61% of European Businesses Fear Public Backlash If Carbon Footprint too High

Findings from new research commissioned by Wasabi Technologies LLC reveal that almost half of Europe’s businesses (47%) are afraid to learn the full extent of their emissions data, even though 61% fear public backlash if their emissions are too high.

While the tech industry’s emissions are being scrutinised and regulatory pressure looms, Wasabi surveyed 1,200 business decision makers across the UK, France and Germany to understand how companies are reacting to the sustainability of their tech stack.

While businesses agree that customers and the public expect accurate emissions reporting, 51% are concerned they are going to lose customers if they fully disclose their emissions data. Below are additional findings from Wasabi’s 2025 Emissions Blindspots Report.

Almost 8 in 10 companies believe that inaccurate emissions data stifles innovation
Scope 3 emissions – those that originate indirectly from value chain activities, like the emissions produced by a company’s technology infrastructure – often represent the largest share of a company’s carbon footprint. This makes the external tech stack a crucial focus for sustainability efforts. However, only 66% of European businesses think that they can paint an accurate picture of their tech stack emissions.

It is that remaining emissions data inaccuracy that almost 8t in 10 companies (77%) believe stifles innovation. Inaccurate sustainability data delays investment in new technology, makes informed decisions about new technology impossible, or causes a reduction in the use of technology that can’t be accurately reported.

This belief has also already been manifested by one in 3 organisations which report that there have been delays in investing in new technology because of uncertainty about the environmental impact.

“The 2025 Emissions Blindspots Report from Wasabi Technologies offers interesting insights about how European business leaders are feeling about reporting their carbon emissions. The results mirror larger trends IDC is seeing across the industry such as concerns around accuracy, consistency and quality of sustainability data,” says Archana Venkatraman, senior research director, cloud data management, IDC. “IDC research shows that innovation is one of the top 3 priorities for business leaders today, alongside resilience and efficiency. The report’s findings that accurate emissions reporting has a direct effect on a company’s innovation, means that organisations need to get their emissions data in order to not fall behind in a competitive market and invest confidently for innovation-oriented business outcomes.“

Tech vendors are blamed for not providing accurate and trustworthy data
3 main challenges are holding companies back from painting an accurate picture of their tech stack Scope 3 emissions, all to do with their tech vendors and internal silos.

1. Almost half of businesses feel that they do not get full access to emissions data from their tech vendors.
2. 44% of businesses do not fully trust the quality and accuracy of the data they receive from tech vendors.
3. Besides this, there is also an internal challenge, with 39% of companies saying that they do not have enough internal resources to capture and analyse the data to paint an accurate picture.

Technology providers need to accurately report on their environmental impact, as the findings show that one in 2 businesses would most likely not purchase from a technology partner or vendor that could not demonstrate accurate reporting of emissions data.

“We have seen a lot of recent sustainability progress, as 9 in 10 businesses say that the accuracy of their tech stack emissions reporting has improved over the past 5 years“, says Kevin Dunn, VP and GM EMEA, Wasabi. “Ultimately, the responsibility is on businesses to hold themselves and their vendors accountable. Our 2025 Cloud Storage Index found sustainability to be a top influence when selecting tech providers. At Wasabi we are working hard towards creating more environmentally friendly cloud storage technology, while also ensuring our customers get full transparency over their footprint.“

Read the 2025 Wasabi Emissions Blindspots Report in its entirety

Methodology
The research for this report was conducted by Sapio Research Ltd on behalf of Wasabi in November 2024 and is based on interviews with 1,200 business decision-makers with visibility over their company’s Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) data from organisations in the UK, France and Germany.