achieving value from sustainability software_ca tech

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WHITE PAPER

Accelerating Sustainability Results through Technology Adoption | September 2011

Peter GilbertVice President of Sustainability Product Strategy, CA ecoSoftware

Duncan BradfordVice President of Engineering Services, CA ecoSoftware

five steps to achievingmaximum valuefrom a sustainabilitymanagement softwareimplementation



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Accelerating Sustainability Results through Technology Adoption

table of contentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

Challenge 4

Meeting sustainability promises

Providing for the integrity of

sustainability data

Obsolete and inaccurate information

Leveraging new technology

Opportunity 6

Take a best practice approach

Step 1: Establish ownership

Step 2: Understand the requirements

Step 3: Engage stakeholders

Step 4: Implement in phases

Step 5: Demonstrate success

Benefits 10

Achieving maximum return with

minimum effort

Safeguarding revenue generation

and reputation

Case study 11

Capgemini improves sustainability

performance with CA ecoSoftware

About CA ecoSoftware 13



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ChallengeAn organization’s sustainability performance has become public property. Faced with intense scrutiny

from consumers, investors and regulators alike, organizations need to provide their performance

metrics are based on accurate data, which means moving away from manual data collection,

management and analysis techniques. Many organizations, however, are struggling to implementthe automated and real-time sustainability solutions needed to transform their approach.

OpportunityBy following five simple steps, organizations can reduce their software implementation time and as

a result, shorten the time to realize sustainability benefits. By establishing ownership and engaging

the right stakeholders, companies will be able to understand their requirements and help provide that

their deployment meets their goals and delivers a demonstrable return on investment. An incremental

implementation founded on program and project management best practices can deliver both short

and long-term benefits that can be communicated to the business to drive future deployments.

BenefitsA dedicated sustainability business platform can transform how an organization collects and analyzes

energy consumption and carbon emission data. This will not only help the organization to meet their

sustainability goals in a shorter timeframe but also improve the accuracy of their reporting on progress

to customers, investors and other stakeholders. By achieving their sustainability goals, companies can

boost their reputation while also controlling costs through lower energy bills and more automated

information management processes.

executive summary



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ChallengeMeeting sustainability promises

More and more organizations are making public—and often very ambitious—pledges on sustainability,

such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving zero waste to landfill.

Although such objectives are invariably made public to help enhance a company’s reputation with

consumers and shareholders, the decision to adopt such targets usually lies in the corporate balance

sheet. According to Forrester Research Inc., the key drivers are headed by cost and efficiency improvement

opportunities. Again, this reflects the fact that companies are more comfortable with finance-led

initiatives, whereby a quick return on investment (ROI) is the primary driver, and sustainability

improvements are considered a positive byproduct. Executives frequently cite brand and competitive

differentiation as additional key motivations, becoming particularly more important in the battle for

new talent, followed by diverse company stakeholder (e.g., customers, employees, and regulators)

pressures, and lastly its ability to drive business innovation and growth1.

Given rising energy costs, this link between economics and the environment is hardly surprising.

However, it does mean organizations face both f inancial and reputational ramifications if they fail

to deliver on their sustainability promises.

To meet these goals—particularly those involving reduced carbon emissions—organizations need to

capture and analyze an abundance of data. Traditionally this has been done via multiple spreadsheets—

a resource-intensive process. Spreadsheets enable the organization to begin to measure and report

on sustainability performance, and can yield some insight into impacts as well as enable disclosure

and reporting. The spreadsheet approach can, however, present major challenges, especially in larger

organizations.

In addition to the labor cost implications, spreadsheets are often prone to human error—especially

given the large volumes of data involved. This not only poses a risk to corporate reputations but

limitations in this method of information management also prevent businesses from identifying future

opportunities for improvement and innovation.

Providing for the integrity of sustainability data

Thanks to the culture of transparency that increasingly surrounds sustainability, performance reports are

becoming just as public as a company’s initial pledges. For example, submissions made to the Carbon

Disclosure Project (CDP) are displayed on both Bloomberg terminals and Google Finance, enabling

investors to make decisions based not only on a company’s financial performance but also on their

sustainability credentials.

The link between f inancial and sustainability performance has also been recognized by regulators with

the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who issued a release in February 2010 reminding

companies of their responsibility to consider climate change and its consequences when completing

SEC filings.

