Step 2. Checking Envirometers for benchmarking

Before you calculate an average Envirometer (that is to say, carry out the benchmark), the Envirometers have to be checked.

Check the Envirometers for completeness, realistic values and missing data. All of this is important to the calculation of the average Envirometer. If you average envirometers for different companies, ask the user to correct and complete data, and to clarify any outliers. 

1. The following data have to be filled in for the Envirometer to be included in the benchmark. 
• number of employees,
• floor area and volume of the building,
• production size (if included in the benchmark),
• turnover (if included in the benchmark).
2. The following environmental items concern almost every company. If they have not been completed, the input field should be empty, it is not allowed to be zero. Empty input fields are not included in the benchmark:
• Electricity
• Some type of ‘fuel’ for heating (gas, heat, wood, oil)
• Waste water and drinking water
• Unsorted company waste
3. In certain sectors, specific waste streams, types of waste water and/or emissions can hardly be zero. For instance, the sludge from the sludge interceptor in garages, specific medical waste from hospitals, or grease from a grease interceptor in buildings with kitchens. It means that if a company has filled in ‘0’ for these waste streams, it is unlikely to be true. Ask the user to complete these data or to mark the items with 'Preliminary data'.
4. Transport is often (partly) unclear. Ask your contact whether the data are complete. If they are incomplete, you have to take this into account in step 4. Combining Envirometers for benchmarking. Please include only complete data in the benchmark. Mark the other input fields with 'Preliminary data'.
5. Compare the charts to those of last year (if available) or with the industry sector average, f previous years are not available. Alert the user to inconsistent outcomes and outliers.
6. Check for all items whether the envirometer includes the right data to calculate the average Envirometer. The Envirometer uses the following 'rules' to decide whether or not a input field is included:
   
• 'Preliminary data' is checked = data are NOT complete/ available/ reliable
  Ask you contact if it is true that these data are incomplete (and should therefore not be included in the benchmark). Instruct the user to hide data or label them not applicable if their value comes to ‘nought’, and to only leave ‘to be completed’ open if they do not have the data yet or if the data are in fact not complete as yet.
• 0 = included in average as 0.
  
• empty input field = environmental item is not included in the average.
  

Step 6 is not necessary if you do use standard calculation rules, instead of advanced. Please take into account that in that case the average will include all visible environmental items. Empty input fields and input fields with '0' will be included as 0. Consult the notes on calculating the average Envirometer for other differences between advanced and standard calculation rules.

 

When finished, please continue with step 3. Importing Envirometers for benchmarking.