Many organizations grapple with a myriad of challenges that require them to make informed and timely decisions to support internal operations and external stakeholders. While many simply take the steps needed to meet their obligations, others are integrating compliance, environmental, social and governance (ESG), and environment, health and safety (EHS) data to gain more insight. By breaking down data silos, leveraging advanced analytics solutions, and establishing governance, companies can gain a holistic view of their operations, which in turn enables better, more informed decision making and consequently – action! In this blog I will explore why integrating these critical data streams is key to driving better decisions and supporting governance and how these changes help organizations move from reactive to proactive decision making while focusing on efficiency and program effectiveness.
Within many organizations, compliance data is stored in one system, ESG data in another, and EHS data in yet another. When data is siloed this way, unlocking insights consumes valuable time and effort and often requires expert skillsets to validate assumptions and methodology when disseminating data. To address this challenge, organizations are turning to digital advisors who, in collaboration with client-led teams, work globally to integrate the data from these disparate systems and provide a comprehensive view of their sustainable operations. This process enables companies to gain meaningful insight by helping them consolidate their data streams and better understand the context behind their functional data, which leads to continuous improvement and digital transformation. For example, site size, risk profile, demographics, audits and asset health and condition are often vital to driving EHS performance, but this data is usually analyzed on its own. Combining this data with other key EHS metrics like training data, engagement scores and culture, related downtime and program spend, leaders can get a window of insight into intrinsic and “in control” factors that drive EHS outcomes, like determining the effectiveness of EHS programs, establishing new leading indicators and managing risk more efficiently. However, as we explore new methods of integrating and analyzing all this data, we need to remember the significance of project governance and stakeholder management. Governance brings a degree of transparency and oversight to projects of any scale and ensures that all stakeholders share the same strategic vision.
We’ve experienced success using this strategy in various industry sectors, including a prominent global bank and financial services company. This organization required better visibility into each of their retail and corporate locations’ site risk to focus time and resources on mitigating the highest risk regions and drive compliance. Implementing an integrated governance and control measures program that centralized facilities management oversight, EHS systems operations, project controls and compliance oversight, among others, helped to enhance their data insights and performance certainty. This integrated governance framework and data analysis served as the foundation for risk reduction and efficiency gains, resulting in remarkable achievements including a 20-30% boost in productivity and a 25% reduction in compliance costs across multiple functions and project portfolios. It granted corporate functions and business leaders a comprehensive view of performance, certainty and control.
Collaborating with cross-functional teams, we established a unified and reliable source of data which now drives decision making. We also streamlined common, overlapping and repetitive activities, such as the digital reporting process, dashboards, automation/transformation initiatives and cost-savings initiatives across different workstreams. By analyzing incident, audit, testing and maintenance data, we successfully identified recurring issues in high-risk facilities and developed a comprehensive risk profile for these sites.
Moreover, the establishment of an integrated cross-functional steering team has ensured accountability and provided a structured framework for transformation, performance and compliance assurance, as well as timely corrective actions through regular program reviews. As part of our responsibilities, we centralized, streamlined and improved global governance support through a single service provider framework, aligning with the organization's strategic and operational objectives.
Looking forward, we are leveraging new technologies and innovation to establish new ways of solving our clients’ most challenging problems. As organizations push forward with AI-enabled solutions within EHS and ESG that plug into existing systems or leverage internal efficiency from large language models and MS Copilot, one thing remains true: governance is as important as data quality, accuracy and completeness. Establishing a strong governance program for sensitive EHS data will be key to unlocking the insights future AI solutions will provide.
Integrating compliance, ESG and EHS data is a crucial step towards making better decisions in today's complex business landscape. By breaking down silos and leveraging analytics solutions, organizations can gain valuable insights that drive informed choices. Moving from reactionary to predictive decision making not only ensures compliance and risk mitigation but also unlocks hidden value and fosters innovation. As companies embrace this integrated approach, they position themselves for long-term success and contribute positively to society and the environment. The future belongs to those who integrate critical business systems, driving positive change and leaving a lasting impact.
If you are interested in understanding how we are helping leading organizations integrate data, gain valuable insights and move towards better business outcomes, please contact us!
