Can it really be simple to collect and work with ESG data?

Elnaz Ehsani, climate and sustainability lead for Bygma Danmark was introduced to the platform from Klappir by his colleague from Húsasmiðjan (Bygma in Iceland). “We no longer need to think about how we can collect uniform ESG data for the whole group of companies, also across national borders. When we need data from a new supplier, we add them to our Value Chain and Klappir takes care of getting the data with specifically calculated emission factors. It means we can start optimizing for the individual stores and involve the whole organization in our sustainability journey,” Elnaz Ehsani says.

Húsasmiðjan has used the Klappir Sustainability Platform since 2019 to collect data for its 14 hardware stores and to report its ESG data to the holding company Bygma Group. To customize reporting and get help with data collection, Bygma Denmark and Sweden connected to Klappir’s platform. This has made it easy for them to get an overview of data, to benchmark and find best practices for the stores across national borders.

Inclusion of the whole society
Klappir’s vision is to make use of the big amounts of relevant data in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GhG Protocol) that most companies use for optimizing operations and reporting according to an EU directive. Data that previously was collected manually is now digitalized in accordance with mandatory registration processes, which more and more companies are covered by.

Klappir was founded in 2013 as a solution that helps companies in the maritime industry to reduce CO2-emissions and cost in their operations. With the broad support for the Paris Agreement from Icelandic authorities and companies in 2015, there was increasing demand for digital tools that could help all types of companies and institutions with their sustainability work. This became the start of the digital ecosystem that today facilitates simple and reliable data sharing across society.

“We have made a proof of concept in Iceland, a smaller society where all public and private parts of society are taking part in the ecosystem. The model works in Iceland. We are now becoming well established with our ecosystem on the Danish market, and customers are pulling us into new markets where companies are requesting the same service,” says Isabelle Broddén, Growth Specialist at Klappir Denmark.

Easy access to ESG data
Klappir’s data collection has grown fast, for all kinds of companies and organizations, and covers all categories within scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3, defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Klappir has an ecosystem of over 1200 companies sharing data.

Klappir collects all relevant data from customers and suppliers, and provides a detailed overview of their CO2 emissions, energy use and other parameters where the company wants to optimize efforts and get auditable documentation of their activities.

“We make sure that all necessary data is accessible in one place. Sustainability Managers and others, who work with these things, shall no longer sit with an Excel sheet and fill in the data themselves for e.g. electricity, water, heating and fuel for 40 subsidiaries around the world,” says Isabelle Broddén.

The advantage of activity-based data
Klappir distinguishes itself from other ESG solutions by being activity-based rather than spend-based. According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, it gives more accurate numbers that can describe the company’s influence on the outside world more accurately and detailed.

“Other solutions, working spend-based, use economic key numbers from an invoice. A certain amount for a certain type of fuel equals to a certain level of emissions. However, this is not a very accurate method, as it may be vulnerable to price changes. If you get a 40% discount, it doesn’t make your emissions 40% lower. Instead, we look at your actual usage and your actual activities. Therefore, we can link your overall activities to individual activities, so that you get an overview of e.g., how cars and properties can be optimized based on the benchmarks set by the ecosystem and platform,” says Martin Kahl, Growth Leader at Klappir.

Suppliers are important partners
Klappir’s goal is to work inclusively with the suppliers of customers. The suppliers are an essential part of the ecosystem and seen as important partner businesses for Klappir. “When we get a new client on the platform, we also get their supplier in, and we analyze the products they supply to our client. For a fuel supplier, we check e.g. the level of bio in their products to find emission factors that are as specific as possible. When this preparation is done, the activity-based data is collected to calculate CO2,” explains Martin Kahl.

Speed up the green transition
The family behind Klappir still has a decisive influence on the company, but Klappir is listed on Nasdaq First Nordic and the price for participating on the platform is deliberately kept low. It is important for Klappir that the platform appeals to the highest possible number of companies and investors, which can see the value of cooperation around the tools, needed to get institutions and the business sector to kick off the green transition through sustainable companies.

Article published in Berlinske 29.11.2022