Case Study
Standardized Electronic Data Collection Leads to Gold and Silver Wildlife Habitat Council Certifications for Specialty Ingredients Company
If you seek better tools for seamless and integrated collection, interpretation, and reporting of data, we have the solution.
At Kennedy Jenks (KJ), we always seek innovative ways to help our clients fulfill their missions as stewards of the environment. We have developed tools that make it possible to use collected data in a highly effective and efficient manner that saves time and money, while improving data collection and reporting on a program-wide scale. The following case study illustrates how KJ used ESRI ArcGIS Field Maps to streamline and enhance the programmatic management of data collection at multiple sites and helped our client exceed their objectives on a Wildlife Habitat Council program.
Our client, a specialty ingredients company, required robust tools to collect, evaluate, and report data to achieve Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) certification on their sites.
With today’s challenges surrounding climate change and the environment, many companies see a pressing need to be stewards of our planet. Some companies seek to meet these challenges through partnership with WHC, an international organization that facilitates and promotes ecologically responsible commercial operations. WHC provides third-party credibility and recognition for meaningful wildlife habitat management and helps companies demonstrate a commitment to biodiversity.
While many companies in the chemical, energy, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, automotive, and other sectors are committed to sustainability and positive public relations, the costs to achieve environmental certifications can be daunting. Using the right tools can significantly reduce the amount of time and cost required for a company to meet the scientifically rigorous WHC certification requirements.
Our client engaged KJ as a program manager for their existing WHC program. KJ staff quickly evaluated the sites and overall program and identified areas that could be improved through simple changes, creating a more efficient and robust approach that achieved higher WHC certification levels with less work.
KJ developed standardized data collection methods to allow for real-time field documentation with enhanced efficiency and accuracy. Following data collection, our data integration tools improved data quality, standardized collection and reporting throughout the program, and facilitated team-wide communication.
The Challenge
Our client engaged KJ to streamline and improve data collection and reporting for wildlife habitat management across multiple campuses to meet the rigorous scientific standards for WHC Certification. Prior to KJ involvement, our client utilized various consultants on their sites to monitor aspects of the habitats, including the presence of mammals, birds, amphibians, insects, and native or invasive/non-native plants and wildlife. The challenges they faced in the data collection process led to a loss of points in multiple areas of the certification scoring process such as:
Incomplete or irrelevant data due to a lack of uniformity in the collection and reporting process,
Missed opportunities to gain points for additional program features identified later through online mapping, and
High costs and time commitment to compile and submit scientifically rigorous applications within the certification cycle.
The Solution
To meet these challenges, KJ developed a digital approach to improve data collection and reporting across all sites on a program level that utilized advanced and readily available technology solutions. The firm implemented a robust data collection protocol using ArcGIS Field Maps that involved the use of smartphones, tablets, online portals, and integrated, real-time information.
Through an accessible and streamlined process, users are guided by automatic prompts, drop-down menus, and mandatory input fields throughout their site visit to facilitate consistent and accurate data documentation. These upgrades allow uniform data collection across the program for all sites and users.
For example, users can make habitat-specific observations by placing GPS-enabled points with pre-loaded digital forms to log and photograph observations in real-time. Rather than relying on manual field notes and separate photographs, information including date, time, location, user, and other relevant fields are immediately linked to a database portal in real-time along with photographs.
ArcGIS Field Maps even allows access in remote locations with poor connectivity, or in the event of battery power loss. In these situations, the forms required can be taken offline, utilized, and then uploaded to a desktop portal once signal and battery power have been restored. Following each data collection event, the data are stored in the ESRI Field Maps platform.
These electronic data tools provide a central location easily accessible for users, program managers, and the client. Our client and KJ staff utilize these live portals to review and monitor the sites throughout the year.
The Result
KJ’s online data collection tools increased the efficiency and accuracy of data collection program-wide. These features enhanced communication and facilitated connection among site representatives, program managers, and clients to address concerns and benefit the overall program. During each data collection event, KJ staff monitored data collection to confirm that key metrics were being properly collected by field staff and were able to make real-time changes to the program, if required.
This approach became valuable during end-of-year reports, or when new WHC certification applications were submitted. The data quality had been checked and enhanced throughout the collection process and provided greater value for the project, which resulted in higher WHC scores and improved certification levels.
The centralized platform drastically improved the efficiency of the reporting process. Previously, data collected on paper forms had to be checked, transcribed into a digital format, and then summarized into a report at year-end. The Field Maps tool automated almost all of that process. The data were already consolidated and summarized in one location, meaning the client could view report-level insights on the Field Maps platform at any time, with no need to generate a paper report. When data needed to be written into the WHC certification application, downloading the full, summarized dataset from Field Maps was easy and efficient.
“As the Client Service Manager responsible for the success of our client’s Wildlife Habitat Council program, I relied on the creativity and innovation of Kennedy Jenks’ team to deliver a program that achieves client goals, creates efficiencies and consistency through applied data management, and maximizes the value of our client’s investment. The outcome exceeded my expectations and has evolved alongside our client’s sustainability journey. Combining our client’s trust in KJ, our expertise in WHC program stewardship, and the a la carte flexibility of WHCs certification program has proven a powerful combination capable of satisfying multiple stakeholders and programmatic objectives. The team’s effort and thought leadership elevated our client’s Wildlife Habitat Council program, and its contributions toward achieving corporate sustainability goals garnered recognition by senior client leadership and Wildlife Habitat Council.”
Scott Larew
Kennedy Jenks Client Service Manager
KJ’s Approach Leads to Gold and Silver WHC Certification
Through the program-wide efforts and innovations implemented by KJ, we streamlined our client’s year-end WHC application process. Rather than relying on many consultants to produce individual reports, we were able to quickly compile current and historical data to produce high-quality, uniform, and scientifically rigorous applications within the required time frame.
The methods used in this program-level initiative resulted in significant savings in both time and dollars while exceeding desired goals. All our client’s sites now hold Gold or Silver WHC Certification Status, with significant score increases program-wide. This has earned recognition from client stakeholders, as well as WHC themselves.