Niklas Letmathe

2025

As many corporations transition to primary data for carbon accounting, the profound organisational impact of this shift remains empirically underexplored. This paper aims to explore this transition, examining the necessity of using primary data, challenges in the collection of primary data and assurance implications. I conduct a single exploratory case study at SAP SE, drawing on interviews, meetings, internal documents, and direct observation collected from April to October 2025. My findings confirm that while primary data improves decision-making compared to secondary data, its collection is hampered by challenges related to timing, bureaucratic obstacles, and data privacy. This research provides a theoretical, conceptual model that moves beyond the simple primary/secondary data dichotomy to a more nuanced continuum. Empirically, it presents new insights into the assurance process, showing that the assurance of primary and secondary data differs due to a higher greenwashing risk regarding primary data, as it is subject to greater influence by the reporting company. This, in connection with a lack of best practices in assurance, leads to novel challenges for primary and hybrid data models. In response, SAP is developing new approaches, including internal standards and strategic roadmaps, to enable auditable primary data usage.