- Free Version: Available for teams of up to 10
- Pricing: Premium plan $24/month (with a free 30-day trial period)
- Platforms supported: Available as a mobile app (iOS and Android) or a web-based software
SafetyCulture (iAuditor)
Why use SafetyCulture?
SafetyCulture is the perfect software for managing any organization’s environmental and sustainability efforts. It assists business leaders in mapping out their goals, charting the steps to achieve them, monitoring the progress, and creating reports about daily activities. All these tasks, plus complying with regulations, are easier to accomplish with SafetyCulture as the environmental software.
Features:
- Create automated workflows and ensure full collaboration among teams involved by cascading new policies or sharing plans via Heads Up.
- Audit the effectiveness of strategies or corrective actions taken using templates made from scratch or pre-built checklists from the Public Library.
- Raise issues that emerge and assign appropriate actions to skilled personnel.
- Generate paperless reports, store these in a secure cloud, and send them to relevant stakeholders in various file formats (Excel, Word, PDF, etc.)
- Provide supplemental training and education on environmental management and sustainability to ensure the company meets standards and regulations.
Why use EnergyCAP?
This digital solution helps organizations with their environmental performance and sustainabiity goals as it tracks their resource usage, specifically when it comes to energy. With the help of their task-specific tools, companies can monitor meter readings, calculate monthly billings, and analyze their cost-efficiency and level of compliance with regulations.
Features:
- Facility benchmarking
- Measurement and verification
- Integration with ENERGY STAR
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Express plan starts at $2.17 per meter per month
- Platforms supported: Web and On-premise
Why use Wastebits?
This unique environmental software helps organizations achieve their sustainability goals through efficient waste management. Aside from its task-specific set of tools like managing documents and opening lines of communication with stakeholders, Wastebits helps with strategies like return-to-vendor, helping reduce environmental impact and boost the circular economy.
Features:
- Waste manifests, profiles, and approvals
- Insights (analytics)
- Special and custom waste solutions
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $10 per month (with a free trial)
- Platforms supported: Web
Why use Compliance Quest?
This digital solutions provider offers a wide array of applications that help companies improve their operations and adherence to regulations. Compliance Quest’s environmental management systems support businesses’ goals in achieving sustainability by giving managers complete visibility so they can make better decisions.
Features:
- Management oversight
- Reporting and analytics
- Collaborative tools
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at $30 per user per month
- Platforms supported: Web, iOS, Android
Why use GIS Cloud?
This cloud-based geographic mapping system for operations management can also double as an effective environmental software thanks to its data collection tool that fieldworkers can use via their mobile phones, even when they are offline. Information gathered can be linked to site maps, giving managers a complete view of their off-site operations.
Features:
- Field data collection
- Map editing and sharing
- Data and team management
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Map viewer costs $12 per seat per month, billed annually (with a 14-day free trial)
- Platforms supported: Web, On-premise, iOS, Android
Why use Denxpert?
This is an Environment, Health, and Safety platform that aids organizations achieve their sustainability goals by maximizing resources, optimizing operations, and complying with industry standards and government regulations through complete digitization and automation.
Features:
- Air and water management
- Waste management
- Chemical registry
- Free Version: None
- Pricing: Starts at €60 ≈ $64 per month (with a free trial)
- Platforms supported: Web
Why use OpenEI?
Established by the US Department of Energy in 2009, OpenEi is a useful tool for managing energy consumption based on governmental regulations and industry standards. It contains information uploaded by organizations, researchers, and policy makers all over the world regarding energy that businesses can use for data-driven decisions about energy use, renewable energy options, technology development, and investments.
Features:
- Data repository
- Data management (to access, view, edit, and add)
- Developer services
- Free Version: Yes.
- Pricing: This is a free tool that can be accessed after registration
- Platforms supported: Web
What is Environmental Software?
Environmental software, also known as the tool for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), is a digital platform that helps improve a company’s overall environmental performance through tools that measure and analyze resource use like water and energy, and wastage or emissions. It may also support the sustainability initiatives of organizations; like digitizing data to go paperless or automating processes to identify and eradicate inefficiencies.
While large conglomerates in energy, manufacturing, and agriculture are compelled to use this to succeed in corporate social and environmental responsibility programs, small to medium businesses may adopt this to enhance their operations, increase revenues, and build their reputation.
Importance
Organizations have to deal with real-world challenges like climate change, resource scarcity, and pollution, as it affects them and the people they serve. Integrating sustainable practices into the current system is a tremendous undertaking that requires effort and resources from the company. Environmental management software can help you achieve your goals more efficiently.
- Increases efficiency – Ascertaining your operations are at par with industry standards requires constant monitoring. With the help of data digitization and workflow automation, processes like data collection, environmental risk assessment and analysis, issues reporting, and corrective and preventive actions can be accomplished with lesser errors and smaller funding.
- Full collaboration – Achieving environmental and sustainability goals like reducing waste, minimizing carbon footprint, and cutting back on energy use, is possible when everyone in the organization is on-board. By using IoT (e.g., mobile connectivity, automated notifications, barcodes, sensors, and security cameras), employees can accomplish seemingly minor tasks to meet their company’s grander objectives.
- Improved compliance – ISO 14000 is the most popular standard companies follow to improve processes, adhere to government regulations, and advocate for sustainability. Digital checklists and templates can help managers monitor and document routine tasks, document programs conducted, and generate compliance reports, which may be stored or shared with relevant stakeholders.
- Enhanced sustainability efforts – Companies that integrate sustainability into their strategies are better positioned to adapt, innovate, and thrive in a changing business landscape. Analytics facilitates environmental performance assessment of their employees, helping managers decide if there is a need for additional training or education.
- Better reputation – Organizations viewed as serious advocates for the environment get better access to capital and investments, engage and retain environmentally conscious and responsible employees, and improve their image to consumers. Building this kind of reputation is crucial for the long-term viability of businesses.
Key Features
Digital solutions that guarantee sustainability may seem incredibly complex (ergo, expensive) that some businesses decide to write it off from their plans. However, straightforward environmental management systems require the most rudimentary tools to work:
- Data management (for collection and record-keeping)
- Workflow automation (e.g., sensors, barcoding, monitoring cameras)
- Corrective and preventive actions
- Reporting with analytics
- Compliance management
- Emissions and waste management
- Resource (e.g. water and energy) management
- Collaborative tools
- Third-party integrations
- Mobile accessibility
Selecting the Right Environmental Software
All seven top-rated digital platforms detailed above will help your company achieve sustainability goals, however considerable and long-term it may be. Take another look at the options below:
| Environmental Software | Free Version | Paid Plan | Mobile App |
| SafetyCulture | Yes | $24/user/month* | Yes |
| EnergyCAP | No | $2.17/meter/month | No |
| Wastebits | No | $10/month | No |
| Compliance Quest | No | $30/user/month | Yes |
| GIS Cloud | No | $12/seat/month | Yes |
| Denxpert | No | €60 (≈ $64) / month | No |
| OpenEI | Yes | Free | No |
*billed annually
Eunice Arcilla Caburao