A software-as-a-service (SaaS) reporting and tracking tool has been developed by sustainability activator Anthesis to help UK local authorities accelerate the progress of their climate action plans.
The Anthesis Impact Tracker will help users track progress on implementing their climate action plans and collaborate, monitor, and report transparently to sta
Climate emergency
The tool is part of the Anthesis Digital portfolio of SaaS solutions and its development has been led by the experts behind the Scatter greenhouse gas reporting tool used by 80 percent of UK local authorities, and Area Based Insetting, which provides an alternative to traditional offsetting for UK local authorities.
More than 300 local authorities have declared a climate emergency and three-quarters have a climate action plan or strategy in place. Tracking and coordinating climate action progress and reporting to stakeholders can be a challenge though.
In response and calling on its public sector experience and network, Anthesis convened a working group of 15 local authorities across the UK to design a digital solution to tackle these challenges and support the implementation of climate action plans.
Anthesis Impact Tracker also provides immediate access to a range of data through which the impact of local climate initiatives can be reviewed. More than 40 preloaded key performance indicators from multiple sources are included, ranging from building stock performance, renewable generation, and land management to macro-scale emissions data. The library will expand over time, including adding local data unique to users’ areas.
“Working with local authorities on their climate action planning, we have observed that no strategy is ever static,” said Sara Telahoun, co-lead of Anthesis’ climate and regions team. “Successfully managing progress and communicating internally and externally with stakeholders enables robust action. We are delighted to launch Anthesis Impact Tracker to meet this growing need.”
The tool is designed for a non-technical audience with the support of Anthesis’ in-house digital user experience and user interface experts. It has a fully customizable dashboard, allowing the data manager to control the data sets shared by the audience.
“Anthesis Impact Tracker is extremely user-friendly,” said Georgia James, environmental data officer, Camden Borough Council, which was one of many local authorities that participated in a testing phase of Anthesis Impact Tracker. “Having all our data sourced in one place helps to provide insights into the progress of our Climate Action Plan. The dashboard is a great step forward for reporting and data transparency.”
Anthesis Impact Tracker will be available from May 2023 through Anthesis Digital, Anthesis’ hub for climate-related technology and digital learning capabilities. Further enhancements will be rolled out throughout the year, including enhanced reporting capabilities and new modeling functionality to better track the impact of actions against net zero commitments.
Anthesis brings together 1,100 experts operating in 40 countries around the world and has offices in Andorra, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Middle East, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US.