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This synergy, coupled with mandatory reporting schemes—such as the UK’s CRC Energy EfficiencyScheme and France’s Grenelle II—mean organizations need to apply the same rigour to sustainability

metrics as they would to financial data. In recognition of this, many companies have already started

to subject their sustainability reporting to external verification.

Obsolete and inaccurate information

To help provide that sustainability statements can stand up to scrutiny from investors, consumers and

regulators alike, organizations need to be conf ident about the veracity of their data.

Incorrect data may not only harm a company’s reputation for corporate sustainability but can also

result in business leaders setting performance targets founded on the wrong baseline.

An organization’s ability to correctly define its sustainability goals can be further impaired by a lack of

timely information. Spreadsheets are not designed to provide real-time data, which means organizationscan only access a historical view of important metrics, such as energy consumption levels, carbon

emissions or performance against targets.

As companies seek to collect more energy, carbon and sustainability management information from

more buildings, departments and systems, the process will become more time-consuming, and data

collection and aggregation will be more demanding, dispersed and untimely.

Leveraging new technology

Given the limitations of current methods and tools, organizations are getting smarter about how they

manage the information needed to deliver on their sustainability objectives. This has led to rising

interest in specialist software solutions. Forrester Research estimates that the global enterprise carbon

and energy management software market will exhibit hyper-growth from US$80 million in 2009 to

US$903 million by 20131.

Carbon and energy management software solutions not only enable organizations to discard their

unwieldy spreadsheets but also offer a wealth of additional features to support corporate sustainability

programs. As the analyst firm Quocirca2 cites, “…solutions are being brought to market that reduce

the burden of cost and effort associated with the necessary metering, reporting, and planning efforts.

Such solutions provide the means to automate the not inconsiderable task of measuring, in detail,

energy use and needs across all aspects of the facility and operation of the organization.”

Although many organizations recognise the benefits of migrating to a dedicated sustainability

solution, adoption is often deferred due to a lack of time or perceived challenges around selection

and implementation.

Delayed adoption however equates to lost opportunities both in terms of financial savings and

competitive advantage. Organizations therefore need to f ind a way to streamline the selection

and implementation of a sustainability software solution so they can start reaping the benefits.



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OpportunityTake a best practice approach

As with any program, following best practice is the key to achieving a successful execution. But which

best practices? By its very nature, sustainability involves stakeholders from across the entire enterprise

and with different approaches.

The involvement of multiple disciplines, however, can help rather than hinder the selection and deployment

of a sustainability solution. Organizations should consider the following five-step plan to success.

Step 1: Establish ownership

The growing prevalence of sustainability has prompted some companies to appoint both executive

sponsors, such as a Chief Sustainability Of ficer (CSO), as well as energy, climate change, sustainabilityand environmental managers and teams.

Although this can make establishing ownership of the program much simpler, there will still be

multiple business functions, such as R&D, IT and facilities, involved in the execution of enterprise

sustainability goals—and therefore the selection and implementation of a new solution.

Up until now, these teams will have often worked in “silos” and their knowledge will often be restricted

to these pockets. For example, facilities will appreciate the intricacies of energy use in buildings while

procurement will understand how the supply chain can have a negative impact on a company’s

sustainability efforts.

By bringing these sustainability stakeholders together in the form of a steering group or project board,

organizations will be able to leverage their combined expertise throughout the implementation and

promote knowledge sharing across multiple disciplines.

Although a collective approach will help provide that the right solution is selected, it’s also important to

appoint a lead executive sponsor—if not a Chief Sustainability Officer then another senior representative.

This individual will play a key role in ensuring the program—and solution—remains aligned with corporate

goals and help cascade progress reports to the wider business.

Step 2: Understand the requirements

Multiple stakeholders means multiple requirements—all of which need to be suff iciently defined before

a sustainability solution can be selected and deployed. This is often best achieved in a collaborative way.

As well as defining the business processes that need to be supported and automated, for examplecapturing data from utility bills, the stakeholders should also consider the scalability and flexibility

required of the solution. For example: Does the company need support for multiple currencies and

languages? What volume and variety of data and assets are involved?

Another fundamental issue to address at this stage is integration. To take advantage of the automation

offered by more powerful sustainability solutions, the system may need to interoperate with other

enterprise information systems. This can not only simplify data capture but also enhance accuracy

by ensuring that “master data” contained in other business applications, such as enterprise resource

planning and building management systems, can be accessed rather than re-entered.



