Sustainability reporting has become a business essential rather than a nice-to-have, and with Odoo 19 it no longer has to mean spreadsheets, guesswork, and consultants. The new ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) application turns the operational data you already keep in Odoo into clear, compliant sustainability insights — in real time.
What the ESG app does
The ESG app automates the collection of sustainability data by connecting to the apps you already run, including Accounting, Fleet, Payroll, and Employees. Instead of chasing numbers across departments, it pulls information straight from your day-to-day operations to build ESG reports that align with legal and sustainability reporting requirements, while giving you a live view of your emissions and other key metrics.
Measure your carbon footprint automatically
At the heart of the app is a carbon footprint tool that tracks emissions continuously. It gathers activity data from accounting records such as purchases and expenses, factors in employee commuting, and still leaves room for manual entries where needed. Because figures update as your business runs, you can see the daily impact of your operations, judge whether a reduction action is actually working, and focus effort where it matters most.
Emissions are calculated with a simple, transparent principle: activity data multiplied by an emission factor, expressed in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent (kgCO₂e). Commuting emissions, for example, combine each employee's home-to-work distance, office attendance, and the CO₂ rating of their vehicle model, all drawn from data already stored in the Fleet and Employees apps.
Thousands of emission factors, one click away
An emission factor is the coefficient that tells you how much greenhouse gas a given activity releases. Rather than researching these yourself, Odoo ESG connects to certified databases and gives you access to thousands of ready-to-use CO₂-equivalent values — from office supplies to raw materials. Integrated AI can even scan your items and match each one to the appropriate emission factor, so you are not left guessing.
Every factor is organised around the GHG Protocol scopes: Scope 1 for direct emissions, Scope 2 for purchased energy, and Scope 3 for the wider value chain. Assignation rules then apply the right factor automatically based on the product, partner, or account involved in a transaction, and can even be applied retroactively to historical data.
Beyond the environment: social metrics
ESG is not only about emissions. Odoo 19 turns your HR and payroll data into social insights, tracking sex parity across the workforce and the gender pay gap between comparable roles. These measures — grounded in employee and contract data — support CSRD reporting under the ESRS S1 standard and lay the groundwork for the emerging VSME framework. Group the results by department, job position, contract type, leadership level, or country to spot where attention is needed.
Report, comply, and act
When it is time to report, the app compiles emissions across all scopes using the GHG Protocol and Bilan Carbone methods, letting you view total tCO₂e, break down individual gases, and measure progress against a chosen base year. It also streamlines the full CSRD and VSME process, from defining the right metrics to generating compliant reports, with AI assistance available to tailor everything to your company's profile.
Finally, the Initiatives area brings Odoo's project features into your sustainability strategy so insight becomes action. You can estimate the CO₂ savings of each task, assign owners and deadlines, and track progress — turning good intentions into measurable change.
Why it matters
By keeping data collection, measurement, reporting, and action inside a single system that already holds your business data, Odoo 19's ESG app removes most of the cost and friction of sustainability reporting. For organisations facing CSRD or VSME obligations — or simply wanting an honest picture of their footprint — it offers a practical, real-time path to compliance and continuous improvement.
Want help rolling out the ESG app or the rest of Odoo 19 for your business? Get in touch with the Appness team.