Jul 6, 2025
What Is an Impact Data Lake?
AI is not only crunching emissions data — it’s helping climate organizations craft stories that resonate with funders, policymakers, and the public.
Storytelling
Sustainability
The Problem with Fragmented Climate Data
Most sustainability teams still rely on a patchwork of spreadsheets, legacy systems, and third-party reports. Energy data sits in one tool, fleet emissions in another, procurement spreadsheets in a third. The result: inconsistency, duplication, and a constant scramble during reporting season.
This is where the concept of an Impact Data Lake comes in — a governed central hub for all sustainability-related data streams.
What Makes It an “Impact” Data Lake?
Unlike a generic data warehouse, an Impact Data Lake is designed specifically for climate and sustainability use-cases. It handles:
Scope 1–3 emissions data (fuel, energy, supplier, logistics)
IoT and sensor streams (smart meters, vehicle telematics)
Procurement and financial records
Satellite and geospatial data for land use, forestry, and agriculture
Verification-ready outputs for funders, regulators, and auditors
At Aetheria, we built the concept to align directly with climate reporting frameworks (GHG Protocol, CSRD, ISSB) while keeping it usable for creative storytelling
