Comment Article
IT Analysis – Attempting to measure sustainability
By Simon Perry, Principal Associate Analyst Sustainability,
According to the common wisdom,
measurement is the means by which we guide
the execution of a strategy. Without
measurement, we cannot gauge progress nor
begin to accurately predict the outcome of
various possible paths as a plan is tested
against time and the business realities. Whilst
this is true enough, perhaps the real nugget of
wisdom is that measurement is actually of
secondary value to the very human processes
of communication and analysis that allow us to
turn information into decisions and actions. If
what we measure is keyed to how well we
measure success, then how we report all those
measurements, and to whom is key to how
effectively the communication and analysis
processes of strategic governance are
performed.
All this is true regardless of which type of
business strategy we’re talking about, whether
one related to a business’s marketing, sales
execution, financial management (which is all
about cutting costs at the moment), or one for
the streamlining of supply chains. In all these
cases businesses have well defined and
generally rigidly adhered to procedures related
to measuring and managing the execution of
any given strategy. While this is often due to
regulated reporting requirements, it is also
very common to find that across numerous
businesses the underlying motivations for such
strategies are fairly similar. For that reason
the goals and the metrics that must be
measured to guide the execution are also
generally the same for any given strategy
from one business to the next, even while
they differ in their actual execution.
It is natural therefore that the IT industry has
developed the software glue that effectively
binds the measurement with the processes of
communication and analysis, ensuring that the
relevant stakeholders can more easily and
accurately get access to information and make
decisions. As similar strategies from one
business to the next share similar motivations,
metrics and goals, we have seen that a single
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set of core functionality is required in such
software-based reporting tools and
dashboards. Thus sales strategies are
supported across thousands of different
businesses by Oracle/Siebel, salesforce.com
and others; similarly marketing strategies are
helped along with the likes of SAP and
StrategyMix. Financial management and
inventory management can similarly be
automated across thousands of different
businesses by Oracle or SAP. Such systems
allow us to better plan, to understand
information, and communicate with each
other.
Why then does no such clear a situation exist
in relation to the governance of a business’s
sustainability strategy, or more narrowly its
carbon emissions management? Surely the
simple answer would be that in managing
these the what that is measured would be
resource usage and CO2 emissions (or the CO2
equivalency of other emissions), the how we
report those measurements would be via
some sort of appropriate software-based
reporting tool, and to whom would be to the
principle stakeholders interested in the project
outcomes. The reality however is a little
messier.
Digging beyond the front page of most
business’s sustainability strategies is a bit like
reaching into the fortune cookie jar. Written
on each cookie’s paper slip will be the real
motivation behind the existence of the
sustainability strategy. For a start, almost all
will discount concern over the risks of climate
change as being the real motivation, so
relatively few are concerned with measuring
progress in terms of emissions reduction.
Meanwhile cost cutting, green marketing, the
short supply of a required resource (including
energy supply), and contributing to CSR
efforts are far more often to be found. Here
and there legislation might be quoted as the
motivator but that is amongst a firm minority
at present. Depending on which it is, defining
success criteria of a the sustainability strategy
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Comment Article 

alters drastically, and therefore what
measurements need to be taken, never mind
who will be interested and involved in
analysing the measurements and making
decisions.

Hence it is perhaps less clear-cut what an

ideal reporting tool would deliver with regards
to helping to manage a sustainability strategy.
Should it measure energy usage and process
efficiency, all expressed in monetary units?
Should it measure brand value, the responses
of marketing research focus groups, and the
count of positive “green” news stories
regarding the company? Perhaps it really
should measure direct and indirect emissions,
expressing them as the number of tonnes per
unit of activity. And it might be clear by now
that it is just as likely the Chief Financial
Officer will be sitting atop the strategy’s
governance as the Chief Marketing Officer.

All this is quite an unusual set of affairs and

one that sets some particular challenges in
terms of what reporting functionality might be
desirable in software required to support a
sustainability strategy. While there is no
shortage of (usually online) calculators that
provide varying degrees of functionality in
terms of calculating embodied and in-use
emissions, and resource usage, it is not
entirely clear whether this is what the
enterprise and mid size market needs in terms
of a reporting dashboard.

The plethora of alternative truths underlying

most sustainability strategies is no small
problem, and not just one that creates
challenges for any potential software vendor
looking to bring a product successfully to
market. Without a strategic recognition and
acceptance of the real challenge, it is doubtful
whether real success can be delivered as far
as reducing global emissions. Legislation, such
as the proposed Climate Change Bill in the UK
may ultimately provide the necessary stick
that will prod businesses to focus on the right
problem, and take appropriate action. Perhaps
then we will see sustainability efforts actually
need measurement of metrics that actually
relate to sustainability, rather than metrics
that relate solely to financial or PR success.

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About Quocirca
Quocirca is a primary research and analysis company specialising in the business impact of information technology
and communications (ITC). With world-wide, native language reach, Quocirca provides in-depth insights into the
views of buyers and influencers in large, mid-sized and small organisations. Its analyst team is made up of real-
world practitioners with first hand experience of ITC delivery who continuously research and track the industry
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Through researching perceptions, Quocirca uncovers the real hurdles to technology adoption – the personal and
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Quocirca research is always pragmatic, business orientated and conducted in the context of the bigger picture. ITC
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