We listened, we learned, we created – our new programme Managing ESG Data
Clare Hutchinson, Managing Director - Data Academy
The three biggest challenges organisations need to solve when embarking on their ESG journey are: understanding what to do, gathering relevant data and motivating people to join you on your journey.
As a data consultancy we’re experienced in listening to our clients’ challenges and helping them find the best solution. For us this might mean an intensive data discovery, developing a data strategy, addressing issues with the data infrastructure with some data engineering or doing something ‘cool’ with data science. But underpinning all this is people. Adoption. Whether everyone is on the same page.
In other words, does your business have the right talent and skills to ensure that data underpins your business strategy, is there whole company understanding of what data can do for you (and crucially, what it can’t) and do your data and non-data people have the right level of expertise to achieve it? In many cases, the answer is no – to some or even all of these questions.
So, we launched the Profusion Data Academy to plug these gaps.
Our offer is simple. We’ll upskill your non data people to the required level of data literacy and we’ll equip your data people with the commercial acumen they need to translate your needs into data projects. We’re helping you to bridge the gap that currently results in over 80%* of data projects failing (*source Gartner 2020).
We’ve also got your back when you need short term resource in your data teams, need mentoring from a data specialist or want to hire diverse, entry level talent.
People tell us our programmes work – perhaps because we’re not solely an ed-tech company. Our programmes are written and delivered by data experts who have current, lived experience and can bring countless real-life examples of what works and critically, how to overcome barriers. Much of our content has been developed based on feedback and requests from clients, which is how our latest offer – Managing ESG Data – was born.
The change in legislation around ESG reporting has thrust the responsibility to report across an extremely wide range of indicators into the spotlight. Some organisations already had an ESG team in place, whereas others have bolted the reporting responsibility onto others – maybe the finance team, the sustainability manager or the data team. We’ve found that each of these groups is facing challenges relating to some or all of the reporting required. But, as I said, data is our business and we’re here to help.
We asked what is most complex in navigating ESG standards and frameworks. We listened to what the biggest challenges are in identifying what to measure and where the data would come from. We delved into the specifics of roles and responsibilities to identify the blockers. And then we created a 1.5 day programme – Managing ESG Data – to demystify ESG reporting so that with minimal investment of time and money, we can help you to get your ESG house in order.
The programme starts with a deep dive into ESG to help you make sense of the myriad ESG standards and frameworks. We then equip you to craft an ESG vision & strategy, looking at how to set appropriate ESG targets. From there we share a simple tool to help you to define the ‘problem’ to solve so that you get the right answers from your data. Once you have the data you need, we cover the tools and techniques you’ll need to deploy to manipulate data for ESG reporting and how to design and prioritise data solutions, touching on how you would create a ‘multi-disciplinary ESG team’ in your organisation to set you up for success. We round off the programme with a session on how you can create a more compelling reporting narrative with data storytelling, also addressing data ethics so that you avoid greenwashing or misleading interpretation of data.
Having tested the content with a number of current, expert ESG practitioners, we identified two groups who would benefit most from the programme. The ESG specialist who would like to better understand data or the data specialist who needs upskilling on ESG requirements. As with all our programmes, participation opens you up to a supportive community, so for those just wanting to keep up date and connect with some like-minded ESG colleagues, this programme is for you. We’ll give you a thorough grounding in ESG and data over a 1.5 day programme with additional expert support post course to help you put your plans into action.
If you’d like to be part of the next cohort, and join the Profusion Data Academy community, get in touch with us via dataacademy@profusion.com