The point has been hit home time and again in articles, blogs, and case studies: DATA is a key driver of effective sustainability strategy in organizations. It tells us how we are performing and where we have opportunities for improvement, thus directing our strategic efforts.
If we aspire to integrate sustainability considerations into core business decisions, then it is integral that we create processes for data collection, management, analysis, and reporting that are as efficient and standardized as possible -- like our processes for measuring financial performance.
Unlike with financial metrics, however, the processes and tools that organizations implement to evaluate sustainability metrics vary drastically across companies and industries. This variation seems to be a significant setback in our collaborative sustainability effort because it causes confusion when identifying standards and best practices.
I am conducting research for my MBA thesis to understand the processes and software tools that Sustainability Managers are using to collect, analyze, and communicate their organizations' sustainability data -- and more importantly, what challenges arise with different approaches taken by different companies?
I will make this research available to the community for free for the purpose of benefitting public knowledge. It will guide vendors of sustainability software solutions to improve their product offerings to better meet customer needs. It will also help Sustainability Managers understand the common benefits and drawbacks of solutions in the market, enabling them to make an informed decision when choosing a solution for their company.
To support this research, I am asking Sustainability Managers and those holding other sustainability-related roles in companies to please spare 10 minutes of time to participate in a brief survey. Participation will benefit the effort to develop technologies and processes that drive the implementation of sustainability initiatives in businesses.
If you work in a sustainability function in your company, I hope that you can find a moment in your busy schedule to provide your valuable input for this study. I would like to collect as many survey responses as possible by 16-Nov. Please contact me if you would like to further discuss this research.
Sustainability Data Management Processes Survey
Link: https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0qEBcR1vHSnwjs1
