[Watch On-Demand] The Rise of ESG and the Evolving Role of EHS

Posts Categorized: Sustainable Business

[Watch On-Demand] The Rise of ESG and the Evolving Role of EHS

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The term ESG is everywhere. While the concepts of operational sustainability, social responsibility, and ethical corporate practices aren’t new, recent attention by the investment community and corporate leaders suggest that Environmental, Social, and Governance frameworks are solidifying and that ESG is more than the next corporate buzzword.

This 50-minute webinar, led by EHS and ESG experts from Dakota Software and its partner Scope5, explores ESG metrics and how EHS professionals can take a leading role in their organization’s ESG programs. 

This on-demand webinar includes:

  • ESG definitions and drivers
  • Benefits of effective ESG performance
  • Overlap in ESG and EHS KPIs
  • Materiality and data management strategies
  • Leveraging technology for improved analytics and reporting

Watch On-Demand

Scope 5 & Dakota Software Partnership Transforms ESG Management

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Scope 5 is excited to announce our partnership with Dakota Software. Read the press release below.

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New partnership brings together EHS and Sustainability software leaders to transform ESG management through proactive compliance management and real-time data collection, analysis, and reporting.

CLEVELAND, OH – Dakota Software, a leading provider of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) management software, today announced the new partnership with Sustainability software provider, Scope 5™.

Scope 5 is an industry leading provider of Sustainability management software and consulting solutions. Their cloud-based application is used by global organizations seeking to better understand their sustainability footprint and drive responsible business decisions. The new Dakota Metrics application, powered by Scope 5’s technology, facilitates collecting and tracking fine-grain Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data. Built-in analytics make it easy to identify opportunities for improvement and support forecasting impacts of projects and setting targets. Reporting features make it easy to respond to stakeholder ESG queries, generate reports in compliance with CDP, GRI, DJSI, and others, and to communicate progress via various dashboards.

“By tracking emissions and sustainability data and revealing opportunities for better resource use, any business can drive valuable action. Organizations of all sizes are already using Scope 5 sustainability data management solutions to get powerful answers that save time and money in ways that are good for the planet and good for the bottom line.” Says Yoram Bernet, Co-Founder and CEO of Scope 5. “With the rapidly increasing adoption of ESG metrics alongside EHS metrics as key operational corporate KPIs, we recognized in Dakota a synergistic partner with valuable experience in the EHS space.”

ProActivity® by Dakota Software helps organizations ensure EHS compliance by centralizing their regulatory requirement & related compliance tasks and documentation. It features a constantly updated regulatory library that guides users in the creation of facility-specific compliance calendars and ensures that audit protocols are always up to date. Its patented Parametric Filtering™ uses interactive dashboards to help clients proactively identify areas of operational risks.

“Our clients, who tend to be large, global, industrial companies with complex regulatory requirements, value our compliance management products because they create a foundation for their ESG programs.” says Reg Shiverick, President of Dakota Software. “We have partnered with Scope 5 to expand our overall capabilities and support our clients in reporting on their ESG programs and improving their operational efficiencies.”

The Dakota Software and Scope 5 partnership further builds upon Dakota Software’s vision of becoming vital to the day-to-day activities of the global EHS community helping to make the world a cleaner, safer place. Both organizations have been recognized by independent Analyst firm Verdantix; Scope 5 in the Smart Innovators: Sustainability Management Software publication and Dakota Software in the Green Quadrant: EHS Software study on most prominent vendors.

About Scope 5

Scope 5 is an award winning provider of software and consulting solutions to streamline ESG reporting and data collection, and reveal actionable insights to drive impactful sustainability programs. By combining professional sustainability consulting, data management expertise, and our cloud-based software, Scope 5 empowers companies to quantify their resource use and emissions while uncovering opportunities to reduce waste and resource use across their organization. For more information, visit www.www.scope5.com.

About Dakota Software

Founded in 1988, Dakota Software introduced the first software product specifically designed to support EHS compliance. Their ProActivity Suite is the only software solution that includes an integrated library of curated regulatory content. This unique content integration allows users to easily determine which regulations apply to their facilities, notifies users of relevant regulatory changes, and provides guidance and clarification on complex subject matter. For more information, visit www.dakotasoft.com.

