ESG Monitoring and Reporting with Smart RDM

Not only is ESG & ESG reporting more and more important nowadays; it’s also not always smooth sailing. Especially when you can’t rely on your tools.

Proper enterprise data collection and analysis are key steps in maintaining a data-driven business. What to do?

First, you must develop a clear data collection strategy. Then, you may employ appropriate data collection methods, implement quality control measures to ensure data accuracy and reliability, calculate appropriate metrics based on accurate input data, visualize the results in the form of charts, diagrams, and reports. Only then the results may finally support the decision-making process. 

Our product, Smart RDM, can be your trusted companion in your work.

How Does Smart RDM Work, and How Does It Help You?

The Smart RDM platform receives and processes production data from AVEVA PI (as well as from other comparable solutions, as well as loading data from e.g., Power BI) to provide timely and accurate information at all organizational levels. Our service makes reporting easy in the time of regulatory changes and the increasing importance of the practice.

Most of our clients have recently asked us if we can assist them with ESG reporting due to legislation changes at the European, and global level. The changes include the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Global Plastics Treaty, Deforestation Law, or EU Nature Restoration Law.

Furthermore, starting from this year (2024), over 50,000 organizations, including non-EU corporations with subsidiaries operating in the EU or listed on EU regulated markets, will be required to report on sustainability. According to KPMG’s 2022 Global CEO Outlook, 69 percent of CEOs (up from 58 percent in 2021) expect increasing stakeholder demand for more openness and reporting on ESG topics. In addition, 72 percent believe that stakeholder monitoring of ESG concerns, like as climate change and gender equality, would intensify. Furthermore, more than one-third say that their firms fail to tell a compelling ESG story.

In these turbulent times, reliable software you may fall back on is a blessing.

ESG Reporting Requirements

The big question. Why report? ESG reporting seeks to inform stakeholders, such as investors, customers, employees, and the public, about a company’s environmental and societal effect, as well as its governance procedures. With a greater emphasis on sustainability and corporate responsibility, there is a greater need for ESG data that is reliable, consistent, and comparable across firms and industries.

The (relative) absence of standardization, as well as the variety in the quality and granularity of ESG data, provide substantial hurdles for investors trying to incorporate ESG aspects into their investment decisions. As a result, numerous organizations and initiatives are attempting to create frameworks and standards to deliver more uniform, complete, and transparent ESG data. Luckily, some work is being done on it at a government, and an international levels. European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) as adopted by the European Commission for the CRSD, and others are among the most extensively used ESG frameworks. To increase the comparability and transparency of reported data across firms and industries, these frameworks define what information should be revealed (e.g., specific measures and KPIs) and how it should be reported. 

ESG Reporting Tools

Sustainability Reporting Tools (SRTs) is software that enables businesses to report on their ESG performance and impact. Simple internet reporting tools to more sophisticated reporting software and systems are examples of SRTs. They often contain capabilities such as data management and performance tracking based on the framework’s (already mentioned) KPIs. Each KPI has its own internal set of rules, which include processes, tools, roles, and duties.

Companies can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and provide stakeholders with a more transparent view of their ESG performance by utilizing SRTs. This can aid in the establishment of the company’s reputation, legitimacy, and credibility, as well as in the creation of value and the development of trust with investors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders.   

Sources of Data

Usually, all data to prepare ESG reports is extracted from companies’ systems or systems from third parties with their authorization when relevant. The data acquisition process (or its selected steps) is frequently done manually. Depending on the industry, not all information needed is readily accessible, as well. For example, the best quality data related to environmental KPIs are available for the oil and gas industry, while data for other sectors, such as agriculture and forestry, still need to be included. The latter have not traditionally been heavily focused on monitoring CO2 emissions or waste produced, but they have to implement new solutions to meet ESG requirements. 

Our clients already use the Smart RDM platform integrated with AVEVA PI (formerly OSIsoft PI) System to create a complete monitoring, analysis, and planning system. PI System is a source of all operational data related to production processes. Based on this data, it is possible to calculate many environmental KPIs such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, and amount of waste produced. The Smart RDM is a technology solution that leverages data science techniques to collect, process, and analyze the data and provide improved data accessibility, real-time data analysis, enhanced data visualization, improved data management capabilities, and reporting. Smart RDM integrates with the most powerful reporting software, like Microsoft BI, to visualize the data. 

Summary

Organizations that must report ESG data can benefit greatly from our platform. For example, it can improve the speed and accuracy of data collection and analysis, cut down on routine data entry, and lower the risk of mistakes made by humans. Validation controls can be put in place with Smart RDM to make sure that the data being received is accurate and consistent. These controls can be as simple as making sure the data format is correct, or as complicated as checking the data for errors or consistency and letting you know about them.

Smart RDM also makes it easier to keep an eye on how data is being collected and processed. This can help companies find problems or slowdowns in the data collection process so they can fix them if they need to. Smart RDM can also be used to make key performance indicators (KPIs) that are needed for ESG reporting based on the data that has been received and checked.  

To sum up, Smart RDM can be used as a platform for managing data that is linked with certain SRT (for example, Microsoft Sustainability Manager) to make the process of ESG reporting much easier. Digital transformation is here to help you work smarter. If you want to give our platform a try, schedule a demo here.