Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting in the past was frequently regarded as a regulatory commitment, a routine “box to check” to keep any industrial company operating. What we see now is a paradigm shift closely aligning ESG performance with a company’s ability to attract investors—people and planet are no longer decoupled from profit. This sustainable investing movement has companies scrambling to collect ESG data for investors. What data needs collecting to accurately represent companies’ ESG performance? Investors want data related to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, contaminated properties, water use, energy use, and biodiversity, among others that examine a complete “environmental footprint”. All these data collectively make up a company’s ESG profile, and they are reviewed with intensifying scrutiny. Therefore, we should treat environmental data as an asset, just as we do with accounting data. They should be collected, managed, and reported in the same culture of quality as other critical information assets using the best digital tools available.
There’s no shortage of software marketed as a one-stop-shop for digitalizing environmental data workflows. But like any good umbrella term, “environmental” means different things to different people, often begging the question: Can I manage all environmental data in a single platform? According to many of our large Fortune 500 industrial clients, the answer is consistently “No”.
Many Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) software systems are promoted as the single solution meeting the requirements of every environmental data type, but they often overlook asset-level environmental monitoring workflows. Critical gaps are filled with an Environmental Data Management System (EDMS), such as EQuIS™. Our clients tell us these these two systems are complementary. Both play critical roles maintaining compliance with environmental regulations and reporting on ESG performance.
EDMS and EHS are complementary software
What Does an Environmental Health and Safety System Provide?
An EHS system frequently manages sustainability initiatives, safety and quality, compliance reporting, and other corporate objectives. EHS workflows might include:
- Risk Management
- Industrial Hygiene
- ISO Compliance
- Emissions Reporting
- Water Use
- Energy Use
- Waste Tracking
What Does an Environmental Data Management System Provide?
An EDMS manages technical environmental sample data workflows from point of collection through reporting and visualization. EDMS workflows might include:
- Sample Planning
- Field Data Collection
- Electronic Chain of Custody (eCOC)
- Electronic Sample Receipt Notification (eSRN)
- Laboratory Data QA/QC (LIMS Integration)
- Environmental Data Validation
- Time-Series Data Management (Integration of IoT, SCADA, historian systems)
- Automated Reporting (Exceedance Notifications, Regulatory Reports, Corporate Reports)
- GIS and/or CAD Integration
- Data Graphics, Visualization, and Decision Support
- Business Intelligence (BI) Integration (Dashboards)
What Does EDMS Add to EHS Implementations?
EDMS and EHS are complementary systems and neither meets all business needs of the entire organization. There are important differences between asset-level environmental monitoring workflows (provided by EDMS) and corporate compliance and sustainability reporting workflows (provided by EHS). Our industrial clients tell us EHS systems are broadly attractive, but sometimes still require legacy tools to collect and manage data. Paper, spreadsheets, and/or homegrown database solutions sometimes remain necessary to produce validated, report-ready environmental sample data and graphics.
Imagine a Real World Scenario
Problem: An industrial company is required to report on contaminated properties in their liability portfolio..
Goal: Determine if on-site contaminant levels exceed regulatory limits.
While many EHS systems can report whether sample results compare to a regulatory limit, few tell how those final values were generated? Can your EHS system generate validated, auditable, report-ready data? An EDMS provides unique capabilities related to sampling activities to maintain compliance with environmental regulations and to completely report on ESG performance. EQuIS manages the following environmental project tasks:
- Sampling events were planned
- Sample ID nomenclatures were defined
- Analyte lists and analytical methods were chosen
- Laboratory contracts were negotiated
- Samples were taken in the field (with extensive accompanying measurements and observations)
- Field data underwent QA/QC
- Chain of Custody forms were produced
- Samples were confirmed shipped to the lab
- Lab(s) reported on condition of received samples
- Lab(s) analyzed samples and produced Electronic Data Deliverables (EDDs) with results and quality assurance data
- Lab(s) provided EDDs to industrial operator
- Data underwent strict quality assurance checking and were joined with relevant field data
Only at the end of this workflow can you finally and confidently determine how sample results compare to regulatory limits. The workflows producing these data are not supported by most EHS systems, and staff commonly still use legacy solutions, usually spreadsheets. It is critical to employ fit-for-purpose software solutions that serve the data needs of the entire ESG program, and this frequently is not accomplished by a single system. Our clients automate and support their EDMS workflows with EQuIS.
EQuIS clients benefit from a consistent, repeatable process generating the high-quality ESG data sought by their stakeholders and investors.