NPI data – more than just a bunch of numbers
Has a lack of data or unreliable analysis caused you to make a poor business decision?
The three levels of government in Australia can pull your business in different directions with sometimes duplicated, overlapping and inconsistent environmental reporting requirements. These reporting requirements can seem unrelated to you achieving your business goals. However, it is possible to leverage your environmental reporting to gain important insights into your business’s environmental performance and achieve real improvements.
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) requires Australian industries to report their annual emissions to air, water and land. If this data is prepared in an accurate and systematic way year on year, the information can be used to generate real environmental improvements and assist you to fulfill your obligations to each level of government.
The NPI requires data to be gathered on an industry’s use of energy and substances. This data is directly related to both the financial and environmental aspects of the business. In a wholistic analysis it can be used to drive business and environmental improvements. We have assisted businesses to use NPI data in the following ways:
- Benchmark energy use and environmental emissions
- Optimise environmental control and improvement strategies
- Inform decisions on future planning and development
- Improve the efficiency of facility operations
- Determine the success of facility upgrades
- Public communications showing improvements over time
Katestone’s NPI team can assist you in all areas of data collection, emissions estimation and analysis. Katestone’s NPI deliverables include well presented easy to access, focussed and centralised reports that can be made available to all levels of management.
“The NPI report is a comprehensive document that supports consistency year on year. Data is presented in clear and concise tables and graphs that show site contributions and interannual variability. Powerful insights can be gleaned from these reports allowing management to make informed decisions that improve environmental performance and the bottome line.” Says Mick Fogarty, Senior Air Quality Consultant
A recent example illustrates the power of this process. Katestone was approach by a quarry with an angry community affected by dust and a regulator pressing for an urgent solution. The quarry was considering the very expensive option of enhanced controls on the crushing and screening plant. Katestone’s analysis of the data placed wind blown dust from stockpiles and open areas as the clear priority, with crushing and screening plant controls at the bottom of the pack in terms of cost and overall site benefits. The quarry had a range of lower cost solutions readily available to deal with wind blown dust.
The quarry’s environmental improvements could be tracked year on year through its existing monitoring network and NPI reporting. Credible information that can be used in the quarry’s dealings with the local council and its state government regulator.
Contact us today to get the most out of your NPI data. If you are unsure if you need to report we have a developed a questionnaire to help.