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Sustainability: Monitoring and Reporting

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Sustainability: Monitoring and Reporting

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MONITORING AND REPORTING OVER THE YEARS

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND STANDARD ISO 14001:2015

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

REPORTING STUDY CASE

EDUCATION SECTOR ARE REPORTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

This mini-course introduces you to sustainability metrics monitoring and reporting frameworks, walks you through case studies that implement monitoring and reporting and leads you to identify how it becomes an essential piece of your company / VET organisation strategy. On completion of this course, you’ll walk away with:

  • A comprehensive review on the global frameworks for sustainability monitoring and reporting.
  • Knowledge about sustainable indicators monitoring depending if they are quantitative and qualitative.
  • Introduction to the Environmental Management System implementation in the organisations.
  • Insights on reporting and monitoring in educational institutions.

SUSTAINABILITY MONITORING AND REPORTING OVER THE YEARS

In the 1980s, profit was prioritized over sustainabilityBefore the introduction of sustainability topics in the industry in the late 80’s, generally companies used to contribute to sustainability because of two main reasons: 1. Gain media exposure and brand awareness2. Increasing the value for stakeholdersIn 1994, John Elkington coined the term "triple bottom line" to clarify sustainability as the integration of social, economic, and environmental value.

SUSTAINABILITY MONITORING AND REPORTING OVER THE YEARS

Since 2004, ESG factors were included in financial and strategy decisions In 2004, the United Nations published a report called “Who cares wins”, the first report ever recorded, which include the term Environmental, Social and corporate Governance (ESG). Ten years later the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced to address some of the most pressing global challenges and promote a sustainable future for all.

Find more information in minicourse : SDG Explorer

SUSTAINABILITY MONITORING AND REPORTING OVER THE YEARS

ESG vs Sustainability metrics

The terms Sustainability and ESG metrics have recently become synonymous as long as the terms are widely used in the corporate organizations.

Find more information in minicourse: Sustainability fundaments

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

Sustainability metrics: What Gets Measured Gets Managed

Find more information in minicourse:: Metrics & Awareness.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

Management systems help companies to track their metrics

The necessity of constantly keep control of metrics introduce us to the implementation of management systems (MS).

Every MS is different from each other depending on the objectives of the organisation.

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

Sustainable Management Systems are based on three pillars

The evolution on sustainable topics have arisen the need of addressing sustainable challenges for business success. Consequently, over the past few years, sustainable management systems (SMS) have emerged, based on the well known three pillars (social, environmental and economic).

SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS

Sustainable Management Systems meet the following standards Standards for sustainable management systems are presented below:

The next slide provide further details regarding the Environmental standard ISO 14001:2015

Find more information in minicourse: Environmental Indicators and life cycle of products

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND STANDARD ISO 14001:2015

Environmental standard ISO 14001:2015 One example of the standards, the ISO 14001 updated in 2015, provides a clear framework for institutions to manage their environmental burdens. Moreover, this standard follows the cycle: plan-do-check-act, as shown in the fugure on the right.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND STANDARD ISO 14001:2015

One of the key stages of the ISO 14001:2015 standard is Monitoring The ISO 14001 provides several principles to follow in order to perform the Environmental Management System in the organisations (See the Illustration on the right). Each stage is important in order to implement the management system, in this minicourse we focus on the monitoring stage.

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Monitoring allows following up ESG-metrics Monitoring can be defined as the collection and analysis of data and information concerning the progress or status of a project. The monitoring step takes part during the implementation phase of the project Monitoring indicators and metrics are a crucial step towards a succesful reporting. Generally, monitoring involves following:

  • Establishing indicators of efficiency, effectiveness, and impact.
  • Controlling systems to collect information related to these indicators.
  • Collecting and recording the information.
  • Analyzing the information.
  • Using the information to inform day-to-day management.

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Benefits of Sustainability Monitoring Monitoring assists organisations achieving its goals and bring these benefits:

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Which metrics are generally monitored? First of all, the metrics to be monitored may be quantitative (based on numerical data), or qualitative (based on non-numerical data)

Each one has a different approach on monitoring and measuring practices.

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

It is key to recognize which are the metrics interacting with the company There are many indicators/metrics to monitor sustainability within the organizations. After establishing the most important metrics, every significant aspect should be brought under control by establishing one or more of the following controls:

  • - A responsible person
  • - A training plan or procedure
  • - Checklist and/or maintenance schedule
The next slides provide some examples : environmental , social and economic metrics.

Find more information in minicourse:: Metrics & Awareness.

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Monitoring Environmental Metrics The table below shows the metrics that are monitoring. Likewise the policies and management practices related to each area.

Source: Summary of the important areas in sustainability with guidelines to follow in the monitoring step (The Research Centres in Sweden)

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Monitoring Social Metrics The table social shows monitoring metrics in different areas. Likewise the management practices and policies related to it.

Source: Summary of the important areas in sustainability with guidelines to follow in the monitoring step (The Research Centres in Sweden)

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS MONITORING

Monitoring Economic and Governance metrics The economic and governance metrics referred to the profitability and the management of the company respectively. Important indicators to the operation of the company. The next table illustrates one example for each case.

Source: Summary of the important areas in sustainability with guidelines to follow in the monitoring step (The Research Centres in Sweden)

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

Organizations report what they are monitoring Every organization reports their own sustainability metrics according to their needs and future goals. However, nowadays there are common indicators that are fundamental in ESG reporting for every organization as shown in the table below:

Source: Summary of the important areas in sustainability with guidelines to follow in the monitoring step (The Research Centres in Sweden)

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

Sustainability Reporting is periodicly updated

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

Seven Principles are key for Sustainability Reporting

Source: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30664/CSRB1.pdf

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

Reporting frameworks are chosen according to the audience The frameworks are made by third party organizatons and can be divided according to their specific audience, as it can be seen in the illustration below:

ESG frameworks or ESG reporting frameworks, are high-level guidelines or approaches that provide organizations with a structure to identify, assess, and report on sustainability issues relevant to their operations.

