983676 - Translating Digital Strategies into Practical and Sustainable Solutions – How Automation Can Re-Define the Use of Environmental Management Information Systems (EMIS)

In this post-pandemic world, the critical need for automation and digital connectivity across all data channels has become quite apparent. Environmental compliance, permitting and reporting, virtual audits, health and safety protocols, contact-tracing, emergency management and planning, and much more, is changing and merging into a single challenge – how to minimize manual input and hand holding, and maximize the automation and digital connectivity of all data captured at the source, with tracking all the way through to the end point goals – whatever they may be.
In this platform presentation, the authors propose to discuss the current trends that are being seen in the realm of data management within the areas of environmental compliance, permitting, and reporting, and how those trends have a direct impact on the way we view, understand, and interpret data to meet the goals of environmental resilience and sustainability. The presentation will not only identify key areas where automation and digital strategies can be implemented to reduce the time, effort, and costs associated with data collection and maintenance, but also provide examples of tools and processes that have been successfully utilized to develop a resilient and sustainable structure as a core foundation for these tasks.
The aim of this presentation is to provide insight into how some of the various automation tools and apps currently entering the market, whether custom built, or commercial off the shelf (COTS), can not only provide solutions for strategic goal development in the areas of climate change, carbon footprint, sustainability, and much more, but can also provide transparency in understanding the footprint of the data itself, from cradle to grave, so to speak – which is becoming an integral part of how all the stakeholders expect to view data and to ensure its accuracy across the chain of command.
The presentation will also showcase various scenarios where applications such as KNIME, Power Automate/BI, UIPath, IForms, and Fulcrum among others, can play a critical role in reducing time during the data collection process, and can link the data directly to other tools such as Excel spreadsheets, permit applications, and other EMIS systems that may currently be used by various companies for their internal and external reporting needs. These apps and tools in essence convert analog operations into digital processes and generate more confidence in the data gathered and analyzed and passed on to the next steps. Not only will these solutions allow growth in the scope of the data being gathered, but it also allows the manual functionality of the field personnel, to be converted into data analysis at the source – thus allowing better understanding of the data from the point of generation to the final destination(s) of the information gathered.