Real ESG support using the power of IT

Importance of ESG in Modern Business

ESG (environmental, social responsibility, corporate governance) is becoming a more and more important thing for companies. This is not only due to the corporate sustainability reporting introduced by the CSRD Directive. Various aspects of ESG have a direct impact on the operating costs, security of the organization, and its perception in the business environment, e.g. by customers.

A real implementation of ESG in an organization requires anatural (seamless) inclusion in  a businesse’s processes, so that it does not simply become a new reporting area operating alongside the organization’s processes. To do this effectively, it is best for aspects of ESG to be included in the IT systems that support the company. One such IT system is an EAM solution such as IFS Ultimo for enterprise asset management. Due to its specificity, an EAM system can naturally support a wide range of ESG issues.

Environmental Aspect: Features of IFS Ultimo

IFS Ultimo supports ESG issues in a natural and effective way, providing a wide range of useful features.

For the environmental aspect, IFS Ultimo provides:

1. Well planned maintenance and inspections. These are in accordance with properly managed and enforced procedures to avoid incidents that may negatively impact the environment.
2. Keeping equipment and systems in good working condition to support their energy efficiency.
3. Efficient production processes, eliminating unplanned events such as downtime, leading to lower carbon emissions.
4. Using sustainable warehouse management methods for EAM processes reduces the use of materials, and waste creation, while ensuring optimal availability, resulting in less downtime and increased asset efficiency.
5. Using IFS Ultimo, including the mobile app for maintenance and health and safety, allows you to go paperless.

Social and Governance Aspects Supported by IFS Ultimo

In the Social aspects, companies can use:

1. High-quality processes in the field of Incident Management, Work Permits, Task Risk Assessment, Lockout-Tagout enable the introduction of accident-free management of maintenance processes.
2. Communication between operations, maintenance, and security, facilitated by one central platform, enables collaboration between teams and a more productive and secure work environment.
3. A shortage of skilled technicians requires intelligent automation and the adoption of EAM-integrated technologies such as predictive maintenance, drone inspections, and augmented reality to achieve greater efficiency with fewer staff.

IFS Ultimo supports corporate governance by, for example:

1. Access to accurate information at the right time, which is key to effective decision-making. Additionally, reliable and reproducible information that is key to demonstrating compliance and producing effective audits.
2. Clear, predefined steps in work order, purchasing, and security processes with clear approval steps, secured by the system, which are key to ensuring effective governance.

IFS Ultimo effectively supports CSRD-related reporting, reducing the workload for such reporting on internal staff.

With its architecture and predefined processes, IFS Ultimo ensures that ESG-aware asset maintenance processes are implemented in a very short time and at reduced costs. We quickly achieveed the effects of the implementation, and thanks to InfoConsulting experts, the change in our organization was implemented effectively and in a controlled manner.

Author: Bartłomiej Żak

Business Consulting Director