Sustainability reports empower ESG agenda for CIOs: Mehjabeen Taj Aalam, Raychem RPG

An organization’s success is often measured from its revenue, and the ensuing bottom line, but organizations today are gauged on multiple parameters to assess that their success and production does not come at the expense of the environment and that processes are keeping sustainability practices at the fore.

The benefits of sustainability reporting extend beyond the perfunctory – it is a tangible proof of an organization’s intent, transparently communicated to stakeholders, general public and possible personnel. A KPMG report states that the rate of reporting among the top 250 companies of the world is at 96 percent. Closer home, 69% of Indian businesses said they use sustainability data to inform strategic and operational decisions.

Given that these goals are recent and thus may not have been adequately tracked by systems already in place, having missing or incomplete data is an obstacle in creating reports that portray an accurate picture of the success and progress of a company’s sustainability initiatives. In this conversation, we speak with Mehjabeen Taj Aalam, who has recently moved into a new role, from the CIO to the Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) at Raychem RPG Limited. Mehjabeen elucidates on what she deems significant in composing robust sustainability reports, and her new role as CDIO of Raychem RPG.

As the new CDIO of Raychem RPG, what are your primary goals in the digital pursuits of the organization? What challenges do you foresee tackling in this role?

Raychem RPG has a very progressive outlook on Digital and sees technology as a huge enabler for its business. A gradual and constant focus on integrating Digital into the business strategy remains our key focus to make these initiatives sustainable, and by weaving Digital into the cultural fabric of our organization, we continuously enable our workforce to become future ready.

Being a manufacturing organization, industrial automation tech is at the heart of our digitization strategy – IOT, AI/ML, RPA, Robotics, intelligent automation, and eventually collating all data in a Data Warehouse to drive analytical insights. Liberating siloed data (SCADA, sensors, manual, satellite apps) and aggregating it with structured (ERP) data, and then creating a 360-degree view on almost anything – that is our holy grail.

How do you ensure that your data collection systems for sustainability reports are robust, and data is clean and standardized? Are there ways to make educated assumptions in situations when data is missing?

You can’t improve, what you don’t measure. Data is the diet for all new age tech and without data, there can be no information and no insights. Establishing clear protocols for data collection and data governance will be required to enforce data quality standards. Utilize automated data collection tools wherever possible to minimize human error and ensure consistency. Catching errors at the point of entry will save cleaning exercises later, so use real time data validation.

Missing data can be either Missing Completely at Random (MCAR) – least problematic scenario or Missing at Random (MAR) and Missing Not at Random (MNAR). Remove records with missing values if the sample size is adequate. Otherwise, replace missing values with estimated ones using methods like average imputation, regression substitution, or educated guessing. ML models can also be used to predict missing values based on other available data. Use domain knowledge and context to make reasonable assumptions about missing data. This will boil down to the expertise of the data scientist, so it is important to hire and invest in good talent.

How are you leveraging advanced technologies like IoT, AI, and blockchain, as well as third-party auditors to improve data accuracy?

At RRL, we make use of IoT, AI and audit at various life cycle stages across varied projects. Merging IoT, AI, and blockchain establishes a comprehensive data management system where IoT devices collect data, AI analyses it, and blockchain ensures its integrity. Third-party auditors can then provide an impartial assessment of data accuracy and compliance with standards, adding an extra layer of credibility and trust.

By integrating these advanced technologies and working with third-party auditors, organizations can enhance data accuracy, reliability, and compliance.

What are your expectations from the consumption of a sustainability report, and do you think more can be done to gain a clearer picture of the company’s sustainability progress, and what are the gaps as well?

In God we trust; all others must bring data. When Edward Deming said this, it pretty much drove across the message that without data, all we have is an opinion. A sustainability report must deliver transparent and precise information on a company’s ESG practices – specific data on greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water usage, waste management, and social impact. The report must adhere to established sustainability reporting standards, likes of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Inclusion of benchmarks will also be good as it’ll help make industry-wide comparisons.

Utilizing advanced technologies like IoT and AI for real-time data collection on sustainability metrics can improve the accuracy and timeliness of the information provided. Clearly defining long-term sustainability objectives and the strategies to achieve them, especially including less apparent areas such as supply chain impacts and product lifecycle assessments, can make sustainability agenda more robust.