Speaking at ZF ESG 2025, Răzvan Nica, CEO of CarbonTool & BuildGreen, spoke about the companies’s need to cut through ESG complexity by elevating one metric above all: carbon. It is the most direct, comparable and decision-ready KPI, capable of aligning boards, banks, customers and suppliers on what progress really means. 

 

Early CSRD implementations buried teams under hundreds of indicators. The result: high audit/consulting costs and slow decisions. R[zvan Nica’s remedy is a streamlined, “augmented” reporting model that concentrates on essential KPIs leaders can move each quarter. In fast markets, clarity beats exhaustiveness. 

 

Carbon accounting across the value chain

 

True performance depends on your ecosystem. Client footprints hinge on suppliers, who depend on their suppliers, and so on. That’s why Scope 3 visibility and supplier engagement must sit at the core of decarbonization. Sector-specific pathways and material optimization are necessary to meet 2030/2040/2050 targets, even when supply constraints or longer transport routes temporarily raise emissions. The answer is not to pause action, but to measure precisely and compensate intelligently while redesigning the chain. 

 

Buildings: a mature test bed

 

Real estate is uniquely prepared: long-standing certification systems already operationalize ESG through energy performance, responsible materials and distributed renewables (e.g., PV, heat pumps). Pair that with CarbonTool-grade accounting and you get consistent baselines, comparable results and faster iteration on upgrades. 

 

R[zvan Nica challenged common narratives, for example, that some geographies are inherently “worse” on carbon. Per-capita figures can tell a different story  and several markets (e.g., in e-mobility) are moving faster than they’re credited for. The lesson: verify assumptions with transparent data before reshaping supply lines. 

 

Action checklist for operators and finance teams

 

• Anchor on carbon: Use tCO₂e as the primary KPI for planning, procurement and performance bonuses.
• Map suppliers: Tier-by-tier data collection with clear thresholds for engagement and substitution.
• Instrument the asset: Metering, granular baselines and load-aware operations (especially with hybrid occupancy).
• Close the loop: Set measurable interim targets, iterate quarterly, publish comparable results.
• Inform capital: Give banks and investors concise, decision-grade metrics, not noise.

 

Bottom line: You can’t manage what you can’t measure and you can’t mobilize an ecosystem around a dashboard no one understands. Make carbon the decisive KPI, simplify the rest, and drive real-world decarbonization at the pace business demands.