Ever wondered how data science shapes corporate sustainability?

• Dr. Nipa Basu leads the charge at GHD Digital, blending data science with environmental expertise.
• GHD Digital’s data science and AI group is still convincing the engineering sector to digitalise.
• Dr. Basu contrasts financial services data readiness with engineering’s slower digitisation.
• Most industries need better data practices to achieve ESG goals.

Dr. Nipa Basu oversees Digital Intelligence at GHD Digital, a firm with deep roots in environmental, design, and construction engineering. Founded in Australia, GHD now operates globally with a team of 10,000 people.

With a background in economics and data science, Dr. Basu was previously the Chief Analytics Officer at Dun & Bradstreet. She began her career there as a hands-on predictive modeler.

GHD has long had geographic information systems (GIS) and data management (DM) groups, but they launched a more focused data science and AI group five years ago. Dr. Basu now leads a team of 100 experts in various data-related fields.

In her interview, Dr. Basu highlighted a stark difference between her previous work at D&B and her current role. At D&B, the company was data-ready and focused heavily on modelling. In contrast, the engineering sector at GHD is still catching up with digitalisation.

Despite the slow digital journey, firms like GHD are key players in corporate sustainability, especially in environmental cleanup and compliance. Their engineers have firsthand knowledge of their clients’ ESG needs.

Dr. Basu emphasised that many industries still struggle with data collection, quality, sharing, and benchmarking. There’s a pressing need for real-time dashboards and the power of modern data science to drive ESG improvements.

Dr. Basu’s insights shed light on the critical role of data science in enhancing corporate sustainability.

Source: Datasciencecentral