5.5 - Monitoring and steering the transition plan

How to monitor and manage the indicators?

Source: Freepik

To ensure having a transition plan that meets the organisation's needs, it is essential to monitor it throughout its implementation. Monitoring aims to ensure the adequacy of actions with the emission reduction objectives expected by the organisation. This monitoring shall be periodic and will be based on significance; some categories will be monitored more regularly than others (categories covered by the transition plan and "at-risk" categories).

Each action of the transition plan is associated with various indicators, allowing evaluation of their implementation, analysis of their progress and the evolution of the emissions associated with them, that is to say their performance. Three categories of indicators are distinguished:

Implementation indicators

This type of indicator allows signalling the status of the concerned action:

• Are the prerequisites met?

• Have the preliminary actions been implemented?

• Are the stakeholders involved in implementing the actions engaged?

• Is the action scheduled? launched? in progress? completed?

☑️ [Examples of implementation indicators] Suppose an action to raise awareness among an organisation's employees, via a Bilan Carbone® Collage. In this context, implementation indicators may be as follows: "Facilitators are identified and contacted", "Intervention dates are set", "The organisation's employees are informed".

Monitoring indicators

Monitoring indicators focus on the activity data concerned by the actions of the transition plan. They characterise the action's progress by providing intermediate results. They are often expressed as a percentage.

☑️ [Examples of monitoring indicators] Suppose an action to raise awareness among an organisation's employees, via a Bilan Carbone® Collage. In this context, monitoring indicators may be as follows: "Percentage of all employees who participated in a Collage", "Number of sessions held".

Performance indicator

A performance indicator demonstrates the improvement in terms of impact on carbon that the organisation observes since the implementation of an action, and thus the effectiveness of the action.

The performance indicator implies recalculating certain significant emissions of the organisation (in tCO2e). These indicators therefore mainly concern the Standard and Advanced maturity levels.

☑️ [Examples of performance indicators] Suppose an action to raise awareness among an organisation's employees, via a Bilan Carbone® Collage. In this context, performance indicators may be as follows: "Tonnes of CO2e/FTE of the organisation's internal/direct emissions". It is interesting to note that this performance indicator is not specific to the Collage action, but it is still relevant to monitor. If emissions decrease, the workshop may have been beneficial. If emissions increase, it means it is insufficient.

Requirements regarding indicators

Here are the different requirements and recommendations, for each of the maturity levels :

Initial Level: criterion S1

Implementation indicators for actions as well as monitoring indicators are put in place when drafting the action sheets. The use of a monitoring system, such as a dashboard, is recommended but not mandatory.

In the event that actions are monitored, the monitoring shall be carried out internally.

Monitoring significant emissions (to provide performance indicators) between each renewal of the Bilan Carbone® is not imposed, but is recommended.

Standard Level: criterion S2

Implementation and monitoring indicators for actions are mandatory. In addition, performance indicators shall be used to track the most significant emissions.

Monitoring of the transition plan shall be carried out at each renewal; however, it is recommended to do so annually (at least for the most significant actions). It is carried out internally and using a monitoring system such as a dashboard. The monitoring system thus makes it possible to apprehend evolutions, notably regarding reduction performance (monitoring of the most significant emissions).

Furthermore, unfinished actions from previous transition plans shall be integrated into new ones to ensure continuity.

The interpretation of results can be done logically by including external factors in their analysis (for example a lower use of heating due to a milder winter).

Advanced Level: criterion S3

Implementation and monitoring indicators are mandatory. The organisation also organises the monitoring of performance indicators, which imply tracking significant emissions.

They make it possible to monitor the effects of the transition plan and the progress of actions.

Indicator monitoring shall be done annually, but it is recommended to do it semi-annually. It shall be carried out internally. A system such as a dashboard is used.

The interpretation of results can be done logically by including external factors in their analysis (for example a lower use of heating due to a milder winter).

Monitoring of the transition plan is embedded in the organisation's overall strategy and is reported periodically to management, at least annually. The performance indicators (emissions in tCO2e) monitored by management are the organisation's KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

Monitoring system

A monitoring system, such as a dashboard to track the actions of the transition plan and the indicators, is filled in periodically internally by the Bilan Carbone® lead for organisations at Standard and Advanced maturity levels. It enables facilitated tracking of indicators associated with the actions. A tool is offered by the ABC as a resource. This does not prescribe mandatory modalities for discussions around monitoring; these are at the organisation's discretion.

This tool also allows the recalculation of significant emissions, which serve as performance indicators of the transition plan.

The Bilan Carbone® method recommends, via this monitoring system, toautomate the monitoring of actual physical data, in particular those responsible for significant emissions. This notably allows focusing on data analysis, annual monitoring, the valorisation of implemented actions, their reorientation if necessary, among other things, rather than on data collection.

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