Executives Are Demanding—and Funding—Upgraded Capabilities

Companies increasingly want to manage environmental performance like any other aspect of business performance. In some cases, they are held back by inadequate IT systems. Dissatisfaction with tools for tracking and reporting sustainability performance currently in use at many companies is driving demand for better systems and consulting help.

Drawing on a proprietary survey of senior sustainability executives at major corporations in North America and Europe, this study identifies what executives cite as short comings in their current systems, quantifies the spending plans aimed at upgrading those systems over the next 12 months, and identifies the corporate budgets providing the funds for these investments.

Key Questions

How do sustainability executives see the strengths and weaknesses of current systems that track and report on environmental performance?
What are leading companies’ spending plans for upgrading their systems?
Which corporate departments control the budgets that will be tapped for software, hardware and consulting to improve environmental reporting systems?

Key Finding

Sustainability execs are broadly pleased with the accuracy and completeness of the sustainability information their current systems provide, but nearly 40 percent say their systems are poorly integrated and it remains too difficult to get the needed data. A third of companies surveyed plan to spend over $50,000 on systems upgrades in the coming year.

Who Needs this Report?

Sustainability executives
Senior executives and strategists
Sustainability consultants
Vendors of, ERP, EHS, carbon accounting and sustainability management systems
Universities and sustainability research centers

Main Topics/Report Features

Pages: 5; Figures: 3
Sustainability tracking and reporting
Sustainability management
Survey of 32 sustainability executives at leading global companies

Table of Contents

Key Questions
Key Finding
Environmental Performance Should be Reported and Reviewed at Least Quarterly
Many Execs Cite Poorly Integrated Systems for Tracking Environmental Performance
Spending Planned to Improve Systems for Tracking and Reporting Environmental Information
Opportunity for a Vendor Landscape Marked by FluidTerminology

Sustainability Departments Control Funds for Environmental Reporting Systems
Focus on Analytics and Integration

Report Methodology

Table of Figures

Figure 1 Executives’ Assessment of Current IT systems for Tracking and Reporting Environmental Performance
Figure 2 Planned Spending on Software for Sustainability Tracking and Reporting
Figure 3 Departments Funding Spending on Sustainability Performance Management Systems

Companies Mentioned

Accenture
CSRware
Carbon Guerrilla
Carbon Systems
Cloud Apps
Deloitte
e3 Solutions
Enablon
Enviance
ENXSuite
FirstCarbon Solutions
Hara
Locus Technologies
Oracle
ProcessMAP
SAP
Telefónica
Verisae