Sustaira’s Technical Criteria & Capabilities

ESG Data Governance

  • To what extent is IT in control, enabling and collaborating with the business, i.e. is there an IT governance dashboard and quality monitor for IT?

    Yes! Sustaira has Enterprise Data Quality Control functionalities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. Mendix application models have been mapped by experts from SIG on the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard for software quality. The AQM service measures key aspects of app maintainability against a set of parameters and rates your application against a database of thousands of projects on a scale of one to five.

  • How does Sustaira collect and manage climate and sustainability data? Where do the emissions factors come from?

    Yes! Sustaira has Enterprise Data Management functionalities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. For more details see https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-capabilities/data-management/. For Sustaira, data aggregation and collection is made easy through the use of APIs. Sustaira and all its applications are meant to be a smart layer of applications and software that fits your goals or initiatives, and it sits on top of your current systems - not as a replacement - but as a way to bring everything together. Organizations can choose to directly integrate with current systems or even the systems of external stakeholders whether that be, customers, suppliers, students, citizens, you name it. Sustaira emission factors are currently sources from the EPA emission factors found on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol website.

  • How does the solution collect, verify and validate data? does it offer capabilities around "gap data" gap resolution?

    Yes! The underlying software that Sustaira leverages has the ability to set validation and verification rules and protocols and the Sustaira platform is preconfigured to prevent errors or missed inputs. The platform is using survey and workflow capabilities to prevent data gaps in our system. Data collection can take place in a variety of ways, including surveys, API and web services integration, Excel uploads, and many more. Validation rules can be set at the User Interface, Data logic and Data Model level.

  • Does the solution test each module or application for bugs regularly? Is the user able to share feedback regarding any bugs or fixes they me encounter?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform is tested regularly and features a feedback support button to submit any bugs, issues or questions throughout the platform and any application.

  • Does the solution offer an accessible audit trail?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform has the ability to show an audit trail to ensure that users can see where data came from, when it was changed, which user made changes, and more. This can go as deep as the customers would like to go given the configurations can be set individually per app or instance.

User Access

  • Does the solution offer multi tier access or multi tenancy?

    Yes! Sustaira offers at the ESG platform, as well as at the specific ESG application level multi tier multi tenancy options. With multi tier multi-tenancy users see use what is relevant to them, while Corporate stays in control with a “helicopter’ view. A users only sees what's relevant for them, while everyone is still active in one single-source of truth.

  • Does the solution offer tiered user access options?

    Yes! Sustaira uniquely offers multiple levels of multi tenancy, meaning Super or Power Tenants can set up their own Tenants (Customers, Accounts), which can then be in control of their own users and entities, such as Locations. Enabling users, while staying in control!

Integration / Openness of ESG Platform

  • What out of the box integration connectors does the solution already offer?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform includes dozens of out of the box integration connections. Because the underlying technology has been so widely applied there is a vast library of options. Most recent API connectors built by Sustaira include a connector for Energy Star Portfolio Manager, Desigo CC and Vista. The list is growing quickly, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. For more details see https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-capabilities/integration-overview/

  • What integration capabilities are there with this solution? Which systems can it integrate with? how does integration work?

    Yes! Sustaira has rich Enterprise Integration capabilities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. The Sustaira platform includes dozens of out of the box integration connections. Because the underlying technology has been so widely applied there is a vast library of options. Most recent API connectors built by Sustaira include a connector for Energy Star Portfolio Manager, Desigo CC and Vista. The list is growing quickly, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. Sustaira has many APIs available and for more details on other integration capabilities please see https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-capabilities/integration-overview/

  • Does the solution allow for the import and export of data via forms like PDF and Excel or CSV?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform allows for exports and import of all data. This feature is prebuilt into many applications and can always be added by using a services and implementation package. This is the strength of using an underlying low-code platform for ESG and Sustainability apps.

Customization Capabilities and Agility

  • Can the user interface and experience be adjusted and customized? If so, how and how easily?

    Yes! Sustaira has rich UI/UX functionalities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. We recommend https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-lifecycle/user-interfaces/

  • Can the logic layer be adjusted and customized? If so, how and how easily?

    Yes! Sustaira has rich Logic functionalities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. We recommend https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-lifecycle/logic/

  • Can the data layer be adjusted and customized? If so, how and how easily?

    Yes! Sustaira has a very flexible Data layer, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. We recommend https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-capabilities/data-management/

Internationalization

  • Does the solution support multiple languages? If so, which languages does the solution support?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform supports a variety of languages. Currently, the platform is translated into English, and it can support any left to right reading languages. The solution will also be available in German, Spanish and French and can be easily batch translated using Mendix. More information via https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/app-lifecycle/user-interfaces/

Reusability

  • Is there a marketplace or menu of reusable templates or building blocks users can explore and choose from?

    Yes! Sustaira offers a complete marketplace of ESG and Sustainability App (templates), custom App delivery, connectors/integrators, modules, and widgets. This library and portfolio is growing very rapidly and is also augmented by Siemens low-code application platform Mendix' marketplace.

