Leveraging Software for Sustainability is EXPO.08 Keynote Theme

April 17th, 2008

Management in this century requires global orchestration–managing from the outside in. Enterprises are starting to use Web 2.0 to do this — putting application data in a very common user interface, like a browser.

That was the message from Simon Jacobson from AMR, the keynote speaker at ESS EXPO.08. Jacobson was one of several speakers that provided insightful perspectives on key business and IT challenges to a record-setting audience of corporate and government executives and thought leaders who joined us this week in Phoenix for our annual business conference.

This was one of several thought-provoking sessions where industry leaders and thought leaders came together to discuss issues that will have a huge impact on the enterprise in the near future. I’m pleased that this and many other presentations have firmly established ESS EXPO as a forum where industry leaders can meet some of the people who are providing solutions for tomorrow’s issues today.

Emerging issues such as managing greenhouse gases through the supply chain, caps on carbon production and energy consumption are emerging on the list of corporate priorities, Jacobson said.

He talked about how Web 2.0 is being used in the enterprise and architected in a framework called Manufacturing 2.0 that pulls data out of legacy applications into a more modern framework. In the configuration, organizations can maintain legacy data storage, and still have applications talk to one another.

What is the visibility of environmental performance across extended supply networks? How do organizations get a consistent view of performance across the enterprise? Fragmented and manual systems make it difficult for corporate managers to get answers. These systems have to be consolidated into a single instance that will give you a way to automate work flow and build assumptions.

Environmental software, Jacobson said, should be web-based, and all EHS data should be consolidated in a common database that takes collective intelligence, ties it together, and shows it back to the user. Adoption of Web services is on the rise in the enterprise. Applications such as wikis, blogs and podcasts are also on the rise to help companies get around the latency of data in a crisis situation.

How do companies integrate EHS with typical GRC systems? They must be integrated with the rest of the business applications, such as he ERP, the supply chain and product focused applications into a controls management system that enables development of processes and procedures for risk remediation — and all of those show as intelligence on a management dashboard.

Jacobson predicts that REACH will impact all manufacturing processes, and thus financial compliance, IT compliance, and environmental compliance will have to be integrated.

Of course, the technology that Jacobson described is available today. ESS is deploying integrated EHS platforms for major organizations around the world including global leaders like PetroChina.

Tags: amr ehs environmental software ess expo grc greenhouse gases reach simon jacobson web 2.0

Entry Filed under: Corporate Governance, ESS, EHS/HSE Technology