Expert Q&A: Creating Your EHS & ESG Digitization Strategy
Sameer Vyas
April 11, 2024
“Without a comprehensive digital strategy, the road to digitization will result in wasted effort and damaging effects to your EHS and ESG efforts,” said Sameer Vyas, Senior Principal at Huco Consulting (a Montrose Environmental Group company), who sat down with NAEM to discuss this issue further.
NAEM: We often talk about a digital roadmap or strategy, but can you define what that actually means?
Vyas: I think most organizations are good at setting objectives such as reducing incidents or streamlining efforts around reporting. However, they often then jump into specific tactics like buying and implementing EHS or ESG software to collect and track related information, bypassing the creation of a digital roadmap. By skipping this crucial step, companies miss the opportunity to identify and align key stakeholders, conduct resource planning, and prepare for organizational change management — all of which require their own tactical plans.
NAEM: What are the risks if you don’t develop a digital strategy before you start implementing systems?
Vyas: If your EHS and ESG initiatives don’t include a digital strategy, companies risk losing time and money, among other potential consequences. For example, we had a client invest in revamping a solution for managing action plans for EHS, but they did not align with Operations which, in parallel, chose another tool. This resulted in having two different applications that did the same thing, leaving the end users frustrated and having to manage two systems. Now they are spending time and money consolidating tools, which could have been avoided had they created a digital strategy. It is important to be deliberate when making investments in EHS and ESG systems.
NAEM: What are some mistakes you’ve seen companies make when approaching EHS and Sustainability software?
Vyas: It’s easy to rush into selecting EHS and Sustainability software, but the procurement process often does a good job in controlling that risk. However, the long-term business risk is rushing the implementation process. Rushing can lead to a lack of internal stakeholder buy-in, lack of preparedness to deploy and/or support the implementation, and finally, “building the ship as it sails” rather than first understanding the as-is vs. to-be business process.
NAEM: How do you think new ESG reporting requirements will impact how companies approach digitization?
Vyas: With Scope 1 & 2 emissions disclosure being part of the reporting process, carbon accounting will be on a similar pedestal as financial accounting, which means accuracy, consistency, and auditability are fundamental. Spreadsheets will not be sufficient for managing carbon, so firms must invest in trustworthy and scalable solutions to measure, calculate, and report emissions.
###
Getting alignment across EHS, ESG, Operations, and Management is essential to save costs, achieve synergy, and enhance integration/collaboration. To help avoid costly mistakes, you can go through a diligent digital road-mapping and alignment process with Vyas at his workshop at TECH24. All participants will receive a copy of Huco’s software selection workbook, “Your Digitization Journey.”
About TECH24
TECH24 is where practitioners connect to share knowledge, successes, and lessons-learned to help others advance their organizational goals. Join industry leaders at the only tech conference focused exclusively on the digital challenges of data management, software, and technology solutions for:- Compliance with ESG reporting regulations
- GHG accounting
- Digitizing EHS management systems
To learn more, visit: https://www.naem.org/tech24-naem-tech-event
Related
Sponsored Content
About the Author
Sameer Vyas
Montrose Environmental Group
Sameer Vyas is a founding partner of Huco Consulting, which was recently acquired by Montrose Environmental Group. He helps clients with strategy, selection, setup and support of integrated data management systems for EHS & ESG. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Southern California. This will be the fifth year that Sameer has been presenting this popular workshop which has evolved each year.