Meeting the challenges of environmental data management

We all know that Excel can’t provide the same function as a database. Spreadsheets were handy when everyone first started monitoring environmental data, but it didn’t take the industry long to outgrow them. As environmental compliance becomes more critical to daily operations — and even maintaining a licence to operate — companies began to invest in technology to help manage all their environmental data.

What’s not so obvious, however, is some environmental data management systems (EDMS) aren’t much more than a glorified spreadsheet. Or, there might be sophistication around some parts of it, but it’s not consistent across the whole solution. Maybe even worse, it’s possible to manage your EDMS  but not with any autonomy or without the assistance — and fees — of specialist consultants.

If you’re still using spreadsheets for environmental data management, or struggle with environmental compliance reporting challenges, chances are your frustration levels are running high. It’s worth evaluating whether you’re operating at peak efficiency when determining whether you’re compliant. Spreadsheets aside, you could be dealing with a solution that’s a poor disguise for an end-to-end EDMS.

What’s required for a true environmental data management solution?

It’s worth noting not all environmental software offers a complete solution. For this discussion, an environmental data management solution needs to encompass three things:

• the people using the technology
• the process for how to derive the most value out of the solution
• the technology that powers the solution.

All three are necessary for the kind of environmental data management that puts you in control of your compliance and reporting. As ESG policies become more stringent, it’s essential to have your finger on the status of a growing variety of environmental data under scrutiny, including but not limited to:

• air quality
• groundwater
• surface water
• potable water
• meteorological data
• noise
• waste
• emissions
• soil
• land disturbance and rehabilitation activities
• flora

What an end-to-end environmental data management solution looks like

Monitoring all the parameters of your environmental impact can be complicated. You must factor in:

• different regulatory bodies who expect reporting from you and likely are not on the same schedules
• large variety of data sources (mentioned above)
• multidisciplinary nature of where your data is collected
• format in which your data is captured
• way your data is stored
• obligations to stay compliant, quite likely different for each type of environmental condition being monitored.

An end-to-end solution must also take stakeholder obligations into account. Keeping your employees, your board of directors, your shareholders, and the public informed adds a crucial dimension to your reporting that may go beyond what regulators want to know.

When done well, an environmental data management solution allows you to put your finger on your state of compliance in real time — for any type of environmental data. You should be able to provide accurate reporting without investing time or engaging external consultants to collect and compile your data.

Single source of truth for all your environmental data

An end-to-end solution provides a helicopter view of your environmental data at any given point in time. This requires a single platform, configured to your environment, that lets you standardise how all your environmental data is being managed.

Why seamless environmental data management is critical

You should also expect to be able to share your environmental data between all the necessary systems needed to keep compliant. These include:

• laboratories
• IoT devices and telemetry
• business intelligence and corporate reporting
• third-party software and applications.

Integration between systems is essential. Being able to automate the flow of data in and out of your environmental data management system alleviates the problems of manual handling of data and the common problems incurred with human intervention.

You’re in safe hands with EnviroSys

Effective environmental data management requires breadth and depth of capability:

• a focus on people, process and technology
• an end-to-end EDMS in a single platform
• seamless integration with all your business solutions
• configurable technology that’s suited to your environment
• ability to manage your own data without consulting assistance.

Full product life cycle with one company

All of these things are provided by EnviroSys, along with a complete support network. As an acQuire product, EnviroSys has dedicated product development, quality assurance and customer support teams. acQuire maintains offices on four continents and has 24-hour, multilingual support in every time zone. This means you’re not being passed on to a third party for ongoing support and you can talk directly with people who developed the technology. We’re with you all the way.

EnviroSys customers have access to implementation and support services, a detailed Knowledge Base, and online learning units. In addition, EnviroSys customers benefit from multiple resources, events, and a strong EnviroSys community of people using the technology to monitor their environmental data.

Nova Network Partners

If you’re ever in need of additional support, acQuire has developed the Nova Network, a group of independent consultants you can engage with confidence. Each Nova Network Partner has been thoroughly vetted to offer accredited data management services, ensuring you continue to get the most out of your EnviroSys investment.

Simple pricing model

EnviroSys is sold only by acQuire, so you’re dealing with the people who build the software. This ensures you get the best advice and quality support from those who know the product better than anyone. It also ensures you have a completely transparent pricing model with no hidden or unexpected costs. EnviroSys customers do not experience any extra costs from maintaining or upgrading their solution.

Designed for environmental professionals

The EnviroSys technology road map is designed to futureproof your investment and provide you with regular functional and technical updates. acQuire is a technology business, not a services business. You own your software, and you also maintain ownership and control of your environmental data. This is the most cost-effective investment you can make, because EnviroSys is designed to be used by environmental professionals, not consultants providing environmental services.

Discover more about EnviroSys

If you’d like to learn more about EnviroSys, a complete environmental data management solution, get in touch with acQuire. You can email us directly at sales@acquire.com.au.