JFDI: You Already Have The Knowledge You Need

*Just Do It…  with a minor addition.  A friendly term used in situations where the best course of action is to stop procrastinating and get on with it.

Data is wonderful.  It holds the secrets of the universe, just waiting there to be interpreted and understood.  It tells us stories that underpin scientific breakthroughs and enhance our understanding of the world around us.  You may not be able to tell from reading this, but I really like data.

However, there’s a problem.  Data is not always where or what we need it to be.  And when that missing or incomplete data is the foundation for something as big and complicated as a Net Zero pathway, then it’s absolutely understandable to put off making decisions until you know you can rely on the information you have.

But when it comes to the climate crisis, there also needs to be a degree of urgency in our action.  So in this case, we can’t let perfect be the enemy of good.  We simply can’t afford to wait until the day we have perfect data (insider tip – that day is never coming).

What’s going wrong?

No organisation on Earth (I’ve checked) has a complete dataset that has been consciously structured to support all decisions required for a Net Zero pathway.  You are not alone in having gaps, strange values that you can’t explain, and data that is buried deep in different departments across your organisation. 

But why?

Compiling Net Zero data is not, and has never been, a fundamental part of the operation of your organisation.  Your organisation exists to build a product or deliver a service, not to work out how to decarbonise itself. 

It takes time and resources to gather and cleanse datasets.  It adds to people’s day jobs, and they don’t see any obvious benefit.  How often have you asked the finance team for Purchased Goods and Services data and felt like you were ruining someone’s day?  It’s not personal, it’s just that everyone already has too much to do.

Is there another way to think about this?‍ ‍

Data generation is not your end goal.  The point of data is to unlock knowledge, and sometimes it’s possible to short-circuit the process.  Someone in your organisation already knows where to start.  Many actions are obvious - which buildings are using a disproportionate amount of your energy budget?  Which ones have kit that is broken all the time?  It’s not just your estates and maintenance teams; every department already knows what is keeping them awake at night.  And whatever it is, is guaranteed to have its own carbon footprint. 

I’m not saying that you should blindly plough ahead with big investment decisions without supporting data, but there are lower risk actions that can be delivered now, not just to save carbon but also to realise wider benefits and help your teams sleep soundly.  

……Plot Twist!

You think the risk lies in poor data quality and availability.  It doesn’t.  The real risk is in putting off action by waiting for perfect data.

Someone in your team already has the knowledge you need.  So JFDI.