five steps to achieving maximum value from a sustainability management software implementation

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER Accelerating Sustainability Results through Technology Adoption September 2011 five steps to achieving maximum value from a sustainability management software implementation Peter Gilbert Vice President of Sustainability Product Strategy, CA ecosoftware Duncan Bradford Vice President of Engineering Services, CA ecosoftware agility made possible

2 table of contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 Challenge 4 Meeting sustainability promises Providing for the integrity of sustainability data Obsolete and inaccurate information Leveraging new technology Opportunity 6 Take a best practice approach Step 1: Establish ownership Step 2: Understand the requirements Step 3: Engage stakeholders Step 4: Implement in phases Step 5: Demonstrate success Benefits 10 Achieving maximum return with minimum effort Safeguarding revenue generation and reputation Case study 11 Capgemini improves sustainability performance with CA ecosoftware About CA ecosoftware 13 2

3 executive summary Challenge An organization s sustainability performance has become public property. Faced with intense scrutiny from consumers, investors and regulators alike, organizations need to provide their performance metrics are based on accurate data, which means moving away from manual data collection, management and analysis techniques. Many organizations, however, are struggling to implement the automated and real-time sustainability solutions needed to transform their approach. Opportunity By following five simple steps, organizations can reduce their software implementation time and as a result, shorten the time to realize sustainability benefits. By establishing ownership and engaging the right stakeholders, companies will be able to understand their requirements and help provide that their deployment meets their goals and delivers a demonstrable return on investment. An incremental implementation founded on program and project management best practices can deliver both short and long-term benefits that can be communicated to the business to drive future deployments. Benefits A dedicated sustainability business platform can transform how an organization collects and analyzes energy consumption and carbon emission data. This will not only help the organization to meet their sustainability goals in a shorter timeframe but also improve the accuracy of their reporting on progress to customers, investors and other stakeholders. By achieving their sustainability goals, companies can boost their reputation while also controlling costs through lower energy bills and more automated information management processes. 3

4 Challenge Meeting sustainability promises More and more organizations are making public and often very ambitious pledges on sustainability, such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving zero waste to landfill. Although such objectives are invariably made public to help enhance a company s reputation with consumers and shareholders, the decision to adopt such targets usually lies in the corporate balance sheet. According to Forrester Research Inc., the key drivers are headed by cost and efficiency improvement opportunities. Again, this reflects the fact that companies are more comfortable with finance-led initiatives, whereby a quick return on investment (ROI) is the primary driver, and sustainability improvements are considered a positive byproduct. Executives frequently cite brand and competitive differentiation as additional key motivations, becoming particularly more important in the battle for new talent, followed by diverse company stakeholder (e.g., customers, employees, and regulators) pressures, and lastly its ability to drive business innovation and growth 1. Given rising energy costs, this link between economics and the environment is hardly surprising. However, it does mean organizations face both financial and reputational ramifications if they fail to deliver on their sustainability promises. To meet these goals particularly those involving reduced carbon emissions organizations need to capture and analyze an abundance of data. Traditionally this has been done via multiple spreadsheets a resource-intensive process. Spreadsheets enable the organization to begin to measure and report on sustainability performance, and can yield some insight into impacts as well as enable disclosure and reporting. The spreadsheet approach can, however, present major challenges, especially in larger organizations. In addition to the labor cost implications, spreadsheets are often prone to human error especially given the large volumes of data involved. This not only poses a risk to corporate reputations but limitations in this method of information management also prevent businesses from identifying future opportunities for improvement and innovation. Providing for the integrity of sustainability data Thanks to the culture of transparency that increasingly surrounds sustainability, performance reports are becoming just as public as a company s initial pledges. For example, submissions made to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) are displayed on both Bloomberg terminals and Google Finance, enabling investors to make decisions based not only on a company s financial performance but also on their sustainability credentials. The link between financial and sustainability performance has also been recognized by regulators with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who issued a release in February 2010 reminding companies of their responsibility to consider climate change and its consequences when completing SEC filings. 4

