Driven by consumers’ desires, retailers’ demands, and greater concern for resource scarcity and productivity, more large companies are tracking, reporting, and striving to meet corporate sustainability goals. However, once the low-hanging fruit is picked, further improvements demand sophisticated tools, like emerging big data and geospatial analytics, to help companies make more informed decisions about sustainability goals, according to Lux Research.
“Eventually, the need to track, report and optimize resource utilization will become core to every business, moving sustainability from a ‘nice to have‘ to being central to the assessment of financial performance and resilience strategy,” said Ryan Dolen, Lux Research Data Scientist, and a co-author of the report titled, “A Data-driven Approach to Sustainability Benchmarking.”
“Whether applied to emissions for concrete and cement companies or water for food and beverage companies, gathering and acting on better geospatial and temporal data will be a corporate differentiator,” he added.
The new Lux Grid Networks Analytics (GNA) tool improves on the U.S. EPA’s existing Emissions & Generation Resource Database (eGRID), by assimilating and analyzing public grid-based electricity generation and exchange datasets that have previously been disconnected and underutilized. Lux analysts also examined the evolution of sustainability reporting and its impact on industries like cement and food and beverage. Among their findings:
- Reporting is on the rise, but not yet thorough. The number of companies reporting to the Carbon Disclosure Project has boomed from just 253 in 2003 to over 5,000 in 2014. However, while 90% of reporting firms had complete data on electricity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, only 10% reported well on water. Consistent measurement is the first step towards benchmarking and improving, and the gap between leaders and laggards is wide.
- Improved impact analysis. With better analytical tools, cost-effective decisions are enabled. Geospatial analysis enables a more precise measurement of CO2 impact. An emissions impact analysis using Lux GNA of a solar project installation decision for U.S. cement production facilities revealed that Holcim could have reduced emissions more than 50% further had it chosen the Ste. Genevieve, MO, location, rather than Fountain, CO, for its 156 MWh/year solar PV installation.
- The energy-water nexus is moving from rhetoric to action. Manufacturing operations thrive and survive on the basis of consistent, resilient and cost-effective energy and water availability. Companies such as Carlsberg are now as low as 633 kgal of water per million dollars in revenue or 3.3 hl of water per hl of beer through deployment of appropriate technology in their operations. Moving forward, the energy footprint of water used will also come into focus, a metric that will vary greatly by location based on Lux’s geospatial analysis.
The report, titled “A Data-driven Approach to Sustainability Benchmarking,” is part of the Lux Research Sustainable Building Materials Intelligence service and the Lux Research Analytics team.
About Lux Research
Lux Research provides strategic advice and ongoing intelligence for emerging technologies. Leaders in business, finance and government rely on us to help them make informed strategic decisions. Through our unique research approach focused on primary research and our extensive global network, we deliver insight, connections and competitive advantage to our clients. Visit www.luxresearchinc.com for more information.
Contact:
Carole Jacques
Lux Research, Inc.
617-502-5314
carole.jacques@luxresearchinc.com
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