A practical first step for manufacturers: connect customer questions with site, activity, water, purchasing and location data, then choose appropriate screening tools.
Scope and key points
Break the request into verifiable questions: which sites or products, which value-chain stages, what impact or dependency, and what reporting period? Collect site coordinates, process and output data, water use, key inputs and supplier locations as available.
Practical checks
Choose tools based on the unanswered question. ENCORE can screen dependencies and impacts by sector; IBAT can help identify nearby biodiversity-sensitive areas and species records; TNFD LEAP provides a structured assessment approach. Tool outputs are screening evidence, not a substitute for site surveys or expert judgment.
Suggested workflow
- For each potential impact, describe the activity, pressure, ecosystem and location, then identify data gaps and follow-up. Retain assumptions and limits so later assessments can build on the work.
- A useful first-round deliverable is a source register, site map, data-gap list, screening results and action log that another reviewer can continue.
Assign follow-up work
If location information needs confirmation, facilities or engineering teams can verify the site boundary. Procurement can trace the origin of key materials when supplier addresses identify only an office. Where a specialist survey is needed, first state the question the survey must answer and then set its scope. This is a suggested division of work; each organization should assign responsibilities according to its own structure. Keep the original customer question and the evidence period alongside the response so that another reviewer can distinguish completed screening from field verification and unresolved assumptions.