Our industry is engaged in an important dialogue to improve sustainability through ESG transparency and industry collaboration. This article is a contribution to this larger conversation and does not necessarily reflect GRESB’s position.
There’s no question that sustainability is important to consumers and investors. Consumer trends in 2020 revealed that sustainability is a key consideration for a variety of consumer segments when making their purchase decisions. The sustainable brand practices that consumers value most include waste reduction, reducing carbon footprint, and providing sustainable packaging. Meanwhile, 85% of investors considered ESG factors in their investments in 2020.
That said, making your company sustainable is no easy task. Here’s why:
- In order for your company to become sustainable, there are vast areas that require reform, e.g., taking control of your supply chain end-to-end through scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions tracking and waste management.
- It is impossible to determine which efficiency projects and/or sustainability initiatives will be most effective to implement without thorough data and risk analysis.
- Even once you determine which projects/initiatives to implement, the feat continues with tracking and ensuring they are performing as desired.
Our recommendation? Start with quality data and use it to create your company’s sustainability roadmap or plan of action. In this article, we’ll focus on two types of data:
- Energy and sustainability data
- Consumer and investor data, i.e., what your consumers and investors want to see from your company in terms of sustainability initiatives and actions
We will explore below how data can help guide your company on its sustainability journey and how to acquire accurate data.
The case for data in your sustainability journey
As the old saying goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. This particularly applies to sustainability. From start to finish, your company’s entire sustainability roadmap should be shaped by data. Let’s explore how each type of data plays a part in your sustainability journey.
Energy and Sustainability Data
Energy and sustainability data allows you to track and calculate your company’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, excess energy use, and waste. In addition, such data can be used to identify inefficient operations at your facilities and manufacturing plants, not only reducing your carbon footprint but your utility bills as well.
In essence, energy and sustainability data enables you to see where your company currently stands with regard to energy use and sustainability. For example, your data may show that inefficient machines at your manufacturing facilities are contributing to high energy use and emissions. From there, you could implement the necessary efficiency projects to correct the issue. Finally, you would once again utilize your data to measure and verify those efficiency projects for effectiveness, making adjustments if needed.
Consumer and Investor Data
Before your company embarks on any type of sustainability initiative(s), you should first determine what your consumers and investors would like to see from you. Doing so allows you to:
- Better understand and connect with your consumers and investor base
- Build trust and loyalty among consumers and investors
- Ensure you are spending your time and resources on initiatives that will actually resonate with consumers and investors.
How can you acquire the data you need?
Consumer and investor data can often be easily acquired by sending out short surveys to your consumers and investors or utilizing focus groups. If your company has a solid social media presence, a social media pollisan engaging and effective method of gathering data.
Energy and sustainability data is a bit more complicated to acquire. You can acquire/calculate your data manually, or automatically with the help of an energy and sustainability management platform. Let’s explore each method more in-depth.
Method 1: Manual Collection/Calculation
Most energy data can be acquired from your utility company or meters. Sustainability data, e.g., emissions and waste data, can be calculated using various emissions and waste calculators, such as the Green House Gas Protocol’s GHG Emissions Calculation Tool or CalRecycle’s Business Group Waste Stream Calculator.
It is important to note that these methods, while helpful, have certain drawbacks. Energy data gathered from utilities and meters must then be manually gathered into one place, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. Calculation tools, meanwhile, lack complexity and detail, as they are usually estimates. In addition, data from calculation tools are not automatically audited –your company will have to audit its own data for comprehensiveness and accuracy (costly, time-consuming, and prone to errors).
Method 2: Automated Collection/Calculation
An energy and sustainability management platform can assist your company by automatically collecting and organizing your energy and sustainability data all in one place. Such platforms also can accurately calculate waste and emissions data and will automatically audit it for completeness and quality.
Key Takeaways
To create a solid sustainability roadmap, you need to have both energy and sustainability data and consumer and investor data. Energy and sustainability data gives you insight into how your company is performing with regard to energy use, emissions, waste, etc. Consumer and investor data, on the other hand, show you what matters to your stakeholders and where they would like to see your company go in terms of sustainability. Combine the two, and you have a clear picture of what your company needs to do to achieve its goal of a sustainable future.
This article was written by Beatrice O’Campo, Marketing Associate, WatchWire.
References
- Szegedi, Karine. “Shifting Sands: How Consumer Behavior Is Embracing Sustainability.”
Deloitte, 16 July 2020
- “Sustainability & Consumer Behavior 2021.”
Deloitte, 2021
- Venkataramani, Swetha. “85% Of Investors Considered ESG Factors in Their Investment Propositions.”
Gartner, 10 June 2021