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When assessing the integration abilities of a solution, organizations need to make sure this can be

achieved without undue additional effort or implementation time.

For organizations with audit or regulatory requirements, the issue of transparency will also be high

on the agenda. This means considering the governance framework that surrounds the sustainability

solution and the data it contains. For example, can changes to data be tracked to an individual and

specific point of time? Can automated approval workflows be matched to current business processes?

Will there be adequate security access controls?This last question is particularly relevant if an organization plans to source its sustainability solution

via a cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) model where it is important that data integrity controls and

robust security measures are in place.

Opting for a platform or vendor that has been accredited by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) will help provide the solution is fit for purpose and meets requirements

of these and other corporate reporting frameworks.

Understanding requirements is not just about meeting today’s needs but also those of tomorrow. The

scope of sustainability and the ensuing reporting requirements are constantly evolving—for example

the CDP has introduced an additional disclosure program for the supply chain, and GRI is expected to

launch new guidelines in the future.

Organizations must therefore consider what’s next on the sustainability agenda—and whether the

solution they have selected will be able to evolve to meet new best practices, sustainability standards

and the company’s future strategic goals.

Despite the need to consider the future in any technology choice, it’s important to prevent scope creep

as this can add both cost and complexity to the program. To avoid this common challenge, all technical

specifications for the solution should be tracked back to a specific organizational goal.

How to run an effective solution requirements workshop

• Involve representatives from all stakeholder groups including IT

• Baseline the data sets involved and the different formats currently used

around the globe

• Prof ile the major user groups and their needs, including any relevant suppliers

or contractors

• Consider future sustainability reporting requirements and strategic goals



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The implementation of a new solution will also have ramifications for existing tools. It is thereforeimportant to understand in advance what systems will be retired or integrated and the impact this

will have on both existing business processes and user groups.

For example, many companies already have an environmental management system, which will have

defined policies, including roles and responsibilities. A new sustainability platform should have the

flexibility to adopt these workf lows and role definitions. By continuing to use existing management

processes, organizations will be able to accelerate user adoption of the new solution and reduce the

time to value.

Step 3: Engage stakeholders

Creating a steering group of departmental heads and holding a scope definition workshop is just the

beginning of the stakeholder engagement process.

Organizations must continue to cascade this multi-disciplinary approach to the end users responsible

for entering and evaluating data at different sites and in different countries. By involving different

interest groups in the implementation process it will be easier to manage expectations for each phase

of an incremental deployment.

Understanding when, how, and who will use the data is just as important as providing for data accuracy

and relevancy. Establishing these parameters will also help identify the interdependencies that may

exist between different data sets and business processes.

Without this visibility there is a risk that business processes will be shoehorned around the new sustainability

solution, which can impede adoption, poorly align with processes and put data integrity at risk.

Any suppliers or contractors that support the collection and analysis of sustainability data should alsobe involved to ensure the proposed solution can integrate with their existing systems. To ensure data

integrity is maintained, especially when gathering information from the supply chain, it is wor thwhile

to consider the data validation controls that can be incorporated into the sustainability solution. The

needs of different types of user should be accommodated. This should include workflows relevant to

each of these groups.

Step 4: Implement in phases

By deploying sustainability solution in an incremental way, organizations will be able to deliver and

demonstrate quantifiable results in a shorter timeframe.

A common starting point involves the centralized collation of historical sustainability data along with

new continually updated metrics for energy consumption and carbon emissions. This enables a “quickwin” in terms of improved data granularity, quality and timeliness, which in turn will help identify

energy consumption hotspots that need to be addressed.

However, to achieve this, organizations must be able to locate their historical data and ensure it is in a

format that is suff iciently consistent and reliable to be suitable for incorporation into the new platform.

As a result, a data preparation project should be run in parallel with the implementation program.

Once a baseline of quality data has been established along with streamlined processes for data

collection and analysis, the implementation can then be broadened to include other key sustainability

activities such as measuring Scope 3 emissions or water consumption.



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In addition to phasing an implementation based on business processes, larger organizations may alsowish to take a geographical approach, prioritising countries that are subject to mandatory or voluntary

reporting schemes.

A phased approach will also enable companies to incorporate lessons learned from the first implementation

stage into future phases, creating a repeatable process that enables rapid and lower-risk deployment.

