Carbon Reporting Automation: Tier 1 Contractor Case Study

We automated carbon and ESG reporting for a Tier 1 Australian infrastructure contractor, part of a global construction group, by replacing scattered project spreadsheets with one validated data template, a consistent SharePoint structure, an overnight data pipeline and Power BI dashboards. Built in four weeks in 2022, the solution is still in daily use and maintained by the client's own team.

What problem did the contractor's sustainability team have?

The client delivers major projects across transport, utilities and defence. Sustainability credentials matter in winning that work. Yet when their national sustainability team contacted us, ESG data collection looked like this:

• Each project manager used their own Excel template.
• Data arrived as email attachments.
• SharePoint folders had no consistent structure.
• The sustainability team spent weeks each quarter consolidating numbers by hand.

Their IT department was investing in enterprise ERP systems, which were designed for financial data and were not solving emissions reporting. The sustainability team could not wait for that program to reach them.

This project is a good example of how our process automation work starts from the practical outcome and uses the simplest tools that achieve it.

Why does carbon reporting matter for Australian contractors now?

Australia's mandatory climate reporting regime, legislated through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024 and set out in AASB S2, phases in from 1 January 2025. Reporting entities disclose climate-related risks and opportunities, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and Scope 3 emissions from their second reporting year.

Entities reporting under NGER above the relevant thresholds can also fall into Groups 1 or 2. For a contractor running dozens of concurrent projects across several states, accurate carbon data is a board-level requirement. Our automated compliance reporting guide covers the wider reporting stack.

What did the data look like before automation?

Templates

Project A: "Carbon_Template_v3.xlsx"
Project B: "Emissions_Tracker_v2_Final_FINAL.xlsx"
Project C: a custom spreadsheet built by the project engineer
Project D: PDF reports with no raw data
Project E: monthly totals typed into the body of an email

Some projects tracked Scope 1 and 2 separately, others combined them. Some included water, others did not. Units varied between kilograms and tonnes, and date formats were inconsistent.

Collection

1. Projects were asked for monthly data.
2. Data arrived by email to various people.
3. Someone saved attachments to SharePoint, sometimes.
4. Each quarter, the team hunted for missing data.
5. Chasing emails and phone calls followed.
6. Eventually enough data arrived to compile a report.

Reporting

1. 1DownloadHunt for files in SharePoint
2. 2ConsolidateCopy and paste into a master file
3. 3Fix formatsConvert units, correct errors
4. 4Chase dataEmail projects with gaps
5. 5RepeatWeeks per quarterly cycle

Reports went to leadership with caveats about data quality. Most of the team's time went on data wrangling instead of sustainability work.

What solution did we build?

We did not recommend an enterprise ESG platform with a long implementation. We built on tools the organisation already had, designed around how project teams actually work.

1. A standard Excel template

Simple. Project engineers are not sustainability specialists, so the template asks only for what is needed.

Validated. Dropdowns for categories, numeric fields that reject text, enforced date formats.

Self-explaining. Instructions live on each tab.

The template captures Scope 1 fuel use (diesel, petrol, LPG, natural gas), Scope 2 electricity, water, environmental incidents and project metadata.

1. 1Project infoName, period, region
2. 2Scope 1Diesel, petrol, LPG, gas
3. 3Scope 2Electricity (kWh)
4. 4WaterPotable and recycled
5. 5ValidationAutomatic checks

2. A consistent SharePoint structure

/Sustainability/
    /[Project Name]/
        /Raw Data/
            2024-01_Emissions.xlsx
            2024-02_Emissions.xlsx
        /Supporting Documents/
            Fuel invoices
            Electricity bills
        /Archive/

Each new project copies the structure, so the sustainability team always knows where to look, and supporting invoices sit beside the data for audit.

3. An overnight data pipeline

Every night a scheduled job:

1. Scans all project folders.
2. Extracts data from the standard templates.
3. Validates it against business rules.
4. Consolidates it into a central SQL database.
5. Calculates emissions using Australian Government NGER emission factors.
6. Logs errors for review the next morning.

