As president of Computer Generated Solutions, Inc. (CGS), Paul F. Magel drives global strategy and innovation behind the company’s BlueCherry Enterprise Suite, which powers leading fashion and apparel brands worldwide. With more than three decades of experience helping brands modernize their supply chain operations, Magel’s perspective on ESG is rooted in data, visibility and real business value. He believes that sustainability isn’t a regulatory checkbox but a competitive advantage that comes from building smarter, more connected supply chains.
In this exclusive Q&A, Magel tackles the tough questions facing executives today, from the challenges of complying with new policies like DPP and EPR to making a clear business case for sustainability amid rising costs. He shares the top three questions he gets from fashion leaders and explains why clean, verifiable data is the non-negotiable foundation for not only meeting new mandates but also strengthening every facet of the business.
HGI: From EPR to DPP, there are a lot of new policies coming online related to ESG. In what ways is the industry still not ready to comply with these regulations?
Paul F. Magel: The industry is making progress, but there’s still work to do. The challenge isn’t about intent; it’s about infrastructure. Many fashion and apparel brands still operate with fragmented systems across design, sourcing and production, which makes it difficult to trace materials, validate supplier compliance and generate the kind of auditable data that today’s regulations require.
New ESG frameworks, especially DPP, raise the bar by demanding product-level visibility, not just supplier-level reporting. The good news is that the path forward is clear: brands that modernize their digital backbone and establish unified, verifiable data flows across every tier will be far better positioned to not only comply but to use sustainability data as a competitive advantage.
HGI: Given that tariffs are rising costs in the supply chain (and acting as a huge distraction), sustainability could take a back seat. How can fashion executives make a business case for sustainability today?
PM: Rising costs — whether from tariffs or broader economic disruption — make sustainability initiatives even more important. When you use data-driven ESG practices to optimize fabric utilization, reduce transport miles or manage supplier energy consumption, you’re cutting waste and protecting margins.
And the benefits of clean, accurate data go well beyond ESG — it drives better decision-making across every part of the business, from sourcing and forecasting to production and delivery. Sustainability done correctly becomes operational efficiency. The brands that connect ESG goals to cost reduction and risk mitigation will be the ones to outperform.
HGI: What are the top questions you get from fashion executives that are trying to figure out how to jumpstart their ESG efforts or accelerate progress?
PM: The three questions I hear most often are:
- “Where do we start?” The answer: start with data. You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
- “How do we prove ROI?” While it’s important to tie ESG outcomes to tangible business metrics and strategic initiatives, the reality is that sustainability has become table stakes. It’s simply the cost of doing business today.
- “How do we keep up with changing rules?” Build systems flexible enough to adapt. Hardcoding compliance for one regulation is a dead end; you need dynamic platforms that evolve with new requirements.
HGI: Whether it’s sustainability compliance, inventory control or supply chain mapping, it’s all about data. How can companies ensure they’re surfacing the right data and that it is ‘clean’?
PM: Clean data starts with consistent capture and validation. Many brands still rely on manual spreadsheets or disconnected vendor reports, which introduces errors and gaps. You need integrated systems — like ERP or PLM — that pull information from the source in real time and apply validation rules automatically. AI plays a growing role here as well: it can help detect anomalies, flag inconsistencies and ensure that what’s being reported is accurate and trustworthy.
But clean, reliable data doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It depends on strong, strategic partnerships across your supplier network — partners who share data openly, follow the same standards, and are equally committed to transparency. When everyone in the value chain collaborates, the quality and credibility of the data improves dramatically. And remember, clean, validated data doesn’t just support ESG reporting; it strengthens every facet of your business.
“Sustainability done correctly becomes operational efficiency. The brands that connect ESG goals to cost reduction and risk mitigation will be the ones to outperform.” — Paul F. Magel, CGS
HGI: How can digital supply chain platforms support real-time scenario planning that accounts for both environmental regulations and shifting trade policies?
PM: Modern digital supply chain platforms like BlueCherry can model “what if” scenarios across sustainability and trade variables simultaneously. For example, what happens if you shift sourcing from China to Mexico? How does that impact your carbon footprint, lead times and tariff exposure? By combining ESG data with operational data — and leveraging AI to simulate different outcomes — companies can make more informed, real-time decisions. That’s how leaders turn volatility into a competitive advantage: by planning, not reacting.
HGI: We’re in a moment when a lot of companies are moving production from one country to another and changing their supply chain partners. What kind of stress does that put on their efforts to achieve their sustainability goals?
PM: Every time you move production, you reset your ESG baseline. New partners mean new data, new audits and new compliance risks.
The best approach? Minimize change wherever possible to reduce disruption and maintain consistency in your data. But when shifts are unavoidable, centralized visibility becomes your safety net. If your sustainability data lives in one integrated system rather than scattered across emails and spreadsheets, you can onboard new partners faster verify compliance, and maintain reporting integrity. Stability and visibility go hand in hand.
HGI: What steps should companies take to strengthen supplier collaboration and ensure accurate ESG data collection from all tiers of the supply chain?
PM: Start by treating suppliers like strategic partners, not just vendors. Share expectations early, provide training on reporting requirements and give them tools that make data submission easier and standardized. The goal is to build a culture of shared accountability: sustainability data should flow upstream and downstream seamlessly.
HGI: Complying with ESG regulations is going to require a lot of reporting. How can companies best prepare for managing and outputting data according to these policies?
PM: Think of ESG reporting as financial reporting: you wouldn’t wait until year-end to pull your books together. The same logic applies here. Build ESG reporting into your everyday operations.
BlueCherry for example has built-in reporting tools that help fashion and apparel companies manage compliance forms, government submissions and audit requirements seamlessly. By automatically capturing and structuring the right metrics, brands can generate auditable outputs in real time. When reporting becomes a byproduct of how you run your business, you’re never scrambling to meet new requirements.
HGI: What change management practices are essential to successfully implement ESG transformation?
PM: Technology is only half the equation; people and process are the other half. The most successful companies appoint clear ESG ownership, align KPIs across departments and communicate the why behind the change.
Start small, celebrate early wins and make sustainability part of everyone’s job, not just the compliance team’s. Change management is about making ESG measurable, repeatable and business-critical.