5 This synergy, coupled with mandatory reporting schemes such as the UK s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and France s Grenelle II mean organizations need to apply the same rigour to sustainability metrics as they would to financial data. In recognition of this, many companies have already started to subject their sustainability reporting to external verification. Obsolete and inaccurate information To help provide that sustainability statements can stand up to scrutiny from investors, consumers and regulators alike, organizations need to be confident about the veracity of their data. Incorrect data may not only harm a company s reputation for corporate sustainability but can also result in business leaders setting performance targets founded on the wrong baseline. An organization s ability to correctly define its sustainability goals can be further impaired by a lack of timely information. Spreadsheets are not designed to provide real-time data, which means organizations can only access a historical view of important metrics, such as energy consumption levels, carbon emissions or performance against targets. As companies seek to collect more energy, carbon and sustainability management information from more buildings, departments and systems, the process will become more time-consuming, and data collection and aggregation will be more demanding, dispersed and untimely. Leveraging new technology Given the limitations of current methods and tools, organizations are getting smarter about how they manage the information needed to deliver on their sustainability objectives. This has led to rising interest in specialist software solutions. Forrester Research estimates that the global enterprise carbon and energy management software market will exhibit hyper-growth from US$80 million in 2009 to US$903 million by Carbon and energy management software solutions not only enable organizations to discard their unwieldy spreadsheets but also offer a wealth of additional features to support corporate sustainability programs. As the analyst firm Quocirca 2 cites, solutions are being brought to market that reduce the burden of cost and effort associated with the necessary metering, reporting, and planning efforts. Such solutions provide the means to automate the not inconsiderable task of measuring, in detail, energy use and needs across all aspects of the facility and operation of the organization. Although many organizations recognise the benefits of migrating to a dedicated sustainability solution, adoption is often deferred due to a lack of time or perceived challenges around selection and implementation. Delayed adoption however equates to lost opportunities both in terms of financial savings and competitive advantage. Organizations therefore need to find a way to streamline the selection and implementation of a sustainability software solution so they can start reaping the benefits. 5

6 Opportunity Take a best practice approach As with any program, following best practice is the key to achieving a successful execution. But which best practices? By its very nature, sustainability involves stakeholders from across the entire enterprise and with different approaches. The involvement of multiple disciplines, however, can help rather than hinder the selection and deployment of a sustainability solution. Organizations should consider the following five-step plan to success. Step 1: Establish ownership The growing prevalence of sustainability has prompted some companies to appoint both executive sponsors, such as a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), as well as energy, climate change, sustainability and environmental managers and teams. Although this can make establishing ownership of the program much simpler, there will still be multiple business functions, such as R&D, IT and facilities, involved in the execution of enterprise sustainability goals and therefore the selection and implementation of a new solution. Up until now, these teams will have often worked in silos and their knowledge will often be restricted to these pockets. For example, facilities will appreciate the intricacies of energy use in buildings while procurement will understand how the supply chain can have a negative impact on a company s sustainability efforts. By bringing these sustainability stakeholders together in the form of a steering group or project board, organizations will be able to leverage their combined expertise throughout the implementation and promote knowledge sharing across multiple disciplines. Although a collective approach will help provide that the right solution is selected, it s also important to appoint a lead executive sponsor if not a Chief Sustainability Officer then another senior representative. This individual will play a key role in ensuring the program and solution remains aligned with corporate goals and help cascade progress reports to the wider business. Step 2: Understand the requirements Multiple stakeholders means multiple requirements all of which need to be sufficiently defined before a sustainability solution can be selected and deployed. This is often best achieved in a collaborative way. As well as defining the business processes that need to be supported and automated, for example capturing data from utility bills, the stakeholders should also consider the scalability and flexibility required of the solution. For example: Does the company need support for multiple currencies and languages? What volume and variety of data and assets are involved? Another fundamental issue to address at this stage is integration. To take advantage of the automation offered by more powerful sustainability solutions, the system may need to interoperate with other enterprise information systems. This can not only simplify data capture but also enhance accuracy by ensuring that master data contained in other business applications, such as enterprise resource planning and building management systems, can be accessed rather than re-entered. 6

