As any business knows, data is essential for making informed decisions. Without accurate data, it can be difficult to gauge the impact of changes or identify areas where improvements need to be made.
Yet there are data quality issues that impede progress to improved sustainability and energy efficiency.
Many businesses struggle with data quality issues. Regardless of your industry, common data quality problems can cause big headaches. By understanding and addressing these issues, you can improve your data quality and avoid costly mistakes.
The 5 common data quality issues and how to address them
Data accuracy
The traditional method of manual data input is subject to human error. This can be costly in terms of time and money, as errors may not be discovered until after data has been analysed and decisions have been made.
Automated data collection and calculation software can help to ensure data accuracy by minimizing the opportunity for human error. One of the benefits of automated data collection and calculation software is that it reduces the risk of human error. When data is manually inputted, there is always the potential for mistakes to be made. In addition, automation can also help to speed up the data collection process, which can save time and improve efficiency. As a result, leveraging automation in data collection and calculation can be an effective way to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Data consistency
Error-prone data collection is frequent when multiple sites and stakeholders are involved. Utilising cloud-connected EMS systems to collect all energy and carbon data in real time will ensure that calculations and reporting are done routinely and accurately. This will enable you to make informed decisions on how to reduce your carbon footprint and save on energy costs. Such systems also allow for the creation of customised reports, giving you the ability to track your progress over time. In short, using EMS systems for data collection is an efficient and effective way to manage energy and carbon data.
Data relevance
Anyone who has ever had to compile a report knows that sifting through data can be a time-consuming and tedious task. Segmenting energy and carbon data by job, site, and event can help to streamline the process and make it more efficient. Automating data collection can also help to improve compliance by ensuring that all data is collected in a consistent manner. Improving the efficiency, accuracy, and compliance of data collection can help to improve the quality of reports and make life easier for those who are responsible for collecting and analysing data.
Data granularity
Data is essential for informed decision-making, and that’s especially true when it comes to energy consumption and carbon emissions. On a macro level, data can give you a broad picture of your business’s energy use and carbon footprint. But to really initiate change, you need data in much finer detail. That’s where an energy and carbon accounting platform comes in.
A good platform will provide data at the level of individual assets, even up to one-hour intervals. This level of granularity allows you to pinpoint areas of waste and identify opportunities for efficiency improvements. What’s more, it will make it easy to generate reports that highlight your progress over time. When it comes to reducing your energy consumption and carbon footprint, data is power – and the more detailed the data, the more powerful it is.
Data completeness
Collecting data is essential for understanding and managing business operations. However, data sets can often be difficult to obtain, especially when collecting data from multiple sources. This is true when collecting data for scope 3 emissions reporting. Digital solutions bridge data gaps and provide confidence that all consumption and emissions are accounted for. By using digital solutions like an energy and carbon accounting platform, businesses can ensure that they have accurate and up-to-date data sets, which can help to improve decision-making and operations management.
Your sustainability initiatives, behoved by centralised carbon and energy data
ClearVUE.Zero eliminates onerous manual data collection procedures, providing a centralised, online access point for information on all your energy-related and carbon producing activities. Customisable carbon emissions reports can be generated automatically by the ClearVUE.Zero platform, simplifying compliance activities and supporting internal monitoring procedures. The ability to simultaneously measure, record, compare and evaluate activity across your operations creates a virtuous cycle and allows rapid assessment of your energy and carbon reducing strategies. Without ClearVUE.Zero the path to net zero will be much harder to navigate.
On top of this, when you partner with ClearVUE.Business, our sustainability consultancy team provides on-going support to ensure you are in command of achieving your energy efficiency and net zero strategies. We deliver assistance with compliance reports and risk disclosures, recommendations for carbon offsetting, and marketing efforts to promote your net zero journey.
