Environmental disasters are something responsible companies work hard to avoid, with many corporate organisations spending years establishing their reputation as an environmentally responsible brand.
The financial and reputational implications of an environmental disaster are nowadays far away from the small fine of yesterday. Recent examples around the world have shown that an environmental disaster can easily make the company liable for billions of US dollars.
In that light, it is rather insane that organisations still rely heavily on manual spreadsheets to manage the environmental data that will form the basis for arguments around responsibility, action plans, and progress. Today, very few companies rely on spreadsheets or “home built” databases to manage their key financial and economic data. So why would a modern and responsible organisation rely on spreadsheets for environmental monitoring data?
So how can environmental data management systems help your organisation to prevent disasters?
Reduced Data Loss
With a dedicated data management system in place, the risk of losing vital company information is greatly reduced. It also ensures that essential information is backed up and retrievable in the event that the original copies are lost.
Productivity
With a good data management system, the organisation will evolve into an organised and productive operation. Employees will benefit from a streamlined data system that allows instant access to all forms of data.
Operational Excellence
Great data management systems make it very easy for organisations to respond quickly to their environment, to evaluate market changes, and re-act appropriately to competitors. Data quality is drastically improved by the automation and scheduling of environmental data imports into a single point of entry.
Security Risks
Proper data management helps ensure that your information stays secure and never ends up in the wrong hands. A strong data management system will help protect your information from theft and attacks.
The Importance of Background Data
In order to assess the extent of responsibility, a validated and reliable source of background data is necessary. It might be completely impossible to draw up the total scope of responsibility of an environmental accident without a solid set of background data, even before site operations began. Not saying that a company causing an environmental accident shouldn’t be responsible, but without solid background data, the company might be viewed as responsible for more than it should.
Conclusion
For many organisations, an environmental data management system will translate into the broader process of sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Sustainability is broader than environmental data management and a company needs to develop its own key performance indicators. There are various guidelines as to how these should be developed, but in each case, companies need to collect and report on data.
About MonitorPro
The complete, professional environmental data monitoring solution, MonitorPro is the IT solution trusted by environmental teams worldwide to manage their environmental compliance and data collection. MonitorPro is a web-based or locally hosted solution for the collation of ALL sources of environmental data, where it is generated by loggers, laboratories, weather stations, calculations, or other data repositories. MonitorPro is the first EHS Software solution to receive an MCERTS accreditation from the Environmental Agency.
About EHS Data
EHS Data is a world leading UK based software company providing Environmental Data Management Solutions to over 1,000 sites in 40 countries worldwide. For over 20 years, our versatile software solution, MonitorPro, has helped organisations save time, improve planning, quality control, site analysis and reporting to manage environmental obligations and sustainability.
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EHS Data is ISO 27001 certified.
A Carbon Negative Business
In 2020, EHS Data attained Carbon negative status and is committed to maintaining this status each year.
