Climate regulation is surging. Integration is how we keep up

Are you a leader or a survivor?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in working with technology and sustainability leaders across industries, it’s this: the pace of climate regulation isn’t slowing down. In fact, it’s accelerating.

In less than two years, the number of national climate laws and policies has surged past 5,000 — a 60% increase. What was once voluntary is now mandatory: from the EU’s CSRD to the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule, sustainability reporting has shifted from being a “nice to have” into a legal, financial, and strategic obligation.

And yet, half of organizations openly admit they aren’t ready. Their ESG data lives in silos. Their reporting depends on manual processes. Their systems aren’t built for auditability. The risks are clear: non-compliance, reputational exposure, and missed opportunities to build trust with investors, employees, and customers.

But here’s the real shift I see among leaders: they’re no longer treating ESG as a reporting exercise. They’re connecting.

• Strategy to action: turning commitments into measurable outcomes.
• Processes to results: embedding sustainability into daily operations.
• Carbon emissions to systems: integrating finance, HR, supply chain, and operations into one connected backbone.

That’s where real agility, credibility and competitive edge are created.

This is why we put together our new whitepaper, The Rapid Rise of Climate Regulation — and How to Solve It with Integration. It’s designed to give leaders a clear view of what’s coming and, more importantly, how to prepare.

Inside, you’ll find:

• The global mandates and deadlines shaping reporting in the EU, US, UK, Australia, and beyond.
• The business forces at play, from €25M+ fines for greenwashing in Europe to consumer demand for sustainable products, even at higher prices.
• The integration strategies that work: why iPaaS is emerging as the backbone for ESG data — and how it compares to hyperscaler-native and point solutions.
• Proof points from industries like maritime, already turning fragmented reporting into real-time, audit-ready sustainability insights.
• A look ahead at how AI-enabled integration can detect anomalies, automate narratives, and generate predictive insights.

The message is simple: integration is the heart of ESG success. Without it, sustainability data remains fragmented and unreliable. With it, enterprises can move from compliance as a burden to compliance as a driver of resilience, transparency, and growth.

And for early adopters, there’s even more at stake. Those who bring AI into ESG integration now won’t just keep up with regulation - they’ll stay ahead of it. They’ll spot risks before they surface, automate what slows others down, and make decisions with foresight rather than hindsight.

I invite you to explore the whitepaper. My hope is that it not only clarifies what’s coming but also sparks the strategies that will carry your organization forward.

Leaders see reporting as an advantage. Others see it as a burden. Which one are you?

Sven Waagan is Head of Sales, Norway, at Frends.