At Wolters Kluwer Enablon’s recent SPF26 in Houston, the Environmental Data Manager at PBF Energy shared how the company transitioned from fragmented, spreadsheet-based environmental reporting to a centralized system of record. The presentation covered the challenges of managing emissions data at scale, why PBF Energy invested in a centralized system, and how creating a single source of truth strengthened data quality, audit readiness, and sustainability reporting across a complex, multi-site organization.
PBF Energy chose Enablon for environmental disclosures and limited assurance
In 2010, PBF Energy started acquiring petroleum refineries throughout the U.S., eventually growing to six refineries in five states with their own systems for managing data, creating a data silo for every acquisition. Understanding environmental performance across the company was extremely difficult, and a centralized way to organize their environmental data was needed. They decided to implement the Enablon Greenhouse Gas Emissions module to create reports for executive management and board members.
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions module also handles reporting for the California Climate Disclosure Rule, which applies not just to PBF Energy’s refineries in California, but across the entire company. With locations in California, Ohio, Louisiana, Delaware, and New Jersey, PBF Energy chose Enablon to compile its enterprise environmental data on a cloud platform that makes sharing data seamless.
In addition to the emissions reporting requirement, PBF Energy was also interested in obtaining limited assurance of their emissions data. The Enablon Audits module offered them a system that can be used by both external and internal auditors. PBF Energy can now easily organize, centralize, and track environmental data for disclosures on the Enablon platform.
The benefits of an integrated, cloud-based data management system
The new data management system has gained the support of data managers at each site because PBF Energy devoted an entire department to the process. The department – composed of a director, data manager, an ESG specialist, and three coordinators across the country – coordinate meetings and schedule conversations with different departments and subject matter experts at each facility.
This department trains users in Enablon through a train-the-trainer model. The training coordinators have ownership of and know how to use the Enablon system, interacting one-on-one with data users to help them navigate the process. The coordinators also act as an interface between the on-site SME and the contractor building the Enablon solution, taking a critical workload off the user. The coordinators translate the top-level needs of the organization and work with individual sites to build standardized reporting while still considering site-specific needs.
A key benefit of coordinators working with the sites is the ability to refine the reporting and calculation process. Sometimes new environmental data managers will use old spreadsheets they’ve inherited from a previous manager, not knowing if the calculations and factors are still correct or applicable. In transitioning to the Enablon platform, PBF Energy reviewed how data is calculated and verified calculations are correct, which has helped them obtain limited assurance for their greenhouse gas and emissions inventory data. With limited assurance, PBF Energy can confidently and easily show auditors their data methodology and required calculations.
Another Enablon platform benefit for PBF Energy is the ability for individual sites to see how other sites manage their emissions data. Previously, with individual spreadsheets managed by one person, creating a quarterly report for upper management was tedious and difficult. Now the report can be generated directly in the Enablon software.
PBF Energy’s advice for transforming environmental management
PBF Energy’s advice to companies before embarking on a transformational environmental management project is to dedicate a person or a team to the project. Because most departments run lean, subject matter experts or environmental managers do not have time for such a large undertaking. PBF Energy recommends that, to get the results you want, devote a team, even a small one, to interact one-on-one with environmental managers and SMEs.
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of dashboards, which makes it easier for environmental managers to validate data after it's been submitted. Managers can get metrics, comparison data, and material inputs in the Enablon platform with just the push of a button.
Speak with an Enablon representative today to learn how to transform your environmental management and data systems.
Enablon Environmental Management
This natively built solution for comprehensive Environmental Management provides visibility into your environmental impact and streamlines processes associated with air, water, and waste data to comply with local environmental regulations. The best-in-class environmental calculation engine is built to address even the most complex calculations, providing deep, granular data on your site-level emissions with automated data collection, validation, and reporting capabilities. Increase your operational efficiency and reduce your environmental impact with Enablon Environmental Management.