1. 1Project foldersSharePoint sources
2. 2ExtractScheduled nightly job
3. 3ValidateBusiness rules applied
4. 4Central databaseSQL storage
5. 5Power BICorporate reporting

It handles unit conversion, missing data flags, duplicate detection and history.

4. Power BI dashboards

• Corporate overview: emissions by scope, progress against targets, trends and carbon intensity.
• Regional view: emissions and targets by state or region.
• Project view: individual projects, phases and fuel types.
• Data quality: missing and late submissions, and completeness by project.

The missing data view was the sustainability team's request. Regional managers see which projects have not submitted in their weekly dashboard review, and that visibility drives submissions far better than reminder emails.

How long did the implementation take?

1. Week 1DiscoveryInterview the sustainability team, document requirements, map data flows
2. Week 2Template and SharePointValidated template, folder structure, pilot with two projects
3. Week 3PipelineExtraction, NGER factor calculations, SQL database, testing on historical data
4. Week 4Dashboards and trainingPower BI views, training, documentation and handover

What changed for the contractor?

• Board reporting improved. Leadership receives timely sustainability metrics without "data may be incomplete" caveats.
• Projects adopted the process. The template takes minutes to complete each month because it was designed around project engineers.
• The sustainability team does sustainability work. Far less time goes on consolidation and more on reduction initiatives, regulatory preparation and strategy.
• Audit readiness. There is a clear trail from source invoices to reported figures.
• Ad hoc questions are answered from the dashboard instead of a new round of spreadsheet work.

Why is it still running after three years?

The solution built in 2022 is still in daily use. The client has trained new staff, added projects without us and extended the dashboards. Two design choices made that possible:

1. Familiar tools. Excel, SharePoint and Power BI need no specialist skills to maintain.
2. Full documentation. User guides, template instructions and technical specifications were written as we built.

When should you use simple tools instead of an enterprise ESG platform?

Enterprise ESG platforms make sense when you have:

• Operations across multiple countries and reporting frameworks.
• Complex Scope 3 needs requiring supplier data integration at scale.
• Real-time sensor data requirements.

Right-sized tools make sense when you need:

• Compliant reporting this year, without a long implementation.
• A solution your own team can maintain.
• Clean, consistent data first, with the option to move platforms later.

What describes your organisation?

• Australian operations, data scattered across projects, need results this yearRight-sized: standard template, SharePoint, pipeline, Power BI
• Global operations, multiple frameworks, complex value chainEnterprise ESG platform, with clean source data first

The client's enterprise ERP program continued in parallel. Carbon reporting simply did not wait for it.

How did we hand over the solution?

We designed the engagement to end. A properly built solution should not need permanent outside support.

Documentation: user manual for project coordinators, template guide, technical documentation (pipeline logic, database schema, Power BI model), troubleshooting guide and training materials.

Knowledge transfer: dashboard administration training, a walkthrough of the pipeline and monitoring for IT, common modification scenarios and a simulated outage exercise.

Support: 30 days of post-implementation support, then transition to internal IT.

What lessons apply to other organisations?

1. Start with the process. We spent more of week one understanding how projects work than writing code.
2. Design for adoption. A template that takes minutes gets completed. One that takes half an hour gets ignored.
3. Make missing data visible. Dashboards that highlight gaps change behaviour.
4. Build for handover from day one. Document every decision as you go.

Many Australian infrastructure clients now expect sustainability performance, including Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) ratings on major projects. Meeting those expectations starts with consistent data collection, automated consolidation, visible gaps and an audit trail, all achievable with Microsoft 365 and Power BI.

How Solve8 can help

Our consultants and engineers build reporting automation for construction and infrastructure organisations through our data, BI and reporting and process automation services, designed for your team to own. We also built Carbonly.ai, our own ESG and emissions automation product (see the case study). Talk to us about your carbon reporting.

Sources: Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024; AASB S2; Clean Energy Regulator NGER scheme documentation; Infrastructure Sustainability Council; delivery of this engagement, 2022 to present.