A Benchmark Study of Current Practices and Tools for Sustainability

In 2008, E2 ManageTech, Inc. (E2) conducted a benchmark study for Current Practices and Tools for Sustainability. The 2008 survey indicated that the majority of participants had not reached the “tipping point” in their sustainability program defined as implementing some type of corporate Sustainability Information Management Systems (SIMS). It was forecasted at that time that a surge would be seen in SIMS (similar to what occurred with Environmental Management Information System [EMIS] in the late 1990s) as companies realize that they can streamline their collection, manipulation and reporting of sustainability data to save time and money.

In 2013, E2 conducted an updated version of the 2008 survey, analyzing comparative results from several industries in Corporate America. While the predicted “surge” did not occur, the 2013 survey did reveal an increase in SIMS usage; and the challenges of implementing a SIMS have taken on a nuance. Prior to initiating this survey, we had fully anticipated more widespread deployment of SIMS. However, it appears that a lack of clarity and standards surrounding metric definition and a desire for indicative metrics may be what is holding back many companies.