The Challenge
Enterprise organizations face mounting pressure to accurately measure, report, and reduce their carbon emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3 categories. Existing solutions often require switching between multiple systems, leading to data silos and reporting inconsistencies.
IFS needed to integrate sustainability capabilities directly into their Cloud ERP platform, allowing customers to manage emissions data alongside their core business operations.
Research & Discovery
We conducted extensive research with sustainability managers, compliance officers, and operations teams across manufacturing, aerospace, and energy sectors. Key findings included:
- Data collection was the biggest pain point - often manual and error-prone
- Users needed flexibility for different reporting frameworks (GHG Protocol, CSRD, etc.)
- Audit trails and data provenance were critical for compliance
- Action planning features were desired but rarely available in existing tools
Design Approach
The design strategy focused on three core principles:
- Integrated Experience: Sustainability workflows embedded within existing ERP processes
- Guided Data Capture: Step-by-step wizards that reduce complexity for end users
- Actionable Insights: Dashboards that highlight reduction opportunities, not just report numbers
Dashboard overview showing emissions breakdown by scope
Data capture wizard for activity-level emissions
Key Features Designed
- Activity Data Capture: Flexible forms for fuel, electricity, travel, and supply chain data
- Emission Calculations: Automatic calculations using industry-standard emission factors
- Multi-entity Rollup: Consolidated views across subsidiaries and business units
- Action Planning: Set reduction targets and track progress over time
- Report Generation: Export-ready reports for regulatory submissions
Outcome & Impact
IFSZero™ has been successfully integrated into IFS Cloud and is being adopted by enterprise customers globally. Key metrics include:
- 60% reduction in time spent on emissions data collection
- Single source of truth for sustainability and operational data
- Positive feedback from early adopters in pilot programs
Action planning interface with target tracking
Reflections
This project reinforced the importance of designing for both compliance requirements and day-to-day usability. Enterprise sustainability tools often err on the side of complexity - our goal was to make the right thing the easy thing to do.
Working cross-functionally with product, engineering, and domain experts was essential to balance technical constraints with user needs.