7 How to run an effective solution requirements workshop Involve representatives from all stakeholder groups including IT Baseline the data sets involved and the different formats currently used around the globe Profile the major user groups and their needs, including any relevant suppliers or contractors Consider future sustainability reporting requirements and strategic goals When assessing the integration abilities of a solution, organizations need to make sure this can be achieved without undue additional effort or implementation time. For organizations with audit or regulatory requirements, the issue of transparency will also be high on the agenda. This means considering the governance framework that surrounds the sustainability solution and the data it contains. For example, can changes to data be tracked to an individual and specific point of time? Can automated approval workflows be matched to current business processes? Will there be adequate security access controls? This last question is particularly relevant if an organization plans to source its sustainability solution via a cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) model where it is important that data integrity controls and robust security measures are in place. Opting for a platform or vendor that has been accredited by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) will help provide the solution is fit for purpose and meets requirements of these and other corporate reporting frameworks. Understanding requirements is not just about meeting today s needs but also those of tomorrow. The scope of sustainability and the ensuing reporting requirements are constantly evolving for example the CDP has introduced an additional disclosure program for the supply chain, and GRI is expected to launch new guidelines in the future. Organizations must therefore consider what s next on the sustainability agenda and whether the solution they have selected will be able to evolve to meet new best practices, sustainability standards and the company s future strategic goals. Despite the need to consider the future in any technology choice, it s important to prevent scope creep as this can add both cost and complexity to the program. To avoid this common challenge, all technical specifications for the solution should be tracked back to a specific organizational goal. 7

8 The implementation of a new solution will also have ramifications for existing tools. It is therefore important to understand in advance what systems will be retired or integrated and the impact this will have on both existing business processes and user groups. For example, many companies already have an environmental management system, which will have defined policies, including roles and responsibilities. A new sustainability platform should have the flexibility to adopt these workflows and role definitions. By continuing to use existing management processes, organizations will be able to accelerate user adoption of the new solution and reduce the time to value. Step 3: Engage stakeholders Creating a steering group of departmental heads and holding a scope definition workshop is just the beginning of the stakeholder engagement process. Organizations must continue to cascade this multi-disciplinary approach to the end users responsible for entering and evaluating data at different sites and in different countries. By involving different interest groups in the implementation process it will be easier to manage expectations for each phase of an incremental deployment. Understanding when, how, and who will use the data is just as important as providing for data accuracy and relevancy. Establishing these parameters will also help identify the interdependencies that may exist between different data sets and business processes. Without this visibility there is a risk that business processes will be shoehorned around the new sustainability solution, which can impede adoption, poorly align with processes and put data integrity at risk. Any suppliers or contractors that support the collection and analysis of sustainability data should also be involved to ensure the proposed solution can integrate with their existing systems. To ensure data integrity is maintained, especially when gathering information from the supply chain, it is worthwhile to consider the data validation controls that can be incorporated into the sustainability solution. The needs of different types of user should be accommodated. This should include workflows relevant to each of these groups. Step 4: Implement in phases By deploying sustainability solution in an incremental way, organizations will be able to deliver and demonstrate quantifiable results in a shorter timeframe. A common starting point involves the centralized collation of historical sustainability data along with new continually updated metrics for energy consumption and carbon emissions. This enables a quick win in terms of improved data granularity, quality and timeliness, which in turn will help identify energy consumption hotspots that need to be addressed. However, to achieve this, organizations must be able to locate their historical data and ensure it is in a format that is sufficiently consistent and reliable to be suitable for incorporation into the new platform. As a result, a data preparation project should be run in parallel with the implementation program. Once a baseline of quality data has been established along with streamlined processes for data collection and analysis, the implementation can then be broadened to include other key sustainability activities such as measuring Scope 3 emissions or water consumption. 8

