What Are Must-Have Features for Climate Compliance Management Software?
Businesses these days have a responsibility to the environment. While a big part of this means launching environment-focused initiatives (like recycling guidelines at the office), another part is managing climate compliance. Today’s businesses must make sure they cut down on their carbon emissions, reduce wastage, and follow their government’s environmental regulations.
Though keeping climate compliant has its challenges, the good news is climate compliance management software is designed to proactively address climate-related compliance obligations head-on before they become a threat to productivity. Climate compliance management software will see that businesses manage their resources properly while positively impacting the world around them. More importantly, it also helps businesses achieve net zero—the term for when a business’s total greenhouse gas emissions are balanced back to zero.
But what are the must-have features for climate compliance management software?
Accessible reports and KPIs to track climate compliance
Keeping track of all climate compliance-related documents can be a mess, especially if you’re doing it manually. Thanks to automation, however, climate compliance management software lets you easily see queued personal tasks and their progress, organise records, and automatically generate accessible reports on resource management.
For example, imagine a singular dashboard where you can see important key performance indicators (KPIs) like how many metric tons of CO2 your factory produces while also monitoring the status of your employee’s environmental impact report. No more having to coordinate with different departments just to get a relevant report.
Keeping a bird’s-eye view of your business’s climate compliance initiatives is important because it is one key step to preparing for climate and energy success. It reduces the chances you’ll overlook something important and face a hefty climate-related fine.
Smart resource planning as a key part of climate compliance
Any climate compliance-focused software tool should have built-in resource planning capabilities: a shared database to see where things are, blending data to give you actionable insights, supply-demand balancing, and more. Not only does this prevent wasting precious resources but it also ensures that the right people get the right resources they need. The overall effect is improved efficiency throughout your entire operations.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools are designed to help businesses achieve optimal operational efficiency. They automate functions like IT, services, and HR and make the most out of a business’s resources. No more spending precious time on manual processes when technology can do it.
There is even a case to be made that sustainability-driven ERPs are the future of efficiency and sustainability. These ERP systems prioritise a new generation of sustainability-focused KPIs like gas emissions per site, per product, or per unit of revenue. Integrating these KPIs into your operational performance guarantees climate compliance and a commitment to net zero remains a priority.
Streamlined communication
Any software should have tools that give staff notifications and share crucial documents easily. This is especially important for climate compliance management software as reporting on things like carbon emissions is time-sensitive.
Having an alerts system that signals you when your company’s energy consumption performance and usage exceeds the targets can help you prevent pricey energy waste. These alerts notify key members of your staff through in-browser notifications, SMS or email, streamlining delivery of messages.
Centralised climate compliance management
Keeping up with climate compliance will always result in a slew of documents to keep track of. Contracts, memorandums of understanding, and pledged emission targets are just the tip of the iceberg. Losing track of just one or two of these almost guarantees you miss your climate target, stray further from net zero, and even up your risk of breaking a climate-related regulation.
Of course, climate compliance management becomes a lot easier if you have all your relevant documents in one easy-to-reach place. The software can even segment these documents into different subcategories having to do with different parts of your climate initiatives: recycling, emissions reduction, and more. It spares you from wasting time searching for important documents.
Automated climate compliance management alerts
Any software should automatically alert you when it’s time to file a report, time to compute emission output, when to undergo an emission test, etc.
Real-time climate compliance-related alerts are important as governments are now getting serious about finding businesses that fail to comply with climate regulations. These fines have been issued for breaches of climate change schemes, which are in place to help ensure net zero emissions—an indicator of how seriously powerful regulators are taking the role of businesses in today’s climate emergency. Just getting a timely heads-up could mean the difference between a growing, prosperous business and one held back by millions of dollars in fines.
Towards a better world with climate compliance
Every business should want to have a positive impact on the environment. It’s the best way to achieve a legacy of truly doing something good.
Yet sometimes, solid behavioral change is the only way to net zero. Luckily, climate compliance management software ensures your business can do that and stay ahead of the pack.
