How digital traceability is redefining ESG accountability in waste management

Sustainability is no longer a side note in annual reports; it’s the new language of business value. ESG accountability has evolved from a checklist into a compass, guiding how companies grow, invest, and lead. By 2030, the global ESG investment pool is expected to exceed USD 40 trillion, a number that speaks not just to financial capital, but to a world reevaluating impact itself. And yet, amid this wave of progress, visibility remains one of the waste sector’s most elusive challenges. India alone generates over 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, but less than one-third enters a formal system. The rest disappears into a labyrinth of informal networks, where traceability fades the moment waste leaves the consumer’s hand.

This lack of visibility doesn’t just obscure what’s recyclable, it blurs accountability. It weakens corporate ESG claims, turning sustainability from an act of impact into an act of documentation, without digital traceability; good intentions become just paperwork.

From Manual Records to Measurable Impact

A quiet revolution is underway. Across landfills, recycling centres, and collection hubs, digital traceability is redefining how we see and measure waste. From QR codes and blockchain-ledgers to IoT sensors and AI-powered scanners, technology is illuminating the dark spots of the waste value chain. Every item, a PET bottle, a sheet of aluminium, a scrap of HDPE, can now carry its own digital identity, mapping its movement from bin to rebirth. This precision creates more than data; it creates trust.

Corporations can now validate recovery rates, measure carbon savings, and prove EPR compliance through tamper-proof digital records not declarations. Policymakers can see, in real time, where materials move and how resources circulate. And in this transparency lies the true promise of ESG, not just reporting progress, but proving it.

The New ESG Currency: Data Integrity

As global capital increasingly flows toward ESG-linked funds projected to exceed USD 40 trillion by 2030, the demand for transparent, auditable impact data has never been higher. Investors, regulators, and consumers are looking beyond sustainability pledges to the proof of execution.

Digital traceability provides that proof. It converts sustainability actions into structured datasets that can feed directly into GRI, SASB, or TCFD reporting frameworks. For instance, traceable waste management systems can quantify avoided landfill emissions, calculate material recovery ratios, and link them to specific environmental outcomes. This shift from qualitative to quantitative reporting is redefining how organisations are evaluated on ESG performance.

Inclusion and Equity through Technology

The benefits of traceability extend beyond environmental metrics. India’s waste ecosystem depends heavily on informal workers, often without access to digital tools or formal recognition. Traceable platforms integrated with digital payments and transparent transaction logs can help formalise their participation, ensuring fair compensation and visibility for their contributions.

This represents an important evolution in ESG accountability, where social inclusion and governance transparency are embedded alongside environmental responsibility. By integrating traceability into daily operations, organisations can simultaneously meet compliance goals and uplift the human infrastructure that supports circularity.

Policy, Progress, and the Path Ahead

India’s rapid policy evolution under EPR and circular economy frameworks offers a fertile ground for scaling traceable systems. As state and central governments increasingly prioritise data-backed compliance and reporting, traceability is becoming the foundation of effective environmental governance.

The future of ESG accountability in waste management will be data-driven, transparent, and participatory. Digital traceability will not only help industries prove their impact but also accelerate the transition from a linear “use-and-dispose” model to a regenerative, circular economy. Ultimately, sustainability success will no longer be defined by intent alone but by verifiable impact measured in real time.

Ekta Narain

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Ekta Narain, Co-Founder & Chief Business Officer at Recykal, a tech startup providing digital solutions for sustainability.