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Microsoft Sustainability Manager offers a comprehensive solution for organizations seeking to manage and improve their sustainability efforts. It streamlines processes by automating data collection, analysis, and reporting, allowing for more efficient tracking and reduction of emissions, water usage, and waste impact.
One of its key features is its adaptability to integrate with existing business systems, breaking down data silos and providing a unified platform for sustainability management. By leveraging Azure and Power Platform tools, users can extend the core capabilities of the Sustainability Manager to tailor it to their specific needs, such as creating custom formulas or reports.
The solution provides continuous visibility into emissions activities and water data, enabling organizations to reliably report their impact and progress in near real-time. This real-time reporting capability is crucial for organizations looking to collaborate with stakeholders and refine sustainability initiatives.
In terms of water sustainability, the Sustainability Manager offers preview features that allow organizations to record, estimate, analyze, and report on water quantity and quality data. This includes tracking water volume measurements and facility-level measurements related to water quality, helping organizations address regulatory requirements and sustainability disclosures.
Similarly, the solution includes features for sustainable waste management, enabling organizations to unify, prepare, analyze, and report on waste quantity and quality characteristics. This includes tracking waste disposal, recovery, recycling, and monitoring hazardous and radioactive properties in waste, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
The Sustainability Manager also provides tools for setting and tracking sustainability targets, collaborating seamlessly with stakeholders, and integrating sustainability insights into business operations. This holistic approach allows organizations to not only track their environmental impact but also take action to reduce their footprint and transform their business practices.
The ESG value chain solution offered by Microsoft Sustainability Manager facilitates the gathering of data directly from partners within your value chain to calculate scope 3 emissions. Value chain partners include any entities you conduct business with or are invested in. This solution comprises a value chain data hub within Sustainability Manager and a Power Pages portal template for supplier data collection. Additionally, the solution allows for the calculation and attribution of scope 3 data using the attribution node in Calculations. Key tasks include installing the Power Pages template, setting up partners, conducting surveys, enabling EcoVadis ratings, and calculating scope 3 emissions. This integrated approach enables organizations to comprehensively manage their ESG performance and collaborate effectively with their value chain partners. We will dive deeper in that in the below demo.
Overall, Microsoft Sustainability Manager offers a comprehensive and flexible solution for organizations at any stage of their sustainability journey, empowering them to make informed decisions and drive positive environmental change.
End-to-end Demonstration:
In Dynamics 365 Sustainability Manager and external facing/public facing PowerPages Vendor Portal, I can set up a surveys that I then send out to my vendor via PowerAutomate.
Note: Make sure you set up the accounts with a contact and the contact must have an associated valid email address assigned.
That way, I was able to send out the below Registration email to my private email address (aka pretending this would be a vendor contact):
With the above information (link and registration code) I can create now an account, log in and reply to the survey on the external facing Power Pages Vendor Portal – see below a summary of the survey reply I submitted. I populated values for each of the below ESG fields/requested data points. The below show the portal after logging in - under surveys I can view completed surveys as well as can start new surveys sent to me.
Initially you will create an acocunt via the redeem invitation (via registration code) option in the below. I already have done that - thus, I can simply log in with my credentials.
Under surveys I can now see all my assigned surveys:
I completed a survey on the webpage - See entered values as summary below:
After completion, you will submit the survey. Submitted survey data is then reported back/tracked in sustainability manager automatically. You can review such under accounts.
And on the account details view under related surveys, I can trill down in the submitted survey for that account. E.g. see below the emmissions that I submitted via the vendor portal.
I can have approval flows for data that was submitted - for now I set such to not required for external emissions.
Note: There is also capabilitiy to run allocations. For now, we skip over this to keep things simple.
After running calculations for e.g. business travel, I can see such under the all emissions data tab. See below the calculation profiles I ran for the above submitted value chain ESG values.
See business travel records on the all emissions tab. (all emissions filter by travel)
I can now also report on the data e.g. on emissions via standard reports, dashboards and inquiries.
I can also track against goals and KPIs and see progress:
Internal tracking of water, emission, waste is possible. External via vendor portal (in preview), we can only track emissions & carbon activity at this point.