BEF’s Water Restoration Certificates

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BEF (Bonneville Environmental Foundation) started its Water Restoration Certificate® (WRC) program a decade ago. Inspiration for the WRC product was based on BEF’s experience from a decade earlier when the organization created “Green Tags” now known as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). The idea for WRCs was two-fold:

  • Provide organizations with a simple way to balance a water footprint
  • Provide a solution to rivers and streams in the West that were suffering from chronically low flows and / or running dry at certain times of year

The first WRC projects were in Oregon’s Middle Deschutes River and Montana’s Prickly Pear Creek. These initial projects focused on working within “use it or lose it” water law in the West. Laws such as these essentially viewed any water not being used for human benefit to be “wasted,” thereby incentivizing water rights holders to use more water than they needed in order to retain their valuable water rights. Many of these early projects worked with water rights holders to designate any unused water left in stream as “beneficial use” for the environment. Meaning, water rights holders could now be incentivized to use only the water they needed (to irrigate, farm, etc) while leaving the remaining water in stream. This water left in stream was designated as “used” by the environment, allowing them to retain their valuable water rights. The water rights holder then received payment for leaving this water in stream and the first WRCs were created.

BEF worked with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to establish a set of rigorous environmental criteria for WRC project selection. BEF provides all project documentation along with independent third-party review of the project to the Markit Environmental Registry where WRC inventory is generated and retired (the same registry used for carbon offset retirement). Each WRC represents 1,000 gallons of water restored.

Early adopters of WRCs were breweries in the Pacific Northwest and a handful of purpose driven brands, including WhiteWave Foods (now part of Danone North America). Early support for WRCs enabled BEF to expand its project portfolio to incorporate multiple different types of restoration projects to address unique watershed challenges in different regions. Project types range from improving efficient use of water in agriculture, to meadow and wetland restoration, groundwater replenishment and much more. Our current Project Bank provides a portfolio overview.

BEF began to become a resource for companies seeking to address their water footprint in regions where their companies have operational or value chain water risk. As BEF partnered with companies, the organization served as a critical bridge between companies and on-the-ground project partners (typically other nonprofit organizations). For companies seeking a volume-based quantification of water improved or restored, BEF worked with other industry organizations (such as LimnoTech, WaterCourse Engineering and others) to translate the benefits from such projects into volumetric estimates that could be claimed against a water footprint.

The WRC evolved during this time to become a tool for smaller companies and / or entities seeking points to earn against certifications such as LEED®, B Corp, or the Alliance for Water Stewardship. These reporting standards accept BEF’s WRCs as a market-based tool to balance a water footprint.

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risk Report has declared water crises among the top-five risks in terms of impact for eight consecutive years. Alongside the WEF declaration, BEF witnessed the evolution of corporate environmental water stewardship from considerations such as “what is a water footprint and how do we address it” to “we have identified our water footprint, we know our key geographies at risk for water stress, and we want to not only balance our own water footprint but we desire to collaborate with others to address shared challenges at the watershed level.” Companies understand they cannot operate in locations without a secure water supply – not only from an operational standpoint, but also from the standpoint of quality of life for their employees.

BEF has also participated in the evaluation of other water credit products as well as the development of Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) – an industry collaboration that provides corporate water stewardship practitioners a standardized approach and set of indicators to estimate and communicate the volumetric benefits of water stewardship activities. Because providing a volume of water alone does not guarantee shared water challenges are reduced, VWBA also provides activity guidelines to increase the likelihood of generating social, economic and environmental benefits of solving shared water challenges in the catchment, and complementary indicators to measure non-volumetric outputs of investments.

In light of the sobering news about water stresses around the world, there’s an opportunity for more businesses, large and small, to promote and invest in water-smart policies and programs. The business sector can be a transformative leader in ensuring our communities have plentiful clean water for generations to come. The possibilities are endless. And the time is now.

Val Fishman has over 10 years’ experience leading sustainability partnerships to support water stewardship programs that include public and stakeholder engagement. Val is a corporate sustainability authority, educating businesses and consumers on energy and environmental water stewardship.

Scope 5 Helps Tell Your Sustainability Story

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A killer story connects both on an intellectual level, and an emotional level.

A killer story is full of visual and sense-based detail.

A killer story is persuasive and memorable.

Why Storytelling Matters

Ever go a day without sharing a story? You won’t be able to talk to your friends or tell your family how your day went.

Sound impossible? That’s because it probably is. People are hardwired to be social beings, and part of that is our need to communicate with one another.

If storytelling is integrated into our everyday routine, why do we seldom use stories in our presentations? Because when addressing an audience, we tend to focus on the important points we need to convey. We concentrate on information that’s crucial to the outcome we want. Usually, this involves data or business model explanation.

Occasionally, we may display a graph.

Despite all this, we tend to leave out something that seems just as vital. Storytelling.

