Atrius survey of corporate leaders shows critical role of facilities management in sustainability

The landscape of corporate sustainability is set to accelerate this year. In late 2022, the United Nations released guidelines to help organizations align on Net Zero carbon emissions goals and avoid “greenwashing,” deceptive or exaggerated claims about an organization’s products, services or operations. There is growing pressure from governments and consumers alike for organizations to go green. With energy use in buildings responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions, facilities are a strong starting point for widespread corporate change.

The 2023 State of Corporate Sustainability Report, from Smart Energy Decisions and enterprise software provider Atrius, surveyed over 300 industry professionals across different sectors to find out where organizations are on their sustainability journeys, and what progress needs to be made. The responses indicated an important theme for facilities management this year and after: energy management is the first step of a longer and broader corporate sustainability journey. Facilities teams are the on-the-ground leaders responsible for bringing many key sustainability initiatives into action, and it’s crucial they have the resources they need to make progress and accomplish goals. The report revealed several key findings that can help these teams gain the traction they need for sustainability investments. 

Nearly half of respondents are using outdated data collection methods

Data collection is necessary for both energy management and establishing, standardizing and tracking the sustainability goals that follow it. You can’t optimize processes without knowing where you started — but many facilities and sustainability teams are in the dark here. One of the most surprising finds from this year’s report was that only 50% of respondents are using automated data collection, and among that group, some are still using manual methods in tandem with automated technologies.

Manual processes take more time and can be prone to error, affecting data quantity and quality and ultimately making sustainability teams’ jobs harder than they need to be. Any opportunity that organizations can take to get their teams off the ground and away from spreadsheets for manual data collection and analysis, they should — manual processes are often an invisible barrier to greater and faster progress in sustainability goals. Technology solutions can perform this time-consuming work quickly and accurately, meaning professionals can instead spend their time looking at daily reports, quickly act upon any discrepancies, and develop long-term goals to guide their organization’s sustainability journey.

Sustainability funding and data quality are creating a business case paradox

This year’s report found that energy management, and the overall journey of sustainability, are being delayed in part because of lack of funding from organizational leadership. But this need for funding may not be met because the business case for it requires data, the collection of which requires funding — creating a tricky chicken-and-the-egg situation that needs to be addressed for further progress to be made.

Across the board — from organizations that identified themselves as at the beginning, middle and advanced stages of organizational sustainability programs — data quality problems were reported as the number one barrier against successfully implementing their sustainability strategy, affecting 39 – 44% of all respondents. Difficulty making the business case for reporting and data management solutions was the next most common barrier for every group. These responses demonstrate the problem for many sustainability professionals. It takes investment to uncover good-quality data and unlock the next steps of a sustainability program; yet it’s difficult to convince leadership that more funding needs to be diverted to sustainability if the current data doesn’t support that further progress is worth the investment. 

Corporate leadership needs to understand that data is the crux of a sustainability initiative’s success for the reasons outlined above. Investments made into ensuring facilities teams can collect good, comprehensive data about energy use is key to ensuring the short- and long-term success of their programs.

Industries report unique strengths and weaknesses in their sustainability journeys

With the wide variety of industries that respondents represented in this report, it became clear that different industries had unique strong points and priorities. With the transparency created by this survey, there is opportunity for one industry to learn from another how they can continue strengthening their sustainability strategy.

Funding, as just discussed, is a pain point across the board, but by leveraging public grants, tax breaks and utility incentive programs, organizations can subsidize costs associated with energy reduction projects, therefore progressing towards their sustainability goals. Some industries, such as those already familiar with public funding for other purposes, may be more versed and better equipped than others at finding outside funding sources. Applying for these programs is often time-consuming, both to research what’s available and to provide the needed information. If more organizations can leverage new tools and strategies to provide sustainability teams the time and resources needed,  they too can take advantage of these public programs and accelerate their energy journeys.

Industrial respondents led the rest of the pack in setting science-based target initiatives (SBTis) for their organization. SBTis are carbon emission reduction goals that are aligned with those in the Paris Climate Agreement, helping organizations and governments stay on track together to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Half of all industrial respondents had set such targets, with government following behind at just over a third using SBTis. Other industries can look to industry’s leadership here in setting science-backed sustainability goals that will have a proven positive effect on future global temperatures.

This year’s findings show that with up-to-date tools and supportive leadership, facilities management can be the foundational element of an effective and long-term sustainability mission for entire organizations. With the wealth of data that teams manage on a day-to-day basis, they can unlock the initial strategies for emissions reductions that can then be applied to other parts of operations. With new clarity on what these teams need and where their strategies can go next, organizations can ensure they have the necessary tools to begin or elevate their sustainability journeys.

Find the complete The 2023 State of Corporate Sustainability Report at Atrius.

About the Author

Corina Cross is a senior manager of Strategic Accounts at Atrius, Acuity Brands.  Her career has gone from building retro-commissioning to energy services, including building technologies, controls, automation, and carbon accounting, among others. Today she is hard at work helping organizations around the world to meet their energy management and sustainability goals through cutting-edge technology that enables automated data aggregation and reporting. Atrius is an Acuity Brands software brand that provides solutions focused on creating a smarter, safer and greener future.