Elo automates ESG management and reduces manual effort by 42% with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability

Sustainability as a pillar and the challenge of getting started

Elo is a Brazilian technology company that is transforming Payments and Sustainability. Backed by the country's largest banks, it processes and protects millions of transactions daily, from individual customers to merchants and financial institutions. 

In addition to a payment brand, the company has been innovating with ESG, fraud prevention, and carbon credit platforms to serve companies, partners, and society. All with purpose-driven technology. 

"In recent years, this agenda has accelerated—especially in governance, climate strategy, and sustainable business. We need to continue evolving this strategy, even though it is not a carbon-intensive industry," points out Andreia El Haber Limão, Superintendent of Sustainability and Institutional Relations.

By treating sustainability as an important pillar, the company began to depend on reliable and current ESG data to guide decisions and respond to reporting demands. There was a need to align with global standards and reporting programs, such as CDP.

The problem lay in manual processes, with indicators spread across multiple areas and collection in spreadsheets, emails, and PDFs. Flows based on dispersed sources slowed ESG updates and increased operational risk—as in the case of manually extracting data from energy bills—locking staff into operational activities instead of analysis. "The processes were very manual and the data was dispersed between areas; this delayed the indicators and increased the risk," observes Jamile Carla Albano Moreira, Sustainability Analyst.

To change this scenario, it was necessary to gain speed and autonomy, with reliable data month by month. "We wanted to follow up faster, gain autonomy in inventory, reduce costs, and give more reliability to reports such as CDP, monitoring month by month," adds Andreia. Given this, the team decided to break the inertia and start the transformation. "Starting always seems the hardest thing—but taking the first step, even if imperfect, creates a cycle of learning and evolution," reinforces Jamile.

Integration, automation and governance: Elo's response

Before any tool, came the search: to understand what would really solve the problem. The team mapped options in the market and found good point solutions, but these required manual uploads, file conversions, and little integration between sources and platforms. Something was needed that would connect everything, reduce manual work, and give continuous rhythm to the ESG cycle.

“We looked for a tool that would bring this integration... and the solution we identified in the market was Microsoft's. Our choice was based a lot on this: the possibility of automation and integration with various data sources,” explains Andreia El Haber Limão.

Elo chose the Microsoft ecosystem to integrate sources, automate calculations, and build trusted governance over ESG data. Microsoft Sustainability Manager (in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability) quickly organized indicators and calculations; Microsoft Power Platform enabled low-code automations; and Microsoft Azure offered a secure and scalable foundation.

Crucially, Microsoft Fabric AI-powered analytics—unifying OneLake, data engineering (Data Factory and Synapse), and Power BI—helped consolidate pipelines, govern semantic models, and deliver near real-time insights for ESG.

"What used to be done manually in energy bills, such as extracting values and entering them in spreadsheets, now happens automatically—from receipt to calculation of emissions," says Jamile. 

"Microsoft Sustainability Manager has helped us integrate existing solutions across different clouds through native connectors, making it easier to use a modern ESG calculation tool and accelerating our sustainability journey," adds Thiago Vilella Waideman Puga, Data Engineer.

Microsoft's close and ongoing support was also weighted: "Integration with multiple sources was a game-changer. And the close service, answering questions, explaining options, solving quickly made all the difference. Having someone to turn to made the partnership possible and influenced our decision to move forward," highlights Andreia. 

"Our partnership with Microsoft Unified Support has allowed us to transform data into strategic decisions, generate real value for the business, and build a more innovative and responsible future," reinforces Jamile. 

Efficiency releasing strategy

With automated pipelines, Elo now has end-to-end traceability—from the origin of the data to the final indicator—simplifying audits and reducing consolidation times from months to weeks. "We save time for our team and also for other areas. With calculated and reliable indicators, we dive deeper into the analysis and make data-driven decisions in a more consistent and organized way," explains Jamile.

The gains were clear:

"By automating our ESG flows with Microsoft, we've reduced manual effort and time spent by 42%, freeing up staff for higher-value initiatives," Jamile summarizes. There were 403 hours saved per year, more than R$82,000 in annual reduction in consulting and know-how costs, in addition to 63 additional databases being managed. These results accelerated audits, strengthened CDP readiness, and redirected scarce time for innovation and governance—turning efficiency into strategic value.  

In the executive vision, technology and purpose went hand in hand. "At Elo, sustainability is a strategic commitment. We believe that tech has the power to accelerate this journey by connecting data, intelligence, and purpose. With Microsoft Sustainability Manager, we take another concrete step by combining innovation and results, expanding our ability to create value for society and the planet," says Eduardo Merighi, CPO & CTO. 

From report to action: Suppliers and climate strategy

With the database organized, the data started to move decisions. Elo started a pilot to assess the ESG maturity of strategic suppliers—understanding who already took inventory and how sustainability was inserted—to then define appropriate engagement plans. Internally, the work brought areas and partners closer together: adoption expanded beyond Sustainability, and the Data, People & Culture, and Facilities teams started to consume insights from the system more frequently. "We will work better on our supply chain to actually accelerate our climate strategy within the company," says Jamile.