To further reduce risk and accelerate implementation timelines, organizations and any third parties

involved should follow program and project management best practice. This should encompass:

• Creating a program and individual project schedules (which are relevant to the broader organization’s

timelines and sustainable business goals)

• Defining roles and responsibilities both at an organization and individual level and ensuring they are

consistent with existing sustainability management systems

• Documenting and reviewing solution requirements

• Establishing a communications plan

• Performing quality assurance and testing

• Enabling knowledge transfer

Solution selection checklist• Have the needs of the key user groups been considered?

• Will the solution scale across multiple countries and currencies?

• Are there automated workflows that can be configured?

• Is integration with other business systems achievable in practice?

Will staff f ind the solution intuitive to use?

• What visualization tools are included?

• How is data integrity maintained?

• Does the solution fulfill your IT department’s security requirements?

• What level of disaggregation is required for internal performance reporting?

• Can it integrate with energy and building management systems across your

organization?

• Is the functionality constantly being enhanced?



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For many companies, this will be the f irst time they have deployed a solution of precisely this type,so communication and knowledge sharing will be essential for ensuring the full potential of the

solution is realized in a short timeframe. Providing information to users is also important to help

explain the reasons for and value of the system, and to enable it to be used most effec tively.

Step 5: Demonstrate success

Communicating the successes that have been accomplished with the initial implementation of the

solution will help drive ongoing support and investment.

Demonstrating sustainability results, such as reduced energy use and lower carbon emissions, is

just one aspect; companies should also communicate how these achievements have impacted other

strategic goals, such as cost reduction.

Given the link between sustainability performance and reputation, these successes should becommunicated both to internal and external stakeholders.

As well as communicating successes, organizations might also consider rewarding and publicly

acknowledging particular teams, suppliers or stakeholders for their role in achieving sustainability goals.

BenefitsAchieving maximum return with minimum effort

By following a best practice approach, organizations will be able to select and implement a sustainability

solution with less effort and expense.

Once a solution is installed, it can be used to both illustrate progress and propagate success. For

most companies, the first success will be a smarter and faster process for collecting, aggregating and

analysing power consumption, the use of resources, and carbon emissions data, which can result in

both eff iciency and financial gains.

For example, Capgemini UK has been able to reduce the costs associated with collecting data and

creating reports by 30 percent since deploying CA ecoSoftware*. Their next step is to use the

information to accelerate decisions on resource conservation projects that will provide additional

economic return to the company.

As well as accelerating the data capture process, a sustainability solution can also dramatically

improve the quality, granularity and timeliness of the information available. As a result, organizations

are better able to:

• Reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions

• Provide more accurate and timely statements to reporting schemes such as the CDP and GRI, as well

as to other programs, shareholders and customers

• Make more informed decisions about sustainability targets and how to address energy, carbon and

natural resource “hotspots”

• Continuously assess performance and progress against their goals.



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Safeguarding revenue generation and reputationAll these factors can help to enhance an organization’s sustainability credentials, which are increasingly

influencing the behavior of both consumers and investors.

By meeting their sustainability and underlying cost reduction goals, organizations will also be able

to offset rising energy prices, which, in turn, will safeguard profitability.

For companies who have invested in making sustainability a part of their business culture, moving

to enterprise-class sof tware for sustainability management can help ensure that strategic business

objectives are achieved, as planned.

Achieving sustainability success is no longer just about being responsible with energy and resources.

It is also about differentiating your business in a crowded marketplace.

Case studyCapgemini improves sustainability performance with CA ecoSoftware

To demonstrate its commitment to improving sustainability performance, Capgemini UK has set

some intentionally challenging corporate environmental objectives, focusing on its key areas of

impact, including:

• Reducing its carbon footprint by 20 percent by 2014

• Improving energy efficiency of its data centers by 20 percent by 2014

• Reducing travel-related carbon emissions by more than 30 percent by 2014

• Sending zero waste to landfill by 2014.

Jon Hampson, Environment Director for Capgemini UK, explains, “Aside from managing our

performance internally, we need to provide insightful reporting about our sustainability performance

for analysts, partners and clients on a regular basis. In some cases it’s even written into contracts.”

However, with over three million new data points being processed each year from 30 disparate sources,

and numerous internal and external reporting requirements, collating and managing the information

presented a considerable challenge.

