Track Emissions with Ease: Sustainability Accounts in Dynamics 365

Introduction

How effectively are you tracking your company’s environmental impact? As sustainability becomes a growing priority, businesses need the right tools to monitor and manage their emissions. Dynamics 365 Business Central offers powerful features like the Chart of Sustainability Accounts (CoSA) and the Sustainability Ledger to help organizations streamline their sustainability efforts. In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into how you can leverage these tools to enhance your environmental performance.

What is the Chart of Sustainability Accounts (CoSA)?

The Chart of Sustainability Accounts (CoSA) in Dynamics 365 Business Central is a specialized framework designed to manage emissions data, similar to a traditional chart of accounts but tailored for sustainability metrics.

Key Features:

• Purpose and Structure: CoSA categorizes and organizes sustainability accounts based on emission scopes, types, and other relevant groupings. Each account has a unique code, making it easy to track emissions across your organization.
• Customization: You can add and configure categories and subcategories to tailor the system to your business needs.

Question: Have you already identified the key areas of your business that contribute to emissions? Think about where CoSA can help you focus on reducing your environmental impact.

Managing Sustainability Accounts

– Adding and Modifying Accounts

• Step 1: Accessing CoSA: Globally search for “Chart of Sustainability Accounts” to manage your accounts.
• Step 2: Modifying Accounts:
  • Add New Accounts: Simply create new accounts by entering the relevant details like Code and Description.
  • Edit Existing Accounts: Modify settings for current accounts as needed, such as aggregating data for total accounts.
  • End-Total Accounts: Use the Indent function for proper aggregation in End-Total accounts.

Tip: Be cautious when deleting accounts. If they have existing ledger entries, you’ll need to resolve those before deletion to maintain data integrity.

Interactive Element:

• How would your business benefit from more granular tracking of emissions?
• Ready to get started? Try adding a sample account today and see how easy it is to customize CoSA to match your sustainability goals.

Understanding Account Categories

– Purpose and Setup

• Role of Categories: Categories in CoSA determine how emissions data is processed. You can define the emission scope (e.g., Scope 1, 2, or 3), select the gases to track (CO2, CH4, N2O), and choose the calculation methods.
• Setting Up Categories: Access the “Sustainability Account Categories” page, then create or modify categories by entering relevant details.

Pro Tip: If your organization needs specific calculations, you can create custom formulas. This ensures that emissions are tracked accurately, even for complex or unique activities.

Calculation Foundations

The system uses different methods to calculate emissions based on the emission type and category. Here are some examples:

• Scope 1 (Direct Emissions): Emission = Fuel × EF (Emission Factor)
• Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions): Emission = Electricity × EF
• Scope 3 (Value Chain Emissions): Emission = Distance × EF or Emission = Custom Amount × EF

Interactive Question: Have you considered which scope of emissions contributes the most to your environmental footprint? Scope 1, 2, or 3?

Account Subcategories

– Purpose and Setup

• Role of Subcategories: These define emission factors for specific gases and connect to the choices set in the sustainability account categories, offering more granular control over emissions.
• Configuring Subcategories: Navigate to the “Sustainability Account Subcategories” page to create new subcategories, setting fields such as Code, Description, and emission factors.

Did You Know?: You can also set up renewable energy-related subcategories. By marking the Renewable Energy field, you can easily track the impact of renewable energy use in your operations.

Interactive Element: Have you considered using renewable energy in your business? Start tracking it separately in CoSA to measure its impact on your emissions.

Sustainability Ledger Entries

– Purpose and Management

• Role of the Ledger: The sustainability ledger records all transactions and organizes emission data according to CoSA. This is crucial for generating accurate reports and tracking your progress toward sustainability goals.
• Accessing the Ledger: You can view entries for specific accounts or all entries by searching for “Sustainability Ledger Entries.”

Correcting Errors

Once data is posted, it cannot be deleted. To correct errors, simply post a reverse transaction with the same details but a negative amount.

Interactive Tip: Worried about data entry mistakes? Start with a test entry in the ledger to familiarize yourself with the system before posting live data.

Conclusion

The Chart of Sustainability Accounts and Sustainability Ledger in Dynamics 365 Business Central are invaluable tools for businesses aiming to reduce their environmental impact. By properly configuring CoSA, setting up categories and subcategories, and using the sustainability ledger, you can gain deeper insights into your emissions and improve your sustainability practices.

We hope you found this article useful, and if you would like to discuss anything, you can reach out to us at transform@cloudfronts.com