Quickstart: Automate Your Compliance
Configure emission factors, set goals, enable event interceptors across modules, run supplier assessments, generate GHG / CSRD / CDP reports, monitor real-time — the full setup in 6 steps, in under 25 minutes.
Configure Emission Factors
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| **EPA eGRID** | US grid electricity (per-region) |
| **DEFRA / BEIS** | UK government emission factors (heating, transport, materials) |
| **EU CSRD ESRS E1** | European corporate sustainability reporting standard |
| **GHG Protocol** | International corporate accounting + reporting standard |
| **IPCC AR6** | Latest climate science report (GWP values) |
| **Climatiq API** | Real-time external API for specialty factors |
Set Sustainability Goals
| Goal type | Example |
|---|---|
| **Net Zero commitment** | "Net Zero Scope 1+2 by 2030" |
| **Reduction target** | "Reduce Scope 3 emissions 50% by 2030 vs 2019 baseline" |
| **Intensity target** | "Reduce kg CO2e / unit-produced by 30% by 2028" |
| **Renewable energy** | "100% renewable electricity by 2027" |
| **Supplier engagement** | "80% of suppliers with Scope 1+2 targets by 2026" |
| **Water + waste** | "50% reduction in water intensity by 2030" |
Enable Event Interceptors
| Module | What it tracks |
|---|---|
| **SCM** | Supplier shipments, raw material weight, transport mode, distance |
| **Fulfillment** | Outbound shipping (carrier, weight, distance, packaging) |
| **Smart Spaces** | Building energy consumption (HVAC, lighting, equipment per zone) |
| **Fleet** | Vehicle miles, fuel consumption, idle time (via OBD-II telemetry) |
| **Commerce** | Product-level emissions (manufacturing footprint per SKU) |
| **Finance** | Travel + expense reports (business travel emissions per Scope 3 cat 6) |
| **Events** | Venue energy + waste + attendee travel emissions |
Run Supplier Assessments
Scope 3 emissions are typically 70-90% of a company's total footprint. Tracking starts with supplier assessment.
Navigate to ESG → Suppliers → Assessment Campaign and configure:
Assessment workflow:
- Define your questionnaire — typical: 30-50 questions covering operational footprint, transparency, certifications, targets
- Select suppliers — bulk import from SCM module or CSV
- Configure deadline + reminders — typical: 4-week response window with weekly reminders
- Send invitations — each supplier gets a secure portal link
- Score responses — weighted scoring with category breakouts (climate, ethics, labor)
- Surface results — dashboard shows which suppliers meet your bar
Auto-actions based on scores:
- High-scoring suppliers — auto-tagged "preferred" in SCM
- Mid-tier suppliers — develop-with-them program (annual goal-setting)
- Failing suppliers — SCM module blocks PO generation; sourcing team alerted
- Non-responsive — automated escalation cadence + relationship-review trigger
Industry-specific questionnaires — pre-built templates for fashion (ZDHC), food (SAI Platform), electronics (RBA), automotive (Drive Sustainability), and 12+ verticals.
Generate Your First Report
| Framework | Required by | Key outputs |
|---|---|---|
| **GHG Protocol** | International standard (most common) | Scope 1+2+3 breakdown by category |
| **CDP** | Investor-driven disclosure | Climate Change Questionnaire (CCQ) answers |
| **CSRD / ESRS E1** | EU-listed companies (mandatory 2024+) | Full ESRS E1 disclosure document |
| **TCFD** | Climate-related financial disclosures | Risk + opportunity analysis |
| **SASB** | Sector-specific sustainability metrics | Sector-aligned disclosures |
| **GRI** | Multi-stakeholder framework | GRI Standards aligned report |
| **ISSB** | International Sustainability Standards Board | IFRS S1 + S2 aligned |
Monitor + Optimize
The ESG Dashboard (Admin → ESG → Dashboard) gives you real-time operational visibility:
Live metrics:
- Current run-rate emissions (per day, per month, per quarter)
- Trend lines vs prior periods
- Top-emitting categories (where to focus reduction efforts)
- Goal progress percentages
- Supplier coverage (% of suppliers assessed)
- Carbon intensity ratios (per unit produced, per $1 revenue)
Variance alerts:
- "Energy consumption in Warehouse 3 up 20% MoM — investigate"
- "Air freight share of shipping increased 5pp — review carrier mix"
- "Supplier ACME assessment expired — re-survey"
- "Scope 2 emissions trending to miss 2027 target by 15%"
Recommendations engine:
- AI-generated reduction opportunities ranked by impact + feasibility
- Cost-curve analysis (which interventions give best $/tonne CO2 saved)
- Peer benchmarking (what are similar companies doing?)