A Tale as Old as TED

If you review the list of the most viewed TED Talks, you’ll see each of them has a story integrated into the discussion.

Our brains love a good story that makes us feel something…something successful TED presenters have capitalized on.

A successful presentation goes beyond what your slides look like. What really matters is the heart of what you’re trying to say. In this way, stories are used in business all the time—in case studies, press releases, direct marketing, testimonials, sales brochures, web copy and even instruction manuals. Like executives, marketers and sales leaders, sustainability practitioners can use storytelling too.

The real challenge is turning data into a narrative that packs an emotional punch.

Communicating Sustainability Initiatives

Gone is the day when we used only alphanumeric approaches to tell a great story.

While words, tables, and general data measurements matter, today stakeholders expect more visual and compelling elements in support of storytelling.

As a sustainability practitioner, there are several ways to cut through the clutter and make your story stand out for stakeholders, whether internal or external.

First, visuals pack punch because these provide a tangible measure of success. Areas requiring attention are spotted quickly. For example, the inclusion of graphs and charts can communicate key points faster and more clearly than words or tables.

Next, developing a brand identity for your sustainability efforts can draw attention to and spark interest among stakeholders to learn more. Benefits are recruitment and retention, employee engagement and customer loyalty.

High profile companies doing this well are Patagonia, Nike, and Unilever.

Technology helps too. As a leading sustainability data management and reporting solution, Scope 5 has an advanced capability called Storyboarding that helps you tell your organization’s story.

How Scope 5 Helps With Storytelling

Scope 5 software greatly simplifies the process of communicating the progress of your sustainability initiative with others.

Consider these three key areas that distinguish Scope 5:

  • Report progress. Visualizing your data in graphs and charts can help you instantly share progress with teammates, initiative sponsors, company executives and external stakeholders.
  • Analyze performance. Scope 5 turns data into insights so you can compare performance and spot outliers as a rapid way to convey why team and organization should focus in identified areas.
  • Share with stakeholders. With Scope 5 storyboarding capability, sustainability practitioners can share privately or publicly key visuals that showcase transparency and progress towards goals.

Results can be profound.

  • Your story is clearly communicated.
  • Your stakeholders get the information they need.
  • Your initiative continues to build engagement and momentum.

Scope 5 Case Study: City of Bellevue

City of Bellevue uses Scope 5 to share progress on a range of environmental areas. See how the city tells its sustainability story, visit City of Bellevue Environmental Stewardship by the Numbers.

Here are some highlights:

Though municipal emissions are less than 1% of total community emissions, city operations add tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year. Since 2011, the city has saved over 7,000 metric tons of CO2 cumulatively.

Beyond reducing Bellevue’s footprint, the city plays a role in designing walkable neighborhoods, encouraging energy-efficient buildings, and requiring environmentally responsible growth. The city has developed a list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor progress, which is openly and transparently shared with citizens.

All data is rendered in beautiful, easy-to-follow visuals that help tell the city’s sustainability story.

Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about how Scope 5 can help you advance your sustainability initiatives, watch our short demo.

We love learning how we can help advance your sustainability story. Reach out anytime to start a conversation.

Certified B Corporations Redefine Success in Business

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“The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just shareholders—it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet.”  ~Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia

Next month Toronto is hosting the annual B Corporation Champions Retreat event, October 3-5, 2017. The gathering is a great opportunity for people committed to using business as a force for good to come together, exchange ideas and learn from one another.

B Corps Are A Force for Good

By way of background, a B Corporation is a business entity built to serve stakeholders, not just shareholder considerations. Well-known consumer brands like Patagonia, Dansko and Ben & Jerry’s are B Corps.

These companies, and others like them big and small, see value in aligning their organization with client, community, employee and environmental interests. Currently, there are 2,251 companies in more than 50 countries.

Rigorous Standards

Becoming a B Corp means holding oneself accountable to rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Beyond Certification

Certified B Corps are committed to making a difference, but knowing where to spend time for greatest impact can be challenging. The task of determining which sustainability metrics you should track is one of the most important issues.

Basic activities that generate emissions are obvious places to start.

But the real question is which one of these metrics, or perhaps others, are “right” for your organization? For example, does a metric represent a significant portion of environmental impact, and, if so, is there anything you can do to reduce usage or change activity?

Sustainability Software Can Help

The right kind of cloud-based application can greatly simplify sustainability reporting for B Corps. Often the solution starts by solving problems with data. For example, the right sustainability software enables multiple users to work on a coherent data set, provides automatic unit conversion, warns of outliers and missing or duplicate data, and provides an audit trail.

