Carbon Reporting: using software to report efficiently
Businesses of all sizes have an important role to play in reducing carbon emissions and helping build a more sustainable future. In the UK, one of the key initiatives aimed at pushing towards a low carbon economy is the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework.
If your business falls into the boundaries set by the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework, you will need to report on your carbon emissions. But how do you do it? Carbon reporting software is an essential piece of kit in your technology stack. Let’s look at why and how it can help your business report efficiency.
What is carbon reporting software?
Put simply, carbon reporting software is a software package that helps your business record all your carbon and GHG emissions. It will store the data, report on it and enable you to share reports across your business and with stakeholders. Most importantly, you can submit your SECR reports.
What are the benefits of carbon reporting software?
With the right carbon reporting software in place, you can report efficiently and understand where you can make changes across your business to boost your environmental credentials.
Unified data streams
Software can help you collect, update, trace, access and report your carbon emissions all in once place.
Strategic decisions
With all the data in one place, you can use it to inform your environmental strategy moving forward.
Sharing of data
Software helps you to accurately share data between suppliers, customers and investors – the more accurate and reliable the data, the better your business becomes.
What to look out for when choosing carbon reporting software?
Getting the right carbon reporting software in place can be a game-changer for your business. It’s such an important decision to get right, so make sure you consider the following:
- Alignment with industry reporting standards: By aligning with the industry reporting standards set out in the SECR framework, you can accurately and efficiently submit your annual reports.
- Flexibility around carbon reporting methods: Does the software cater to various calculation approaches and methods? Does it have the flexibility to keep up with the way your business is refining data collection?
- Compatibility with existing systems: Your carbon reporting software should slot seamlessly into your existing technology stack and work with your current systems, whether accounting or supply chain management software.
- Reporting capabilities: Does it provide visual insights and allow for easy data export? This should cover both mandatory and voluntary reporting standards.
- Auditing functionality: How does it track data sources and documentation? This makes sure you have readily available evidence and can track changes to carbon and GHG emissions.
How to make the most of the carbon reporting software in your organisation
Having the software in place is one thing, making the most out of it is another. To ensure you not only accurately report on your emissions but also improve on them, you’ll need to:
- Define your sustainability goals as a business: By understanding where you’re going and having KPIs in place as to how you’ll get there, you can focus on the emissions metrics that matter most to your organisation.
- Map out data sources throughout your value chain: This could include procurement, operations, product teams etc. Try and integrate all these data sources into one coherent platform to properly analyse your data.
- Put the right team in place: They will need to properly analyse the tool’s data input and output to minimise errors.
- Train employees on how to use the software to check and analyse data. The more knowledge within your business the better.
One key thing to remember is that software alone won’t necessarily get your business to where you want it to be. You may need a combination of off-the-shelf software and bespoke modeling to achieve your goals.
You’ll want the right people in place within your business to work with the software for accurate reporting. And you’ll need to have a dedicated engagement strategy with suppliers and value chain partners as to how you can work together to enhance your sustainability. Your software will give you the data to inform these decisions, but you need to put it into action across your value chain.
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