9 In addition to phasing an implementation based on business processes, larger organizations may also wish to take a geographical approach, prioritising countries that are subject to mandatory or voluntary reporting schemes. A phased approach will also enable companies to incorporate lessons learned from the first implementation stage into future phases, creating a repeatable process that enables rapid and lower-risk deployment. To further reduce risk and accelerate implementation timelines, organizations and any third parties involved should follow program and project management best practice. This should encompass: Creating a program and individual project schedules (which are relevant to the broader organization s timelines and sustainable business goals) Defining roles and responsibilities both at an organization and individual level and ensuring they are consistent with existing sustainability management systems Documenting and reviewing solution requirements Establishing a communications plan Performing quality assurance and testing Enabling knowledge transfer Solution selection checklist Have the needs of the key user groups been considered? Will the solution scale across multiple countries and currencies? Are there automated workflows that can be configured? Is integration with other business systems achievable in practice? Will staff find the solution intuitive to use? What visualization tools are included? How is data integrity maintained? Does the solution fulfill your IT department s security requirements? What level of disaggregation is required for internal performance reporting? Can it integrate with energy and building management systems across your organization? Is the functionality constantly being enhanced? 9

10 For many companies, this will be the first time they have deployed a solution of precisely this type, so communication and knowledge sharing will be essential for ensuring the full potential of the solution is realized in a short timeframe. Providing information to users is also important to help explain the reasons for and value of the system, and to enable it to be used most effectively. Step 5: Demonstrate success Communicating the successes that have been accomplished with the initial implementation of the solution will help drive ongoing support and investment. Demonstrating sustainability results, such as reduced energy use and lower carbon emissions, is just one aspect; companies should also communicate how these achievements have impacted other strategic goals, such as cost reduction. Given the link between sustainability performance and reputation, these successes should be communicated both to internal and external stakeholders. As well as communicating successes, organizations might also consider rewarding and publicly acknowledging particular teams, suppliers or stakeholders for their role in achieving sustainability goals. Benefits Achieving maximum return with minimum effort By following a best practice approach, organizations will be able to select and implement a sustainability solution with less effort and expense. Once a solution is installed, it can be used to both illustrate progress and propagate success. For most companies, the first success will be a smarter and faster process for collecting, aggregating and analysing power consumption, the use of resources, and carbon emissions data, which can result in both efficiency and financial gains. For example, Capgemini UK has been able to reduce the costs associated with collecting data and creating reports by 30 percent since deploying CA ecosoftware*. Their next step is to use the information to accelerate decisions on resource conservation projects that will provide additional economic return to the company. As well as accelerating the data capture process, a sustainability solution can also dramatically improve the quality, granularity and timeliness of the information available. As a result, organizations are better able to: Reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions Provide more accurate and timely statements to reporting schemes such as the CDP and GRI, as well as to other programs, shareholders and customers Make more informed decisions about sustainability targets and how to address energy, carbon and natural resource hotspots Continuously assess performance and progress against their goals. 10

11 Safeguarding revenue generation and reputation All these factors can help to enhance an organization s sustainability credentials, which are increasingly influencing the behavior of both consumers and investors. By meeting their sustainability and underlying cost reduction goals, organizations will also be able to offset rising energy prices, which, in turn, will safeguard profitability. For companies who have invested in making sustainability a part of their business culture, moving to enterprise-class software for sustainability management can help ensure that strategic business objectives are achieved, as planned. Achieving sustainability success is no longer just about being responsible with energy and resources. It is also about differentiating your business in a crowded marketplace. Case study Capgemini improves sustainability performance with CA ecosoftware To demonstrate its commitment to improving sustainability performance, Capgemini UK has set some intentionally challenging corporate environmental objectives, focusing on its key areas of impact, including: Reducing its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2014 Improving energy efficiency of its data centers by 20 percent by 2014 Reducing travel-related carbon emissions by more than 30 percent by 2014 Sending zero waste to landfill by Jon Hampson, Environment Director for Capgemini UK, explains, Aside from managing our performance internally, we need to provide insightful reporting about our sustainability performance for analysts, partners and clients on a regular basis. In some cases it s even written into contracts. However, with over three million new data points being processed each year from 30 disparate sources, and numerous internal and external reporting requirements, collating and managing the information presented a considerable challenge. Peter Walsh, Head of Sustainability Business Process Outsourcing at Capgemini, comments, Capgemini UK was tracking sustainability performance using a four gigabyte spreadsheet, but they wanted to find a way to make the process more rigorous and cost-effective while ensuring that the quality, accuracy and integrity of data was of a sufficient standard to support the ambitious sustainability goals they had adopted. 11

