Solar panels, electric vehicles, smart devices and energy-efficient machinery are the most visible symbols of the green transition. This often creates the impression that the transition begins with the purchase of new technology.
However, before deciding what should be purchased or modernised, a much simpler question needs to be answered: where are we actually consuming energy, materials and other resources?
Without reliable data, companies and institutions cannot clearly determine where the greatest losses occur, which measures would deliver the best results or whether a particular investment would be worthwhile at all. Technology can provide a solution, but data must first identify the problem that needs to be solved.
We Cannot Improve What We Do Not Measure
Many organisations know how much they pay in total for electricity, heating, fuel or waste collection. However, they often do not know enough about where, when and why this consumption occurs.
An electricity bill shows the total cost, but it does not reveal which machine consumes the most energy, how much energy is used outside working hours or where unnecessary losses occur. Similarly, a waste collection bill says little about the types of waste generated, opportunities for reuse or the parts of the production process that generate the most waste material.
Without such information, it is difficult to make sound decisions.
A company may invest in new machinery without first checking whether the main problem lies in outdated equipment, the way it is operated or poor production organisation. An institution may replace its lighting even though heating and cooling account for most of its energy consumption. A local community may purchase new waste containers without having reliable data on the types and quantities of waste being generated.
In each of these cases, the technology is available, but the decision is not based on sufficiently accurate information.
Data Turns Intention into a Plan
Most organisations today want to reduce costs, energy consumption and their negative environmental impact. The problem arises when this general objective needs to be translated into concrete activities.
The statement “we want to become greener” does not explain what needs to be done. Data makes it possible to turn such an intention into a measurable plan:
- how much energy we currently consume;
- which processes consume the most;
- how much waste we generate;
- which types of waste are produced;
- how much water we use;
- how much fuel our vehicles consume;
- where the greatest losses occur;
- how much we can save through a particular change;
- whether the measures implemented are delivering results.
Based on this information, realistic targets can be established. Instead of making a vague commitment to reduce its environmental impact, an organisation can decide to reduce electricity consumption by ten per cent, mixed waste by twenty per cent or fuel consumption per delivery by a specified amount over the next year.
Progress can only be monitored once a baseline has been established.
Digitalisation Enables Better Decisions
Collecting data does not immediately require complex information systems or major investments. For many small and medium-sized enterprises, the first step may be as simple as keeping records of utility bills, energy consumption, production volumes and generated waste.
Even this type of basic record-keeping can reveal changes that were previously invisible.
Digital tools can then enable data to be collected more frequently, more accurately and with less manual work. Smart meters can show when energy consumption increases. Sensors can monitor temperature, humidity, equipment operation or water consumption. Software systems can link resource consumption to the quantity of goods produced. Digital platforms can display results and issue alerts when unusual deviations occur.
The value of these technologies lies not only in automation. Their greatest value is that they transform data into information that can be acted upon.
If a company discovers that a particular machine is consuming significantly more energy than before, it can inspect the equipment in good time. If an office building uses a large amount of energy during the night or at weekends, it can identify which systems remain switched on. If an unusually large amount of waste is generated in one part of the production process, the process can be analysed to determine the cause.
In this way, digitalisation becomes a means of advancing the green transition rather than an end in itself.
Why a “Technology First” Approach Often Fails to Deliver Results
Purchasing new technology is visible and can easily be presented as a sign of progress. However, a device or software solution does not in itself guarantee energy savings, waste reduction or lower emissions.
If an organisation has not clearly defined the problem before investing, it may purchase a solution it does not need or will not use to its full capacity. New technology may also generate large volumes of data that no one analyses or uses when making decisions.
This raises another important question: who is responsible for the data?
A successful green transition requires people who understand what is being monitored, why particular indicators are being measured and how decisions should be made based on the results. For this reason, the development of digital and green skills must accompany investment in technology.
Even the most expensive system will provide little benefit if employees do not know how to interpret its results or if management does not use those results when planning investments.
Which Data Should a Company Start Monitoring?
There is no single list that applies to every organisation. The relevant data depends on the organisation’s sector, size, production processes and available resources. Nevertheless, most companies can begin with several basic categories:
Energy Consumption
Electricity, gas, fuel and other energy sources should be monitored. Whenever possible, total consumption should be linked to working hours, individual facilities, equipment or the quantity of goods produced.
Water Consumption
A monthly bill provides a starting point, but additional measurements can help identify leaks, inefficient consumption or processes that use the most water.
Materials
It is important to know which raw materials and other materials enter the business process, how efficiently they are used and what proportion ends up as scrap or waste.
Waste
In addition to the total quantity, companies should monitor the types of waste generated, where that waste originates and how it is handled. Such data can reveal opportunities for reduction, reuse or recycling.
Transport
Fuel consumption, the number of journeys, kilometres travelled and vehicle capacity utilisation can help companies organise deliveries and business travel more efficiently.
Emissions
Once basic data on energy, fuel, materials and transport is available, an organisation can begin estimating its own carbon footprint or that of its products.
It is not necessary to monitor everything immediately. It is far more important to begin with a few reliable indicators than to establish an overly complex system that will not be used regularly.
Data Is Becoming Part of Competitiveness
Sustainability data is no longer important only for internal cost control. It is increasingly being requested by customers, business partners, banks, investors and institutions.
Companies doing business with the European market may be asked to provide data on the origin of materials, energy consumption, emissions or waste management practices. Even when particular regulations do not apply directly to small and medium-sized enterprises, their requirements may still be passed down through supply chains.
Large companies need to understand the impact of their suppliers. The ability to collect and provide reliable data will therefore become an increasingly important condition for retaining existing business partners and securing new ones.
For companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this means that the green transition is not only an environmental issue. It is also becoming a matter of access to markets, financing and international value chains.
How to Take the First Step
Getting started does not have to be expensive or technically demanding. An organisation can begin with several straightforward activities:
- Identify which resources it uses most and where the greatest costs arise.
- Collect existing bills, records and data from the previous 12 months.
- Select several indicators that will be monitored regularly.
- Appoint a person responsible for collecting and verifying the data.
- Set initial, realistic targets.
- Only then consider which technology could make measurement easier or deliver the greatest savings.
- Review the results periodically and adjust activities accordingly.
This approach ensures that investments are based on actual needs rather than assumptions.
Data Is Not the Goal, but the Foundation for Action
Collecting data alone will not make a company more sustainable. Data only becomes valuable when it leads to concrete change—whether through a different way of using equipment, better production planning, waste reduction or a well-founded investment in new technology.
The green transition therefore does not begin with the purchase of solar panels, sensors or software. It begins with questions:
Where are we currently consuming the most resources? Where are losses occurring? What can we change? How will we know whether that change has delivered results?
Only when an organisation can answer these questions does technology assume its proper role.
Data shows where an organisation currently stands. Targets define where it wants to go. Technology helps it get there.
The Sustainable Economic Development and Employment Promotion Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SEDEP), which supports vocational education and training, private sector development, and the digital and green transformation, is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union (EU) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