Peter Walsh, Head of Sustainability Business Process Outsourcing at Capgemini, comments, “Capgemini

UK was tracking sustainability performance using a four gigabyte spreadsheet, but they wanted to

find a way to make the process more rigorous and cost-effective while ensuring that the quality,

accuracy and integrity of data was of a suf ficient standard to support the ambitious sustainability

goals they had adopted.”



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Capgemini recognized many of its customers were under similar pressures, and launched an Energy,Carbon and Sustainability Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service to help customers improve their

sustainability effor ts. Capgemini UK signed up as the first customer of the new service.

Following an assessment of the sustainability management solutions on the market, Capgemini

selected the cloud-based CA ecoSoftware solution to support its new BPO service. The solution

captures a variety of data from numerous sources, both within Capgemini and from their suppliers,

including air travel data from travel agents, electricity and gas meter readings from various facilities,

waste and recycling volumes from waste management providers.

The information provided by the solution is not only used by Capgemini’s sustainability off ice to

evaluate its performance, but also by senior management teams to support decisions.

By using the CA Technologies solution to support its sustainability service, Capgemini UK has been able to*:

• Reduce the costs associated with collecting and managing data, and creating reports by

approximately 30 percent so far

• Actively manage carbon emissions and waste through better informed business decisions

• Gather data to facilitate compliance with the legislative requirements of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

“CA ecoSoftware enables comprehensive data analysis and reporting to help evaluate performance

against sustainability objectives while minimizing administration and the input required from senior

staff,” comments Walsh.

*Some information in this publication is based upon CA or customer experiences with the referenced software product in a variety

of development and customer environments. Past performance of the software product in such development and customer

environments is not indicative of the future performance of such software product in identical, similar or different environments.

CA does not warrant that the software product will operate as specifically set forth in this publication. CA will support the

referenced product only in accordance with (i) the documentation and specifications provided with the referenced product,

and (ii) CA’s then-current maintenance and support policy for the referenced product.



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About CA ecoSoftwareCA ecoSof tware can help organizations meet corporate energy and sustainability goals such as reducing

carbon emissions, managing consumption and cutting energy costs. They can become more efficient

when using power and natural resources by providing valuable up-to-date information and by supporting

sustainability effor ts with a systematic governed approach. This information can be communicated to

stakeholders and used to drive continuous improvement.

CA ecoSof tware offers a broad range of sustainability management capabilities to help manage an

organization’s sustainability programme from strategy to execution. It also includes a robust suite of

carbon and natural resource management capabilities designed to measure, calculate and report on

energy use, water, waste and associated GHG emissions across the enterprise and beyond. One can

measure the environmental performance of sites, facilities and suppliers through assessments, whichprovide a method and process for capturing the information more ef ficiently via web-based questionnaires.

With operational energy management, organizations can gain greater visibility into energy and other

environmental resources in the data center and across the enterprise to visualize, monitor and better

manage the use of energy. To learn more about CA ecoSoftware, visit ca.com/ecoSoftware.

http://www.ca.com/ecoSoftware

http://www.ca.com/ecoSoftware




CA Technologies is an IT management software and solutions company with

expertise across all IT environments—from mainframe and distributed, to

virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments

and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologiesinnovative products and services provide the insight and control essential

for IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the Global

Fortune 500 rely on CA Technologies to manage their evolving IT ecosystems.

For additional information, visit CA Technologies at ca.com.

1 Forrester Research, Inc., “The Evolution Of Enterprise Carbon And Energy Management Software,” December 2010

2 Quocirca, “Towards a Sustainable Business,” October 2010

Copyright © 2011 CA. All rights reserved. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their

respective companies. This document is for your informational purposes only. CA assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or

completeness of the information. To the extent permitted by applicable law, CA provides this document “as is” without warranty of

any kind, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

In no event will CA be liable for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, from the use of this document, including, without limitation,

lost profits, business interruption, goodwill, or lost data, even if CA is expressly advised in advance of the possibility of such damages.

CA does not provide legal advice. Neither this document nor any CA software product referenced herein shall serve as a substitute

for your compliance with any laws (including but not limited to any act, statute, regulation, rule, directive, policy, standard,

guideline, measure, requirement, administrative order, executive order, etc. (collectively, “Laws”)) referenced in this document.

You should consult with competent legal counsel regarding any Laws referenced herein. CS1619_0811

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