This article argues how businesses could help combat climate change with the use of business intelligence (BI).
With the rising awareness about climate change, corporate leaders have realized the risks greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a result, we’re witnessing the advancement of the ESG standards to the forefront of corporate agenda. Finally, business leaders realized that focusing on climate change is not only the right thing to do, but it also makes business sense.
Now since this becomes a business decision, there is no better tool than BI to improve corporate performance.
Companies have already invested billions of dollars in BI over the past several years. BI provides insights and helps companies to make better decisions and improve corporate performance.
We’ve long known the science behind climate change. In fact, there is already so much knowledge and data available about this topic. Hence, the next step to take is to combine this information with BI tools and analytics. By doing so, companies could help us navigate toward a lower-carbon future.
First, BI can help to identify the risks and opportunities, and put hard metrics on them. Consequently, BI tools will make targets more visible, and therefore, more attainable. Upon setting the targets, BI tools will work on large volumes of information and provide better insights to the businesses.
Climate BI Real Case
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a US-based research NGO in the field of sustainability, came up with the “Climate Intelligence” initiative. The program aims to combine existing BI tools with corporate practices in the highest emission sectors of the economy.
Businesses have built a number of effective BI tools and techniques, which are already helping to improve corporate performance in many areas. To improve their corporate ESG behaviors and scores, corporations need to start actively using the ideas behind “Climate intelligence”.
RMI developed the Climate Action Engine (CAE), a methane emissions BI and decision-support tool for the oil and gas industry. RMI developed this real-world “Climate intelligence” solution in partnership with companies, like Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Origin Energy. The program aims to test and deliver data to decision-makers looking to reduce methane emissions.
This climate BI solution synthesizes a broad set of data, such as companies’ operational data and emissions detection technologies. Consequently, it puts together an actionable climate intelligence plan to business leaders in the industry. Using this tool, companies will get high-quality, real-time and trusted information to help in their efforts to reduce GHG emission targets.
“By using data to inform priorities and decisions, Chevron has reduced methane emissions in our US onshore production operations by 85 percent since 2013.” said Daniel Droog, vice president, Energy Transition at Chevron.
“As we continue our journey to actively address emissions, we are excited about the opportunity to partner with CAE to understand the potential for real-time emissions intelligence.”
The “Climate Intelligence” initiative aims to help companies reduce their GHG emissions by 50 percent over the next decade. To find out more about RMI, please visit: https://rmi.org/