Sustainability software firm CRedit360 has helped global chemistry company Solvay to introduce a consistent, group-wide approach to sustainability reporting, following its acquisition of Rhodia.
Equipped with the CRedit360 system, Solvay is set to streamline its data management, improve the quality of the group’s sustainability disclosures and promote greater collaboration between business units. With the time saved, the company says it will place a greater focus on analysis and strategy, as it seeks to make progress on its overarching Solvay Way sustainability policy and move towards integrated reporting.
Solvay was already in talks with CRedit360 to introduce a uniform way to analyze and report its global sustainability data. Individual business units used different data management systems, with little cross-functional collaboration on sustainability and no global approach to defining material issues. Following Solvay’s acquisition of Rhodia, these issues were compounded. Its new employees used a different set of processes and reporting tools, while the acquisition also increased the complexity of the data management challenge, with many more sites, business units and countries to monitor.
Some 400+ users will use the system, tracking more than 1000+ sustainability indicators. The CRedit360 team has also configured the system to allow Solvay to report on key aspects outside of the GRI G4 framework, such as environmental incidents. Using the CRedit360 solution, Solvay’s Sustainable Development team will be able to achieve a clearer overview of its global sustainability data and enhance the effectiveness of its annual Solway Way assessment.
The CRedit360 system will increasingly become a strategic tool to prompt greater collaboration between Solvay’s different functions on sustainability performance, with a particular emphasis on analysis. Solvay may also scale its use of the solution to replace certain legacy systems, as it seeks to further streamline the reporting process.
A recent report from Columbia University found U.S. companies are tracking sustainability data more than ever before, but the software tools they use are subpar. Only 29 percent use data management software specifically designed for CSR purposes.
Earlier this year, Swiss specialty chemicals giant Clariant joined Solvay, AkzoNobel, BASF, Bayer, Evonik Industries, Henkel and Lanxess as part of “Together for Sustainability” (TfS), a chemical industry initiative founded in 2011 aimed at improving sustainability practices within its supply chains. Assessing sustainability requirements through the program, TfS aims to lower risks in the procurement process while reducing the burden for suppliers by allowing them to participate in one comprehensive program.