- Sophia Lee
- September 13, 2024
Environmental Report for the ESG Disclosure
Your ESG reports will be only as good as the data that underpins them.
And as Environmental, Social, and Governance disclosure has become necessity for businesses striving to showcase their commitment to sustainability, the ACCURACY of environmental reports needs our special attention.
Among the three pillars, the environmental aspect often generates significant attention due to its direct impact on the planet, huge influence on brand reputation and the bottom line.
Why Accuracy of Environmental Reports is Important?
Compliance with Ever-Changing Environmental Regulations
Key regulations like the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) underscore the importance of accurate environmental reporting.
Preparing a comprehensive environmental report not only ensures compliance with these regulations but also enhances a company’s reputation (and operational efficiency!).
Enhanced Brand Reputation
Making sure your environmental data is relevant, accurate and up to date shows integrity and builds trust with employees, customers, investors and other stakeholders.
You wouldn’t want to be accused of greenwashing, would you? – Even by accident.
Solid Foundations for Data-Driven Environmental Initiatives
Here at Datore we’ve got a few analytics “mantras” that we live by and one of the most important ones is: DON’T DO DATA FOR DATA’S SAKE – use your data to drive positive change.
Once you have prepared your insightful (and pretty) Environmental reports don’t let those insights die at the dashboard!!!
Identify areas for improvement and take informed action to minimise your environmental impact. And you can only do that with reliable insights derived from accurate and relevant data.
GHG Reporting for ESG Disclosure: Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions
- Scope 1: emissions from owned or controlled sources, such as company vehicles and onsite fuel combustion.
- Scope 2: indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company.
- Scope 3: all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain, including both upstream and downstream activities.
[source: Greenhouse Gas Protocol]
- identify emission hotspots
- track performance in real-time (ideally 1-minute readings)
- implement targeted reduction strategies
Scope 1 GHG Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Scope 1 emissions are the most straightforward to measure, as they involve direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by your company.
Still, data needed to produce Scope 1 GHG reports comes from various sensors and systems, and you need advanced analytics tools to integrate data at such volume and variety of formats.
You need to derive near-real-time insights into fuel consumption, vehicle emissions, and other direct emission sources to improve accuracy and identify inefficiencies and opportunities for emission reductions.
Scope 2 GHG Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Scope 2 emissions, though indirect, are still within your control as they pertain to purchased energy.
Advanced analytics plays a crucial role in monitoring and managing these emissions. By analysing utility data, you can:
- gain insights into your energy consumption patterns
- identify peak usage times
- assess the carbon footprint of your energy sources – granularly
Scope 3 GHG Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Scope 3 emissions are the most challenging in terms of accuracy, as they include a wide range of indirect emissions throughout the value chain.
Advanced data analytics is indispensable for managing Scope 3 emissions, enabling you to collect and analyse relevant data from suppliers, customers, and other third parties.
With tools like the SFMI Scope 3 Benchmarking that we partner on with Acclaro Advisory, you can benchmark suppliers who provide similar products or services and evaluate their emissions. You can easily find answers to questions like:
- “Which of my suppliers are the most environmentally friendly?”
- “Which product I buy is creating the biggest carbon footprint for me?"
- building type
- services by suppliers
- mileages covered across different vehicle types & frequency of use.
Example of Datore’s GHG emissions dashboard
Resource Management Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Energy Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Energy reporting involves tracking the consumption of electricity, gas, and other fuels.
Data analytics can enhance this process by integrating data from smart meters, energy management systems, and other sources. Advanced analytics can identify energy-saving opportunities, predict future energy needs, and assess the impact of energy efficiency initiatives.
By leveraging data, you can reduce your energy consumption and associated costs, while also lowering your carbon footprint.
Water Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Water reporting requires companies to monitor water use, discharge, and conservation efforts.
Data analytics provides detailed insights into water consumption patterns, identify inefficiencies, and evaluate the effectiveness of water-saving measures.
By analysing data from water meters, sensors, and other sources, you can develop strategies to optimise water use, reduce waste, and minimise your environmental impact.
Waste Reporting for ESG Disclosure
Waste reporting encompasses tracking the generation, disposal, and recycling of waste materials.
Data analytics can streamline this process by integrating data from waste management systems, recycling programs, and other sources.
Advanced analytics can help you identify waste reduction opportunities, improve recycling rates, and track the progress of waste minimisation initiatives.
Environmental Initiatives for ESG Disclosure
Robust environmental policies are essential for ESG reporting, outlining your commitment to reducing the environmental impact.
Data analytics play a pivotal role in developing and implementing these policies. You can use advanced data analytics to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your environmental initiatives.
For example, data from sensors and monitoring systems can provide real-time insights into the performance of pollution control measures, energy-saving initiatives, and other environmental programs.
By leveraging data, you can identify areas for improvement, set realistic goals, analyse stakeholders’ feedback and track your progress towards sustainability targets.
ESG Benchmarking for Environmental Disclosure
ESG benchmarking involves comparing a company’s environmental performance against industry standards and best practices. You can enhance this process with analytics by providing detailed insights into your company’s performance relative to its peers.
With advanced analytics tools you can integrate data from various sources, which will enable you to assess your progress, identify areas for improvement, and set competitive sustainability targets.
Effective ESG benchmarking can drive performance improvements and enhance a company’s reputation as a sustainability leader.
We have partnered with Acclaro Advisory on the SFMI project to offer a single validated score which provides comparable measures and benchmarking for GHG emissions against other FM companies and suppliers.
ESG Reporting Solution – The Datore Way
Datore’s Analytics as a Service provides people, technology and methodology needed to collect, store, model and analyse your data and produce accurate and impactful environmental reports for your ESG disclosure.
Our solution integrates data from multiple sources and in different formats, providing a unified view of environmental performance.
With features such as real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and customisable dashboards, we enable companies to track their emissions, resource use, and waste generation with unparalleled accuracy.
Our scalable and flexible technology ensures that companies can meet their evolving ESG reporting needs without investing in new infrastructure or software.
Last but not least, our data team, available to you on-demand, consists of both data and ESG experts to take care of your environmental reporting from raw data to impactful reports.
Conclusion - How to Create an Accurate Environmental Report for Your ESG Disclosure?
Environmental reporting for ESG disclosure is a complex but essential task.
Whether it’s GHG emissions, resource management, or environmental policies, you need to determine which data to collect (following complex regulations), prepare solid technological foundations for storing, modelling and analysing this data, and use both data and ESG expertise to create the most accurate and impactful reports.
Only with advanced data analytics solutions is it possible to enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the ESG reporting processes to meet regulatory requirements but also build a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Want to Discuss Analytics as a Service for ESG Reporting?
Contact Us
