Jack Blog
May 27th, 2014 By Jack Morton
In a previous post, we explored the launch Jack Morton’s process to report on our sustainability performance through a CDP reporting pilot with Measurabl. One of the biggest challenges any first-time or expert reporter faces is the ability to gather complete and accurate sustainability data – namely energy, carbon, water, and waste.
The majority of sustainability reporting standards, including CDP, are broken down into qualitative and quantitative dimensions. Qualitative questions cover the profile of a company, including who is in charge of sustainability and climate change issues, and how the company plans to strategically manage the relevant risks and opportunities. Quantitative questions cover the more obvious – how much carbon can be directly attributed to our operations, what are the specific targets we have for reducing our environmental impact, and how are these measured.
As a first-time reporter, it’s incredible how difficult it can be to gather this quantitative data. There is a need to coordinate with various departments and provide details on the data needs, into which we may not have visibility. Jack Morton’s offices are primarily within larger buildings with multiple tenants, so knowing the exact square footage of our operations can be challenging, let alone trying to acquire the specific energy, water or waste consumption specifically attributable to us. We are working with multiple stakeholders to gather as much information as possible.
One of the biggest benefits of partnering with Measurabl is that they’re building technology that directly integrates with primary data sources such as utility companies, importing the relevant data that is then automatically formatted to meet CDP’s reporting requirements. This takes a big headache out of the process! Our first pass at responding to qualitative questionnaire itself was very easy on the Measurabl platform. With features like alerts, sample answers, and question help, Measurabl has helped ease the burden. Additionally, Measurabl has industry best practices in place to help us estimate our consumption figures in the cases we are unable obtain our actual consumption.
So far, so good but there is a lot more work to be done to get us fully CDP-ready. As we continue this process, we look forward to seeing where efficiencies can be made and what improvements are needed to make us a more sustainable company.