12 Capgemini recognized many of its customers were under similar pressures, and launched an Energy, Carbon and Sustainability Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service to help customers improve their sustainability efforts. Capgemini UK signed up as the first customer of the new service. Following an assessment of the sustainability management solutions on the market, Capgemini selected the cloud-based CA ecosoftware solution to support its new BPO service. The solution captures a variety of data from numerous sources, both within Capgemini and from their suppliers, including air travel data from travel agents, electricity and gas meter readings from various facilities, waste and recycling volumes from waste management providers. The information provided by the solution is not only used by Capgemini s sustainability office to evaluate its performance, but also by senior management teams to support decisions. By using the CA Technologies solution to support its sustainability service, Capgemini UK has been able to*: Reduce the costs associated with collecting and managing data, and creating reports by approximately 30 percent so far Actively manage carbon emissions and waste through better informed business decisions Gather data to facilitate compliance with the legislative requirements of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. CA ecosoftware enables comprehensive data analysis and reporting to help evaluate performance against sustainability objectives while minimizing administration and the input required from senior staff, comments Walsh. * Some information in this publication is based upon CA or customer experiences with the referenced software product in a variety of development and customer environments. Past performance of the software product in such development and customer environments is not indicative of the future performance of such software product in identical, similar or different environments. CA does not warrant that the software product will operate as specifically set forth in this publication. CA will support the referenced product only in accordance with (i) the documentation and specifications provided with the referenced product, and (ii) CA s then-current maintenance and support policy for the referenced product. 12

13 About CA ecosoftware CA ecosoftware can help organizations meet corporate energy and sustainability goals such as reducing carbon emissions, managing consumption and cutting energy costs. They can become more efficient when using power and natural resources by providing valuable up-to-date information and by supporting sustainability efforts with a systematic governed approach. This information can be communicated to stakeholders and used to drive continuous improvement. CA ecosoftware offers a broad range of sustainability management capabilities to help manage an organization s sustainability programme from strategy to execution. It also includes a robust suite of carbon and natural resource management capabilities designed to measure, calculate and report on energy use, water, waste and associated GHG emissions across the enterprise and beyond. One can measure the environmental performance of sites, facilities and suppliers through assessments, which provide a method and process for capturing the information more efficiently via web-based questionnaires. With operational energy management, organizations can gain greater visibility into energy and other environmental resources in the data center and across the enterprise to visualize, monitor and better manage the use of energy. To learn more about CA ecosoftware, visit ca.com/ecosoftware. 13

14 CA Technologies is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies innovative products and services provide the insight and control essential for IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 rely on CA Technologies to manage their evolving IT ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at ca.com. 1 Forrester Research, Inc., The Evolution Of Enterprise Carbon And Energy Management Software, December Quocirca, Towards a Sustainable Business, October 2010 Copyright 2011 CA. All rights reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. This document is for your informational purposes only. CA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information. To the extent permitted by applicable law, CA provides this document as is without warranty of any kind, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. In no event will CA be liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, from the use of this document, including, without limitation, lost profits, business interruption, goodwill, or lost data, even if CA is expressly advised in advance of the possibility of such damages. CA does not provide legal advice. Neither this document nor any CA software product referenced herein shall serve as a substitute for your compliance with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statute, regulation, rule, directive, policy, standard, guideline, measure, requirement, administrative order, executive order, etc. (collectively, Laws )) referenced in this document. You should consult with competent legal counsel regarding any Laws referenced herein. CS1619_0811