Who this is for
Anyone organizing the data for the sustainability reporting, or reorganising it after a change in the business. Your business unit structure decides what you can report on and at what level, so it is worth settling before you start collecting data.
Before you start
Sketch the structure you need before you create anything. A unit can be moved later, but it is quicker to agree the shape once with whoever owns your reporting than to rebuild it halfway through a cycle.
Decide a code format and agree it with your team. The code is your own identifier — the platform does not generate one for you. Codes and names are both at least three characters.
You do not have to build the structure from the top down. A unit can be created without a parent and placed later.
Know where each unit is. A location is required, but you do not need coordinates for it — there is a world map you can click. It is more than a map pin: for some categories the distances used later are worked out from where the unit is.
For reporting purposes: Results are available for each unit, and the results of units roll up to their parent unit/s.
Steps
Add a business unit
- In the left-hand menu, select Corporate Data, then Business Units.
- Select Add Business Unit.
- Enter a Code. This is the unit's unique identifier and must be at least three characters.
- Enter a Name. This must also be at least three characters.
- Choose a Parent Business Unit. Select Top Level for a unit that sits at the top of your structure — that is the only option available until you have created other units. Leave this if you are not sure yet and set it later.
- Set the Geography. This is optional, and it gives you another level to report at: the list holds ISO countries and world regions.
- Set the Location. Click the unit's position on the world map, or type its coordinates into Latitude and Longitude if you have them. A location is required.
- Create the unit.
Each unit has a row in the table on the Business Units page, and the buttons on that row are where you edit or delete it.
Move or rename a business unit
Edit the unit from its row. You can change its code, name, geography, location and parent.
Moving a unit takes its assessments with it, so its figures roll up under the new parent from then on.
Delete a business unit
Delete the unit from its row. Deleting is limited to users with admin permissions.
Deleting a business unit also deletes its assessments, for every reporting year. Units beneath it are not deleted, but they lose their parent and sit outside your structure until you give them a new one.
How to confirm it worked
The new unit appears on the Business Units page, in the table, beneath the parent you chose. Nothing else opens — that table is where the structure lives.
Creating a business unit does not create an assessment. Assessments are added per unit and reporting year — see Corporate carbon assessments.