More advanced cloud-based software like Scope 5 and others support dynamic and unanticipated data relationships, facilitates in-depth and flexible analysis of the data, makes it easy to generate many different charts and reports, and automates data collection.

Traditional approaches rely on piles of spreadsheets that require hundreds, if not thousands of hours to compile and organize – time better spent elsewhere. Learn more by reading my article, 5 Myths About Sustainability Software Every CSO Should Know.

When ROI Takes-off

Sustainability reporting is here to stay, but knowing how it impacts your bottom-line is a critical data point. Intangible value gets created by enhancing innovation leadership and brand reputation, but ROI skyrockets when sustainability reporting software informs business decisions.

For example, Scope 5 helped a client streamline data collection, and inventory and track improvement. After reducing electricity costs at one site, the company embarked on an initiative to systematically reduce costs across all manufacturing sites. This grew into a broader strategy for improving resource energy management that included water and waste.

The company has saved over $10 million in operating expenses and is poised to save even more while making its business less susceptible to risk. Accrued savings are improving net margins and net revenue by eliminating wasted resource cost. Local employees are proud of providing environmental and social benefits to their communities.

Ready to Do Our Part

Becoming a B Corp shows a commitment to customers, workers, and surrounding community. Leaders like Patagonia, Dansko and Ben & Jerry’s focus on long-term value creation and sustainability in economic and social practice. Sustainability reporting software plays a vital role supporting this mission.

As an expert in turning sustainability data into outcomes that matter, Scope 5 is committed to helping B Corps by sharing best practices learned from working with leading companies and organizations. Whether you are looking to get started or advance to the next level, Scope 5 can help.

This is our way of investing in you so that together we can ensure a sustainable future. Let’s start a conversation. Email us at info@scope5.com.

Support ‘We Are Still In’ to Help Ensure a Sustainable Future

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Support 'We Are Still In' to Help Ensure a Sustainable Future

The blogosphere is atwitter about the U.S. Administration’s announcement that “We’re getting out” of the Paris Climate Accord, justifiably so.

The groundswell of commitments to continue to pursue emissions reductions despite the Administration’s decision to pull out of the agreement has been impressive.

According to We Are Still In, more than 1,200 U.S. governors, mayors, businesses (Scope 5 included), investors, and colleges and universities declared their intent to continue to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing carbon emissions.

Our Opportunity to Step Up

This sends a strong signal to the international community. Each signatory is making a commitment to deliver concrete emissions reductions that will help meet America’s emissions pledge under the Paris agreement.

This group of leaders in businesses, states, cities, colleges, and universities represents a sizable percentage of the U.S. economy. According to We Are Still In, business and investor signatories account for a total annual revenue of $1.4 trillion and include over 20 Fortune 500 companies like Apple, eBay, Gap Inc., Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Nike.

292 US Climate Mayors have also committed to upholding Paris Climate Agreement goals for their cities. Read more here.

Whether a signatory or not, the best way to ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of carbon emissions reduction is by identifying what you and your organization can do, then taking action.

Leadership Examples Aplenty

Many companies and organizations are making crucial progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by producing less waste, saving money and becoming less susceptible to risk — inspiring results.

For example, Scope 5 clients include multiple Fortune 250s, consulting firms like CH2M, industry leaders like Expeditors and Virginia Mason, and various local governments. Their stories are below:

In this GreenBiz article, CH2M shares how they helped a technology client with Scope 5 save $10 million, improving margins and revenue by eliminating wasted resource cost.

Healthcare provider Virginia Mason is another example. The medical center’s award-winning sustainability program puts it among elite health care organizations. Discover why here.

Global logistics expert Expeditors launched a sustainability tracking strategy to help cut energy use, produce less waste, and save money. Read their Sustainability Report and Scope 5 case study.

Municipalities like City of Bellevue and Mercer Island in Washington State’s King County track progress on key environmental metrics. More here.

Ready to Do Our Part

As an expert in turning sustainability data into outcomes that matter, Scope 5 helps these organizations and others like them improve economic and environmental impacts.

This group understands that you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Only then are opportunities to reduce electricity, lighting, fuel, and waste quickly discovered and targeted action taken.

For those looking to advance their sustainability initiative, Scope 5 is committed to sharing best practices learned from working with leading companies and organizations. Whether you are looking to get started or advance to the next level, Scope 5 can help.

This is our way of investing in you so that together we can ensure a sustainable future. Let’s start a conversation. Email us at info@scope5.com.