Sustainability is increasingly becoming a measurable business responsibility rather than a corporate objective.
Under Malaysia’s National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), companies within its scope are required to provide sustainability-related disclosures aligned with international standards. As the framework reaches the later stage of its rollout, more businesses are expected to provide measurable sustainability disclosures.
However, reporting is only valuable when it is supported by tangible action.
For businesses, this represents more than another reporting obligation. It reflects a wider shift in how investors, financial institutions, customers and other stakeholders evaluate long-term business performance.
Where should businesses begin?
When preparing your sustainability reporting, one practical place to begin is by examining how your business consumes electricity. Solar energy can help you turn this information into measurable environmental action – but first, you need to understand your starting point.
- Establish your electrical use baseline
Electricity bills, meter readings and operational records can show how much electricity your business currently consumes. This information provides a baseline against which the performance of a future solar photovoltaic (PV) system can be measured.
You should also examine when electricity is consumed and which facilities or operations create the highest demand. Understanding these patterns will help determine how solar generation can fit into your operations and how a photovoltaic or battery system should be designed around your energy requirements.
- Generate measurable renewable energy data
Solar PV installations produce metrics that can be incorporated into your sustainability reporting.
With Pekat’s integrated monitoring software, your business can record the amount of renewable electricity generated, consumed on-site and, where applicable, exported to the grid. You can then compare this information with the amount of electricity previously purchased from the grid.
With trackable data, your business can move beyond making a general sustainability statement. Instead, you can report renewable-energy generation and consumption as quantifiable environmental outcomes.
- Measure the impact on Scope 2 emissions
Purchased grid electricity generally contributes to your company’s Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions*.
When businesses generate and consume solar energy on-site, it can reduce its reliance on grid electricity and potentially lower these emissions. Using solar-generation figures and the appropriate grid-emissions factor, you can estimate the emissions reduced or avoided through the initiative.
Your calculation method, reporting boundary and emissions factor should be clearly documented. It is also important to distinguish between solar electricity generated, electricity consumed on-site and electricity exported to avoid overstating the environmental benefit.
*Scope 2 emissions, as defined by the GHG Protocol, are indirect emissions associated with purchased energy, including electricity.
- Demonstrate progress against sustainability targets
Solar generation data can help businesses track its progress towards renewable-energy and emissions-reduction targets.
Relevant indicators may include the amount of solar electricity generated, the percentage of electricity supplied by renewable energy, the reduction in grid electricity purchased and the estimated reduction in Scope 2 emissions.
Reporting these indicators consistently allows your stakeholders to assess progress from one reporting period to the next. It also helps your management team evaluate system performance and determine whether further improvements or investments are required.
- Connect environmental action with business performance
Environmental data can also help your business connect sustainability initiatives with practical business outcomes.
Alongside emissions-related indicators, businesses can consider reporting electricity cost savings, and the project’s contribution to long-term energy planning. Other reporting metrics to stakeholders may be the resilience provided by battery energy storage coupled with solar PV systems.
Going solar does not fulfil every sustainability-reporting requirement, nor does it eliminate your company’s entire carbon footprint. However, it provides something essential to credible reporting: measurable evidence of action.
At Pekat, we understand that every organisation has different facilities, consumption patterns and reporting priorities. Our turnkey solar PV and battery energy storage capabilities can help your business plan, implement and monitor solutions suited to its operational requirements.
Ready to Explore Solar for Your Business?
Take the next step toward a smarter, more sustainable energy solution. Drop us an email at [email protected] with your contact details and a brief description of your solar needs. Our team will be happy to connect with you and explore how solar can work for your business.
Let’s power your future with solar.