curious to see it in action? Let’s talk—or book a demo today.

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