How to take control of your sustainability data and boost your company's competitiveness

As sustainability and reporting requirements increase, it becomes essential for companies to be able to manage sustainability data in a thoughtful way. By finding out what data your customers are asking for, you can lay the foundation for strategic and meaningful sustainability work. Not sure how to take the next step? Here are three key questions you can ask your customers about environmental data reporting.

There is no one-size-fits-all template for managing sustainability data. Different companies, of different sizes, in different industries – there are many factors that make requirements and expectations different. A good first step is to reach out to your customers and ask them some simple questions:

What types of emissions under the GHG Protocol framework do customers want you to report?

Emissions are counted as direct or indirect according to international and national standards for reporting carbon emissions. One such global standard is the GHG Protocol, which organizations use to facilitate reporting their greenhouse gas emissions. The GHG Protocol divides emissions into three different categories, known as scopes:

• Scope 1: Direct emissions from an activity owned or controlled by the company, such as emissions from vehicles, fuel use, or process emissions from chemical reactions.
• Scope 2: Indirect emissions released into the atmosphere through the use of purchased energy, where the actual emissions occur in another location, such as a power plant.
• Scope 3: All other indirect emissions in the value chain that are beyond the direct control of the organization. This includes employee business travel by transport that the company does not own and also employee travel to and from work. Scope 3 often accounts for up to 90% of a company's climate impact.

Reporting each individual emission is time-consuming and unnecessary for most companies. You can save time by asking your customers which specific scopes they want you to report on.

Monitor ERP has built-in tools to measure and report emission types per scope category within the GHG Protocol. The system provides all the tools you need to meet your customers' requirements and expectations in that area.

How should the data be reported, and in which format?

Ask your customer in which format they would like the data to be reported. Do they have a dedicated portal for reporting? Or maybe they need the data in a specific format that is compatible with their own reporting tools or platforms?

Monitor ERP is compatible with both standard and customized reports for sustainability data, but we strongly recommend using the system's powerful web-based Business Intelligence functionality for this purpose. Business Intelligence allows you to create your own customized dashboards to present environmental data according to your preferences. This is important because different customers will ask for different data.

Reports can also be exported to Excel or PDF format according to your customers' needs. The functions of Sustainability by Monitor and Business Intelligence interact seamlessly in Monitor ERP and both are included in the standard system.

Does your customer want you to report environmental data other than carbon emissions?

Sustainability is a broad concept that covers many different areas, not just carbon emissions. It can include, for example, energy consumption, water use, waste, and social impact. Another branch of sustainability reporting concerns the content of the parts that make up your products. This is where REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) comes into play.

REACH is an EU regulation that aims to protect people and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. REACH was introduced to ensure that no dangerous chemicals end up in your products. It helps you identify risks so you can replace or reduce the use of harmful substances.

In Monitor ERP, you can enter and manage all data related to item content, including code, type, description, and REACH classification, so you are always prepared if you are asked to report such data in the future, or if you need it for any other reason.

Conclusion

Sustainability and environmental work are here to stay, not because the authorities say so but because the market wants to be involved and take responsibility for the transition. Showing at an early stage that you are part of the journey creates trust and experience – something that in some businesses will be invaluable.

When you start working systematically with your sustainability data, you get several clear benefits:

• You meet customers' expectations and strengthen the relationship with them.
• You build credibility by being transparent with your data.
• You help create a culture of improvement and responsibility internally.

For most of our customers, sustainability reporting is not about meeting legal requirements, but about meeting their customers' requirements and wishes, and in some cases being able to report data to their group. At Monitor, we consider it a great advantage to be able to be flexible and adapt the data that is retrieved based on the current requirements. Our way of working enables us to handle this in a sustainable way – with both the company's finances and the people behind it in mind.