Cloud cost data is already a routine input into many IT and FinOps decisions. It appears in dashboards, influences architecture choices and helps shape infrastructure optimization.

Sustainability data generally isn't treated with the same operational consistency.

It may sit in a separate sustainability report, be reviewed periodically and rarely become part of an actual infrastructure decision.

That raises a question worth debating:

Should sustainability data become part of everyday IT operational reporting in the same way cost data already is?

There are some practical complications.

Cloud providers don't expose sustainability data with the same level of standardization or precision as billing data. Workload-level attribution can also vary by provider, region and methodology.

But waiting for perfect measurement may not be necessary.

The FinOps Foundation now recommends incorporating sustainability data into cost allocation, forecasting and unit economics, while recognizing that organizations still need to manage differences in data quality and methodology.

That leaves an interesting choice for IT leaders:

Should organizations start using the sustainability data available today, even if it is less precise than cost data?

Or should sustainability metrics wait until the underlying measurement is genuinely comparable across providers?

Where does your organization stand?

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