Source: Source: https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30664/CSRB1.pdf

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

GRI Standards, SASB Standards help companies communicate effectively with investors

Source: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

SDGs and Future Fit are Reports for the government

Source: https://futurefitbusiness.org/

SUSTAINABILITY METRICS REPORTING

Benefits of Sustainability Reporting Reporting allows ESG metrics transparent communication, while enabling informed decision-making and sustainable growth, bringing these benefits:

(see examples in the following slides)

Source:

REPORTING STUDY CASES

Study case : Microsoft Company Sustainability Report

Read Metrics

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

REPORTING STUDY CASES

Study case: Environmental reporting

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

REPORTING STUDY CASES

Study case: Environmental reporting

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

REPORTING STUDY CASES

Study case: Social reporting

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

EDUCATION SECTOR ARE REPORTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

Education sector is shifting towards the ESG reporting Environmental factors and climate change are the main problems organizations and education institutions have been trying to solve the last few years. However, social, economic and governance metrics are also needed to achieve sustainability. Higher education institutions have become aware that: Students, faculty and staff would like to be part of organizations that are focusing on sustainable development. An ESG framework of actions and transparent reporting might lead to involvement and enhanced relationship with the community. Therefore, the implementation of ESG frameworks is imperative in higher education institutions to achieve these goals.

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

EDUCATION SECTOR ARE REPORTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

The integration of reporting could improve practices for greener educational institutions Most of the institutions are starting implementing an environmental standard while others are using the UN SDGs as a reporting framework. Most universities and colleges have meaningful missions and guiding principles that have been adopted and monitored over-time. However, reviewing these in context of sustainability and ESG is critical. The following examples show how educational institutions have started implementing ESG frameworks as a consequence of the necessity to start or enhance their sustainable practices.

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

EDUCATION SECTOR ARE REPORTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

Implementation of the ISO 14001 standard to assess campus sustainability Diponegoro University in Indonesia is assessing campus sustainability using the ISO 14001 checklist.

The assessment reveals that the university has performed the environmental principles, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability. Since the ISO 14001 is limited to environmental pillar, there is still room to incorporate broader economic and social dimensions in future assessments.

Source: Setyorini, N. A., Ulkhaq, M. M., Rasyida, D. R., Setiowati, P. R., & Trianto, R. (2016). Assessing campus sustainability: An ISO 14001 approach. International Journal of Advances in Agricultural & Environmental Engineering, 3, 245-248.

EDUCATION SECTOR ARE REPORTING SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS

Higher education - Waste Reduction Goals targeted with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Office of Sustainability assumed management of UGA's Sanitation Unit in November of 2021 and renamed it Waste Reduction Services. They selected Key Performance Indiciators (KPIs) each with detailed annual targets: KPI 1 - Project milestones to assess campus waste streams, waste management, and operational practices. KPI 2 - Combined Landfill and Single Stream Recycling tons KPI 3 - Recycling Rate (percentage of Single Stream tons in the combined Landfill and Single Stream waste stream) See in the link the example of excel monitoring tool

Source: Microsoft Sustainability Report 2022

4. CONCLUSIONS

  • The ISO 14001:2015 standard is widely used to start implementing an environmental management system within any organization.
  • Monitoring sustainable metrics allows performance evaluation, resource optimization, long –term planning, among other benefits.
  • Sustainable metrics can be divided into qualitative and quantitative metrics, and depending on the origin a different management and monitoring system is needed.
  • Reporting using the GRI and SDG’s framework is highly used among different organizations around the world.
  • Education institutions have started implementing management systems and reporting frameworks to minimize their environmental burden and engage the stakeholders.

5. Let's practice what we've learned!

QUIZ TIME

EVERGREEN QUIZ

Quiz

Sustainability: Monitoring and Reporting

EVERGREEN QUIZ

QUESTION 1/5

Example of Governance metrics in the ESG framework:

Sustainable policies

Transparent and ethical decision

Biodiversity conservation

EVERGREEN QUIZ

RIGHT!

NEXT QUESTION

EVERGREEN QUIZ

QUESTION 2/5

Why are educational institutions increasingly adopting ESG frameworks?

To align with sustainable values and enhance their social and environmental impact

To prioritize financial profitability over other goals

To focus solely on academic achievements

EVERGREEN QUIZ

RIGHT!

NEXT QUESTION

EVERGREEN QUIZ

QUESTION 3/5

What is the primary purpose of sustainability monitoring and reporting for organizations?

To communicate sustainable performance

To comply with water quality regulation

To achieve financial profitability

EVERGREEN QUIZ

RIGHT!

NEXT QUESTION

EVERGREEN QUIZ

QUESTION 4/5

Which ESG framework is widely used by companies to disclose their sustainability performance?

SBDG Reporting

GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)

ISO 9001

EVERGREEN QUIZ

RIGHT!

NEXT QUESTION

EVERGREEN QUIZ

QUESTION 5/5

Education institutions have started implementing sustainable practices?

Yes! we have several examples

Education sector only implement social practices.

No yet

EVERGREEN QUIZ

RIGHT!

RESULTS

EVERGREEN QUIZ

1-2Correct

3-4Correct

5Correct

0Correct

Please read the minicourse.

Please read the minicourse.

We advise you to read carefully the quiz

Congratulations!

6. REFERENCES

Books/Papers/Articles

Further reading

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.