ESG and Connected Planning

However, despite the growing importance of ESG, standardizing the reporting of climate-related data remains a challenge. Organizations are working to improve this by collaborating with various agencies and developing uniform ESG metrics for comparison across industries.

Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) can play a role in collecting and measuring ESG data for integration into financial and strategic planning processes. Oracle EPM delivers a reporting platform that facilitates the adoption and tracking of new ESG requirements and targets. Machine learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence) algorithms can also aid in predictions and anomaly detection related to ESG data.

By utilizing Oracle EPM as the ideal tool for ESG data collection and reporting, organizations will enjoy several benefits:

1. Streamlined Data Collection: Oracle EPM enables seamless integration with Oracle ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and other applications, making it easier to collect emissions data from various sources.
2. Efficient Data Reconciliation: Oracle EPM's fast multidimensional database allows for quick and accurate reconciliation of emissions data, ensuring data consistency and accuracy.
3. Faster Analysis and Calculations: With its state-of-the-art calculation engine, Oracle EPM facilitates rapid calculations and analysis, saving time and enhancing decision-making.
4. Robust Reporting Platform: Oracle EPM offers a powerful reporting platform, enabling organizations to present their ESG data and progress toward sustainability in a clear and comprehensive manner.

Taking advantage of these benefits, Accelalpha has developed a unique solution that empowers organizations to track their sustainability progress while facilitating ESG reporting.

Tracking ESG within an organization involves careful consideration of costs, resources, and time required for various initiatives. Some examples of ESG measures include installing solar panels for electricity generation, implementing water storage and filtration plants, setting up recycling units, establishing child and senior care centers, and creating community kitchens.

Accelalpha's ESG EPM Planning solution combines the Project Planning Module and a custom ESG Planning module to ensure sustainability projects align with an organization's financial objectives. This integration ensures that all sustainability-related activities are tracked uniformly and within set time periods.

1. Project Planning Module: This module helps users to plan individual project costs related to assets and employees and track revenue using predefined metrics. Planners can calculate key performance indicators like project cash flow, total investment, and expenses categorized by labor, materials, and equipment. The module enables teams working on multiple projects in various locations to follow a consistent planning process.
2. Custom ESG Planning Module: Configured by industry type, this module combines project metrics with other ESG-specific metrics, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, social contributions, and governance-related metrics. It serves as the central platform for reporting ESG related data.

The data from the Project Planning Module is added to financial reports through seamless connectivity with the finance module of the application. Using narrative reporting, organizations can automate the creation of ESG and financial reports, including balance sheets, income statements, sustainability reports, and internal reports for specific departments.

GRI Standards: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards provide guidelines for reporting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) information. These standards are designed to apply to organizations of all sizes and across various sectors.

Source: https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/

Universal Standards: These standards form the foundation of the GRI reporting framework and are relevant to all organizations. They cover essential topics such as governance, strategy, and management approach.
Sector Standards: These standards offer additional guidance tailored to organizations operating in specific sectors, such as agriculture, finance, and manufacturing.
Thematic Standards: These standards provide further guidance on specific topics, such as human rights, water, and biodiversity. The GRI Standards are structured in a user-friendly modular format, offering a comprehensive overview of an organization's material topics, their associated impacts, and how they are managed. Organizations' greenhouse gas emissions are categorized into three scopes:

Scope 1: This includes direct emissions from the organization's operations. It encompasses emissions from activities like fuel combustion for production, vehicle usage, heating, refrigeration, and other chemical processes.
Scope 2: Indirect emissions from external providers are covered in this scope. It involves emissions from fossil fuel burning by suppliers to generate electricity or steam, which the organization then purchases.
Scope 3: This scope includes indirect emissions from the organization's entire value chain. It involves emissions from activities such as waste disposal, employee commuting, and office heating.

Equivalent Emission Factors:Equivalent Emission Factors are values that convert energy or activities into equivalent CO2 emissions—for instance, burning one gallon of gasoline releases 8.9 kilograms of CO2. The EPA provides listed emission factors for several types of fuels.

Source: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-04/documents/emission-factors_apr2021.pdf

The ESG Reporting solution that Accelalpha has developed using Oracle EPM Planning, is built on four key pillars:

• Data Collection: The Oracle EPM application is connected to various source systems to gather and store activity and energy data in a centralized database. The specific activities and equivalent emission factors are configured by industry type, as shown in this chart.

• Reconciliation: The system automatically calculates greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutant emission data using the collected activity data and equivalent emission factors. This ensures accurate and efficient emission calculations.

• Plan Creation: The core purpose of ESG Reporting is to establish emission targets and compare actual emissions with industry benchmarks so improvements can be made and measured. This is accomplished through the key features of the Oracle EPM Planning application, which include target setting, variance analysis, and AI-based predictions.

1. Target Setting: Organizations define emission targets to align with their sustainability goals. These targets serve as benchmarks for measuring and improving environmental performance.
2. Variance Analysis: The Oracle EPM Planning application enables the comparison of actual emissions against the established industry benchmarks. This variance analysis helps organizations understand their progress and identify areas for improvement.
3. AI-Based Predictions: Leveraging historical data, the Oracle EPM Planning application utilizes artificial intelligence to estimate future emissions. These predictions assist in proactive decision-making and sustainability planning.

• Reporting: Sustainability Reports are created following the GRI standards, which may include industry-specific reporting. When developing the application for a specific industry, we pre-configure the data forms and reports using sector specific GRI accounts.

By adhering to the relevant GRI standards and customizing the reporting to suit the industry, the Oracle EPM Planning application generates comprehensive and sector-specific sustainability reports that provide valuable insights for organizations' sustainability initiatives.