Organizations are becoming more aware of the importance of participating in sustainable practices. They may have a basic understanding for how their products and projects impact the environment and society; and they may even report those numbers to non-profits like the Carbon Disclosure Project. Companies in all industry segments report on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. The problem lies in how they go about collecting the necessary information to create these reports. Unfortunately, the data collection process is often managed in multiple internal and external systems. Some companies use Excel spreadsheets (even billion-dollar companies). Many use some type of existing enterprise environmental, health, and safety (EHS) platform with a cobbled together/bolt-on ESG module. These are typically an afterthought, lacking the necessary integrations with the software systems that actually have the data (energy providers, utilities, etc.). They also lack the robust reporting capabilities required to track and analyze the data. This leads to third-party add-ons like Tableau and PowerBI. The systems do not talk to each other, leading to significant manual effort and data inconsistency. This leads to important data being estimated. Companies can’t reduce their impact based on estimations.
Our solution is a comprehensive, web-based, software platform where ESG metrics can be measured and evaluated. The system will measure against the newest standards from S&P, MSCI, and GRESB and take into consideration human rights policies and international agreements (i.e., The Paris Agreement). The software will highlight areas where further development and alternative measures can and should be implemented, such as wastewater management, carbon offsetting, etc. It will allow companies to account for details including board diversity, employee training, community involvement, and STEM volunteering. It will showcase sustainable information that is comparable, accessible, and free.
The system must be able to not only capture emissions (quantitative) data but also qualitative information as well. One way this could be captured is in a "Programs Module". This component of the application is where a company can create all the initiatives along with target dates for their sustainability reports. These could be emission targets that pull data in from the calculation portion of the application, goals and targets for Diversity and Inclusion could be pulled from the HR system or the org chart, Safety related data from the EHS system, certifications, supply chain, etc. If this data is not currently in another system, it can be manually entered in this ESG application creating a one stop shop for all reporting related to sustainability.
There are currently many platforms in existence that support collecting ESG related data; however, the majority focus on only one aspect – environmental emissions. They fail to collect information related to the social and governance criteria. They also fail to collect data focused on the full lifecycle of a project; instead, simply looking at only the data required for reporting. Our solution will seek to collect all ESG data (emissions, safety, corporate governance, quality management, ethics, risk management, and philanthropy) related to a project and map both the near-term and long-term impacts to create a full picture.
My SMART personal actions:
1. I will teach engineering principles and sustainability concepts to younger generations.
2. I will look for opportunities to incorporate sustainability into my projects at work.
3. I will get more involved with my companies sustainability efforts.
My 3 ongoing commitments:
1) I will put global responsibility at the heart of engineering. I will take ownership for my actions and be considerate of their impact in the near and distance future. I can achieve this through constant evaluation of my actions and comparison to the Sustainable development goals, SDG’s, where relevant. Constant reference to the goals will increase my awareness and ability to work towards them in my everyday actions. Every month I can look back on my actions and evaluate my progress.
2) I will consider the consequences of all my decisions. I will ensure the needs of the people and planet are prioritised. I can achieve this in my consultancy work by researching and encouraging the use of sustainable materials and processes focussing on their environmental and social benefits in client meetings to increase their awareness of how they can spearhead change. I will make it my duty to educate and guide the clients into the adoption of sustainable practices with the thoughts of the people and the planet in mind. This should be the process for every project I work on. Every month I can look back on my actions and evaluate my progress.
3) I will ensure that diverse viewpoints and knowledge are heard by continuing to mentor young people from less fortunate backgrounds into the field of engineering. By the end of the year I also aim to start a program at work, to encourage young girls into engineering to improve diversity within the industry.
Team RE22-007 Final Submission video: https://youtu.be/wniC-0wpa_g