Board-ready reporting:
- One-click "Board Pack" generation — executive summary, key metrics, variance commentary
- Quarterly drill-downs with departmental + facility-level detail
- Investor-ready ESG materials for IR / annual report
Integration Recipes
SCM supplier assessment → PO block. Suppliers failing the assessment get auto-blocked from PO generation in the SCM module. Sourcing team alerted to find alternates.
Fulfillment carbon-aware routing. Configure shipping routing to optimize for both cost AND emissions. The Fulfillment module's routing engine considers carbon per shipment as a weighted factor.
Smart Spaces energy optimization. Smart Spaces' AI optimization engine integrates with ESG goals — when you set a Scope 2 reduction target, the building-automation system optimizes more aggressively for energy savings.
Travel emissions auto-capture. Aeion Finance's expense module captures business travel; ESG auto-calculates per-trip emissions using IATA factors for flights, configurable factors for ground transport.
Marketing → green positioning. Marketing campaigns can show real-time sustainability progress to customers. "Powered by 100% renewable electricity (verified Aeion ESG ledger)" with link to public sustainability page.
Executive dashboard. ESG metrics surface on the Executive module's board portal alongside financial KPIs. Auto-populated CSRD / TCFD board-pack sections.
Troubleshooting
Emission calculations look wrong. Check the emission factor applied (Admin → ESG → Calculations → [event] → Factor Used). Common causes: (1) regional grid factor not assigned to the location, (2) outdated factor (refresh from authoritative source), (3) unit mismatch (km vs miles, kWh vs MWh).
Module integration not posting events. Check Admin → ESG → Integrations → [module] → Event Log. Common cause: the integration toggle was set but the module's events aren't enabled. Verify the source module's event-bus configuration.
Supplier assessment portal not loading. Suppliers need a unique secure link sent via email. Check the suppliers' email delivery log. Common cause: corporate spam filter blocking the portal URL (suggest whitelisting *.aeionos.com).
Report generation taking forever. Large datasets (year-of-data with 1M+ events) take 5-15 minutes. Use the async generation option — runs as background job, emails you when done. For consistent slow reports, optimize the period covered (monthly vs annual).
Variance alerts firing too often. Tune the variance threshold (Settings → ESG → Variance Alerts). Default 5% is sensitive — bump to 10-15% for noisier metrics. Or scope variance alerts to specific categories instead of all-categories.
Auditor wants more detail. Aeion's audit-trail export includes every calculation with its underlying event + factor + assumption. Use Admin → ESG → Audit Export to generate a forensic-level trail for your auditor.
Frequently Asked Questions
No — works as a standalone where you manually input data or use the API. The real power ("Invisible Carbon Accounting") unlocks when paired with SCM + Fulfillment + Smart Spaces. The integration is opt-in per module.
Trigger automated workflows. Vendors get secure portal links to answer questionnaires. The system scores their responses and updates each supplier's ESG assessment record. The SCM module uses the score to gate PO generation against failing vendors. Industry-specific questionnaires pre-built for 15+ verticals.
GHG Protocol (default), CDP, CSRD / ESRS E1, TCFD, SASB, GRI, ISSB. Output as PDF (auditor-ready), JSON (machine-readable), XBRL (regulatory filings), CSV (analysis). Auto-submission available for several jurisdictions.
Aeion uses 500+ authoritative factors from EPA, DEFRA, EU CSRD ESRS E1, GHG Protocol, IPCC AR6, and Climatiq. Each calculation logs the factor used + version + source for audit traceability. Factor accuracy depends on data granularity — more specific inputs (specific vehicle model vs generic "truck") yield better accuracy.
Aeion ships native support for all 15 Scope 3 sub-categories per GHG Protocol. Most companies have 70-90% of total emissions in Scope 3. Supplier assessment + value-chain data are essential — the SCM + Fulfillment integrations automate most of it.
Yes. The What-If scenarios tool models the impact of proposed actions ("switch fleet to EVs", "shift packaging to recycled materials", "consolidate warehouses") on your goal progress. Cost-curve analysis ranks interventions by $/tonne saved.
Audit trail on every calculation (factor used, raw data source, assumption notes). For third-party assurance, third-party auditors (PwC, Deloitte, EY) can access the audit trail directly to verify methodology + completeness.
Yes. Direct API integrations with CDP submission, UK SECR auto-filing, French ART 173, and German LkSG. EU CSRD XBRL output ready for direct submission to ESMA's ESEF taxonomy.
ESG provides the GHG inventory + reduction roadmap; TCFD provides the climate-risk + opportunity framework. Aeion ESG outputs TCFD-aligned disclosures using your emissions data + the AI risk-modeling engine.
Yes. Configure each entity (subsidiary, facility, region) and roll up to parent organization. Per-entity reports for local regulators + consolidated parent report for SEC / annual report disclosure.