While the world fights climate change with bold initiatives, other environmental issues such as air pollution, water supply and waste disposal come under the spotlight as well.
Managing vast amounts of environmental data for air, water and waste can be overwhelming, especially for large businesses in high-emitting industries. This burden often overshadows the true potential of this data to unlock insights for improving efficiency, reducing waste and optimizing operations.
How environmental data can transform your business from compliance to performance
Many companies still rely on error-prone manual data entry via email and local spreadsheets. Here are four reasons why forward-thinking companies in high-emitting industries need a robust environmental accounting program backed up by advanced environmental software:
- Proactive regulatory navigation – Regulations that protect the environment are getting more complicated, especially with global trends pushing for tougher standards. A robust environmental compliance software solution helps companies check whether they need permits and predict when rules might change. This keeps the business running smoothly with a greater ability to plan, budget and resource new obligations. It also makes sure the business follows the rules properly.
- Efficiency and resource management – Using resilient environmental management solutions makes collecting and calculating environmental data simpler, freeing up environment, health and safety (EHS) teams to tackle other priorities. This also makes the data more accurate and reliable, which helps companies make better decisions and use resources effectively.
- Cost reduction and risk mitigation – Environmental accounting helps companies understand how their actions affect the environment, identify where they are wasting resources and catch potential problems early. This not only saves money by reducing fines, but also by cutting down on resource use and avoiding disruptions in operations.
- Future-proofing for competitive advantage – Companies with strong environmental management and reporting can gain a competitive edge by anticipating and aligning with global regulations, demonstrating their commitment to environmental stewardship. This attracts investors, consumers and partners who value sustainability.
By streamlining data collection and analysis and identifying areas for improvement through robust software solutions, EHS teams can make a strategic contribution to broader sustainability goals. Intelligent software solutions are the key to unlocking this potential.
In 2021, Verdantix stated: “The accelerated digitization of EHS processes and the increasing long-term focus on operationalizing ESG and sustainability risk management will shape the EHS software market in the next five years.” Their recently published “Smart Innovators: Environmental Compliance Software” report provides specific guidance for environmental managers, EHS executives and professionals and lists key decision factors for selecting environmental compliance software.
