Eastern region accountancy and business advisory firm, Larking Gowen, has launched a
new service to help clients capture and use sustainability data to benefit short and long-
term goals.
The firm has entered a strategic partnership with neoeco, a software platform focusing on
ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting.
Larking Gowen Partner, Laurie Hill, says that businesses today not only have to have a
sound ESG policy in place, they also have to demonstrate its implementation and
effectiveness. The key to doing this is data.
“The need to demonstrate your ESG credentials is being driven by top-down regulation
currently impacting larger businesses, and it’s beginning to be pushed down the supply
chains. If you’re being asked to tender for a particular contract that requires demonstrable
sustainability credentials, you’ve got the data to back up your ESG policy, and you can be
ahead of the game,” he said.
Jake Bond, VP of Business Development at neoeco, explains: “We identified that a lot of
the foundational data required for ESG reporting is held by accountants and finance
teams. They play a key role in sustainability reporting by managing critical accounting
data. With neoeco, you can easily capture supply chain primary data through our intuitive
supply chain data capturing module, accounting data directly from the general ledger, and
LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) product data.
“It’s an all-in-one, end-to-end solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing
systems. Our AI-driven technology automatically aligns transactions with relevant
sustainability factors using activity-based calculations,” he added.
Data can be collected from various sources, including accounting software, HR systems,
ERP systems, and smart energy meters, then reconciled with sustainability points from
national or international databases. This data not only generates reports but also aids in
strategic planning and forecasting.
Adam Soall, Director of Norwich-based removal firm, Loads4Less, is Larking Gowen’s first
client to be signed up to neoeco’s software package and the ESG advisory service. He is
passionate about sustainability and is helping Larking Gowen and neoeco spread the word
about the benefits of ESG data capture and reporting.
“Larking Gowen said they would be moving into the advisory market for ESG and asked if I
would like to be their first client on the neoeco platform, which really aligns with where I’m
going. I wanted to be a pioneer of this in the removal industry in Norfolk, and I’m working
on a plan for net zero, reducing our carbon emissions where possible,” he said.
“neoeco offers a service where we can send a link to our suppliers, they fill in the data and
it helps us decide who we are using. It also helps them to understand how to achieve
sustainability. When it comes down to it, we are going to choose to work with businesses
who operate with sustainability in mind, even if they are a little more expensive,” he said.
Laurie Hill said that the software and advisory support will bring benefits to companies of
all sizes and within any sector.
“Larking Gowen’s role is to work with clients on their ESG strategy, whilst being able to
provide access to an intuitive ESG reporting platform in neoeco, allowing us to assist to
interpret the data, adapt financial modelling and provide advisory services to work with
businesses to make positive change and futureproof.
“If a client wants to look at supply chain improvements, we can look at how this might
affect their profit margin. If the new suppliers come with added cost, due to provision of
more sustainable materials, for example, we can advise and assist with financial modelling
that builds in gradual āsustainabilityā price increases to protect against margin erosion.
“The other element is around forecasting. You can say within the software you want to be
carbon neutral or reduce carbon by 25% in the next ten years, and with the right data, you
can roughly forecast the cost of that,” he said.
Laurie added: “If you are making changes to your business from the sustainability
perspective and you have the add-on of a software platform, this can help you make data
driven decisions.
“There is also a consideration for business owners to apply a āsustainabilityā uplift to pricing
metrics because of green credentials, and potentially win business over firms that do not
have the same data to hand.”
Adam recently recorded an episode of the podcast Larking Gowen Insights, where he
chatted to Laurie Hill and neoeco about his journey in more detail, listen at larking-
gowen.co.uk/LGI or wherever you get your podcasts.