  • Can widgets, modules, and parts of the application (i.e. logic and app-services) easily be shared, re-used, and published?

    Yes! Uniquely, Sustaira uses a (low-code) building-block approach meaning features, functionalities, and more can be reused or repurposed across other applications or other templates quickly and easily. Sustaira also uses a microservices architecture where apps and modules can be deployed in it's on environment for reasons of scale, security and performance. These apps can 'talk' to each other via web services and other methods.

  • And are there pre-built modules and widgets available, such as LDAP/Active Directory to speed up actual delivery?

    Yes! Sustaira and (partner) Mendix offer a complete library of reusable widgets, for instance around active directory and connectors. More information via https://marketplace.mendix.com/https://marketplace.mendix.com/

Security and Compliance

  • Does the solution offer enterprise security and compliance models?

    Yes! Sustaira has proven Enterprise grade security and compliance functionalities, given one of the core technologies we use is Siemens low-code platform Mendix. We recommend https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/enterprise-capabilities/security/

Deployment and Architecture Flexibility

  • Does the platform comply with the 15-factor cloud native architecture principles? Can the platform apps run independently on any hardware and against any major relational data set? Does the platform fully support modern stacks out of the box such as Kubernetes, Docker, Cloud Foundry, etc.

    Yes! The Sustaira platform, largely built on Siemens’ Low-Code Platform Mendix, is architected for the demands of enterprise-ready applications, which are applications that are maintainable, highly performant, and scalable, and can cope with the complex nature of enterprise systems and integration, achieved through the application of the following architectural principles:

    - Model-driven development

    - Model interpretation over code generation

    - Microservices, containers, and deployment standardization

    - Statelessness

    - Openness and extensibility

    - Twelve-Factor App principles

    It’s compatible with all the well known cloud providers: IBM Cloud, SAP Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, AWS, Redhat Openshift and Google Cloud Platform. Besides running on a cloud it can also be deployed on premise. The platform supports Kubernetes and Cloud Foundry out of the box. For more information, see https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/enterprise-capabilities/architecture/

  • Can the platform scale horizontally or vertically without interruption to the end users? Can each app have its own dedicated runtime environment that is managed, scaled, and performance optimized on its own?

    Yes! The Sustaira platform, largely being built on Siemens’ Low-Code Platform Mendix, has immense performance monitoring support. This underlying platform is able to real-time scale horizontally and vertically due to their stateless runtime architecture. This means that any runtime instance available can handle a user request, regardless of any previous requests or subsequent requests. To achieve this, runtime instances have state for the duration of a user request. At the end of a request, all the committed state will be saved to the database. All the uncommitted state will be returned to the client, along with all other data that the client needs. For more information, see https://www.mendix.com/evaluation-guide/enterprise-capabilities/

  • Is the platform flexible with deployment options i.e. on premise, cloud, and hybrid? Is deployment portable and scalable? i.e. failover application resilience, and high availability options? Leverage multiple IaaS vendors such as Azure, IBM Bluemix, AWS, Oracle, Google Cloud, RedHat OpenShift. Does the platform have full container and Cloud Foundry support?

    Yes! Sustaira applications run on a variety of deployment options, including public cloud, virtual private cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, multi cloud, and traditional (virtual) servers. This includes on-premise deployments, which makes the underlying platform Sustaira leverages, Mendix, unique. Sustaira currently offers a few deployment options such as a Multitenant USA, Multitenant Germany, and Custom Deployments elsewhere. More information about deployment flexibility, see link.

Want to Download Sustaira Evaluation Criteria Framework for ESG & Sustainability Software and/or Sustaira’s Comprehensive Evaluation Guide?

Package #1: ESG Goals & KPI Tracking

  • Online launchpad with multitenant access

  • Sustainability Goals & KPI Tracker, incl. SDGs and other frameworks

  • Integration and APIs available

  • Basic Carbon footprint calculators

  • (Limited) Reporting

  • Add-on option: App Services packages for integrations and customizations starting at $36,400 or €24.400

  • Add-on option: Sustainability and ESG Consulting Packages starting at $10,000 / €10.000

Package #2: Carbon Accounting

  • Online launchpad with multitenant access

  • Sustainability Goals & KPI Tracker, incl. SDGs and other frameworks

  • Integration and APIs available

  • Carbon footprint calculators

  • Reporting and dashboarding

  • Add-on option: App Services packages for integrations and customizations starting at $36,400 or €24.400

  • Add-on option: Sustainability and ESG Consulting Packages starting at $10,000 / €10.000

  • Carbon Accounting App for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emission data aggregation, calculation and reporting. Disclosures module optionable.

Package #3: Custom Pilot App

  • Online launchpad with multitenant access

  • Custom application based on your unique requirements, incl. web and/or mobile access

  • Sustaira offers prepaid App Services Package based on initial scoping and estimates.

  • These purchased services can be applied to any services provided, including new projects.

  • (Low-code) app development and architecture support

  • Enterprise security and AWS deployment included.

Curious how to get started? Check out our discounted Starter’s Packages.