How a single ESG metric can lead to financial gains

This is a huge miss for many businesses. Especially when you consider that an ESRS report of medium complexity alone contains anywhere from 250 to 400 qualitative and quantitative data points. And if you start to look at each of these in a more comprehensive way, it can quickly become obvious just how impactful this data is with the right platform to distill it.

In this article, we’re going to take a look at a very familiar data point for most businesses: electricity usage of a single facility. We’ll show you step by step how its value is unlocked.

Step 1: Entering the data

Imagine a company that is reviewing some of its energy expenditure metrics, looking for potential inefficiencies. They start with a simple data point: 12,000 kWh of electricity used at one facility in a given month. They enter this data into their Position Green’s system, where every value is tagged with entity (the legal or operational reporting unit within an organization for which sustainability data is collected and disclosed.), time period, and who reported it.

This not only means the data is verifiable and assured by multiple stakeholders, but it also gives the company an understanding of the consistency of this data point. In other words, they know that if this facility is one of a number comparable facilities, the energy usage of each of them is likely similar.

Step 2: Aggregate and verify at scale

From there, the company looks at 25 similar sites, all of them reported on in Position Green. With the same energy output at these facilities, they can multiply that 12,000 kWh by 25. Across all locations, total electricity use reached 3.6 million kWh per year.

Using Position Green, reviewers could even go one step further to verify this newfound data point, such as:

• Compare usage across sites and time periods
• Flag outliers or inconsistencies
• Track which data had been verified
• Communicate directly with reporters inside the system

This functionality allowed the team to complete internal reviews before external assurance began. It ensured they had a high-confidence dataset, with fewer errors and faster turnaround.

But it also means they’re working with a lot more energy consumption than that one data point initially suggested.

Step 3: Put the data in context

After verifying the data, the team used Position Green’s Benchmarking module to compare their energy intensity against peers in the same sector and size range.

The results showed that their energy consumption per site was 25% lower than the industry median. From an efficiency perspective, they were already performing well. However, despite this, their Scope 2 emissions were still relatively high.

This combination, efficient operations but high indirect emissions, highlighted an opportunity: they couldn’t reduce emissions further just by using less energy. They needed to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy itself.

Benchmarking also gave the sustainability team a way to report progress to the board, backed by external data, and to reinforce the message that their metrics had strategic relevance.

They’re in a strong position from the get-go, but what if they started to model potential new means of reducing that energy consumption.

Step 4: Model an improvement scenario

With a verified baseline of 3.6 million kWh/year, the company evaluated whether additional savings were possible.

Using Position Green’s Carbon Accounting software, specifically the Decarbonization Scenarios module, they modeled a project: switching all sites to LED lighting and smart ventilation. Using their own consumption data, they estimated:

• 10% reduction in energy use = 360,000 kWh/year
• 144 tCO₂e avoided per year
• CAPEX = €2,300
• Annual savings = €46,800

This wasn’t a generic calculator. It used their real, reviewed data. They adjusted energy prices and capital cost assumptions, and connected the results to internal financial models.

The outcome gave them a clear investment case with defined payback, supported by both emissions and financial metrics that they could share with their finance team and get faster approval to implement.

One data point that quickly turned into a tacit pathway to decarbonize and cut costs that would have otherwise been overlooked. 

Step 5: Expand their scope of cost-savings through compliance activities

The team knew that energy use was a material topic, having conducted a double materiality assessment (DMA) earlier that year. They also knew that there are many more data points highlighted during the same exercise that could have:

• Environmental impact
• Financial relevance
• Further regulatory benefits
• Stakeholder expectations

This helped them confirm their initial investment in LED lights and smart ventilation aligned with broader sustainability and financial priorities, not just isolated emissions targets.

But they also identified other metrics worth modeling next, such as water consumption, waste generation, and supplier risk, using the same process.

And as a cherry on top, they didn’t have to go back and measure these data points again. It had all been done as part of their core compliance activities and, crucially, was stored and saved in their Position Green platform.

They saved time throughout the process and were able to present a convincing case that made the investment obvious and risk-free for their financial or operational teams.

Results

To summarize, this is the full return from one properly managed metric:

• A clear, benchmarked footprint
• An identified 10% efficiency opportunity
• A fast-payback capital project
• Annual savings of €46,800, and
• A connection to both ESRS reporting and internal strategy

Each step was managed within a single platform, without manual exports, disconnected workflows, or missed review loops.

If you’re working with similar energy, emissions, or operational data, you can follow the same approach with Position Green’s ESG management software.

What may start as an unassuming data point collected mandatorily for compliance could yield some transformative gains for your business.

If you’re curious to learn more about the data you’re sitting on and its potential impacts for your business, all while ensuring compliance excellence for your business, then chat with us today.