Capturing sustainability data puts businesses ahead of the game

Eastern region accountancy and business advisory firm,Larking Gowen, has launched a new service to help clients capture and use sustainability data to benefit short and long-term goals.

The firm has entered a strategic partnership with neoeco, a software platform focusing on ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting.

Larking Gowen Partner, Laurie Hill, says that businesses today not only have to have a sound ESG policy in place, they also have to demonstrate its implementation and effectiveness. The key to doing this is data.

“The need to demonstrate your ESG credentials is being driven by top-down regulation currently impacting larger businesses, and it’s beginning to be pushed down the supply chains. If you’re being asked to tender for a particular contract that requires demonstrable sustainability credentials, you’ve got the data to back up your ESG policy, and you can be ahead of the game,” he said.

Jake Bond, VP of Business Development at neoeco, explains: “We identified that a lot of the foundational data required for ESG reporting is held by accountants and finance teams. They play a key role in sustainability reporting by managing critical accounting data. With neoeco, you can easily capture supply chain primary data through our intuitive supply chain data capturing module, accounting data directly from the general ledger, and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) product data.

“It’s an all-in-one, end-to-end solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing systems. Our AI-driven technology automatically aligns transactions with relevant sustainability factors using activity-based calculations,” he added.

Data can be collected from various sources, including accounting software, HR systems, ERP systems, and smart energy meters, then reconciled with sustainability points from national or international databases. This data not only generates reports but also aids in strategic planning and forecasting.

Adam Soall, Director of Norwich-based removal firm, Loads4Less, is Larking Gowen’s first client to be signed up to neoeco’s software package and the ESG advisory service. He is passionate about sustainability and is helping Larking Gowen and neoeco spread the word about the benefits of ESG data capture and reporting.

“Larking Gowen said they would be moving into the advisory market for ESG and asked if I would like to be their first client on the neoeco platform, which really aligns with where I’m going. I wanted to be a pioneer of this in the removal industry in Norfolk, and I’m working on a plan for net zero, reducing our carbon emissions where possible,” he said.

“neoeco offers a service where we can send a link to our suppliers, they fill in the data and it helps us decide who we are using. It also helps them to understand how to achieve sustainability. When it comes down to it, we are going to choose to work with businesses who operate with sustainability in mind, even if they are a little more expensive,” he said.

Laurie Hill said that the software and advisory support will bring benefits to companies of all sizes and within any sector.

“Larking Gowen’s role is to work with clients on their ESG strategy, whilst being able to provide access to an intuitive ESG reporting platform in neoeco, allowing us to assist to interpret the data, adapt financial modelling and provide advisory services to work with businesses to make positive change and futureproof.

“If a client wants to look at supply chain improvements, we can look at how this might affect their profit margin. If the new suppliers come with added cost, due to provision of more sustainable materials, for example, we can advise and assist with financial modelling that builds in gradual ‘sustainability’ price increases to protect against margin erosion.

“The other element is around forecasting. You can say within the software you want to be carbon neutral or reduce carbon by 25% in the next ten years, and with the right data, you can roughly forecast the cost of that,” he said.

Laurie added: “If you are making changes to your business from the sustainability perspective and you have the add-on of a software platform, this can help you make data driven decisions.

“There is also a consideration for business owners to apply a ‘sustainability’ uplift to pricing metrics because of green credentials, and potentially win business over firms that do not have the same data to hand.”

Adam recently recorded an episode of the podcast Larking Gowen Insights, where he chatted to Laurie Hill and neoeco about his journey in more detail, listen at larking-gowen.co.uk/LGI or wherever you get your podcasts.

Visit the Larking Gowen website for more information.