Posts filed under 'Greenhouse Gas Emissions'
Effective this month, Australia has a new National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System that’s designed to monitor the emissions that cause climate change. Australian businesses that exceed greenhouse gases (GHG) limits will be required to monitor, measure and report emissions data to the government by 2009.
It’s the first step of Australia’s emissions trading program, which requires robust and comparable information –much of which is already demanded by the public.
Katie Lahey, chief executive of the Business Council of Australia, wrote last October in “The Age” newspaper, “…businesses cannot afford to sit back and wait for trading to formally start before addressing the implications of the new requirement on their strategies and operations. It’s a fundamental long-term transition from a high-emissions to a low-emissions world economy.”
This year, Australia will quantify emissions produced by large corporations. Businesses that emit more than 125 kilotons of greenhouse gases or consume or produce more than 500 trillion joules of energy will be required to collect data to meet annual reporting requirements.
Individual facilities that emit more than 25 kilotons of greenhouse gases, or use or produce 100 trillion joules of energy will also need to collect and report data. Twenty-five kilotons of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of the annual emissions of more than 6,200 cars; 100 trillion joules equates to the annual energy use of about 1,900 households.
While the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act takes effect this month, businesses will have until August 31, 2009 to register and until October 31, 2009 to submit their first annual greenhouse and energy report.
Most Australian corporations already report their GHG information because of increasing pressure from stakeholders, but the new program will standardize what is monitored and measured.
A rapidly growing number of jurisdictions worldwide are adopting new standards for GHG reporting that require robust information management. The ESS GHG/Carbon Management Solution is designed to help businesses comply with regulations in Australia and most other countries worldwide. Whether your organization is conducting internal baseline calculations or complying with laws that require greater levels of transparency and accountability, integrated information management systems are a necessary component of a corporate carbon management plan.
Tags: australia emissions trading ghg greenhouse gas emissions national greenhouse and energy reporting act
July 2nd, 2008
SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age, a new report published by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSi) and The Climate Group indicates that the technology industry’s unique ability to provide tools to monitor and maximize energy efficiency both inside and outside of its own sector could cut carbon emissions by up to five times the amount generated by its own carbon footprint.
SMART 2020, the world’s first comprehensive global study of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), shows that information management is key to enabling organizations to reduce emissions. Global management consultants McKinsey & Company independently conducted the report’s supporting analysis
Transforming the way people and businesses use technology could reduce annual man-made global emissions by 15 percent by 2020 and deliver energy efficiency savings to global businesses of more than 500 billion euros (nearly $800 million USD), according to the report. This represents a reduction of 7.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent released into the environment by 2020 – an amount greater than the current annual emissions of either the U.S. or China.
Although tele-working, video-conferencing, e-paper and e-commerce are increasingly commonplace, the report notes that replacing physical products and services with the virtual equivalents is only a small part (approximately 6 percent) of the estimated low-carbon benefits the ICT sector can deliver. Far greater opportunities for emissions savings can be generated when organizations and industries implement a technology infrastructure to address carbon reporting and management.
The report cites four major opportunities where the use of information technology can make further transformational cuts in global emissions. These exist globally within smart building design and use, smart logistics, smart electricity grids and smart industrial motor systems.
I may have said this too many times lately, but it’s still true: we can’t reduce GHG emissions until everyone uses the right platform to measure and monitor them.
Tags: carbon emissions gesi global e sustainability initiative ict McKinsey Company smart 2020 the climate group
July 1st, 2008
Deere & Company is one of a growing number of companies that have announced plans to reduce their total global greenhouse gas emissions by a specific number — in this case 25 percent per dollar of revenue from 2005 to 2014. The company has committed to the reduction goal in conjunction with its participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leaders program, which Deere joined in 2007.
Climate Leaders is a voluntary industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop long-term comprehensive climate change strategies. Participants set a corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal and annually report their progress to EPA. Through program participation, companies create a credible record of their accomplishments, reduce their impact on the global environment and identify themselves as corporate climate leaders.
Becoming a corporate climate leader can’t be easy for companies in industries such as oil, energy and equipment because direct greenhouse gas emissions are generated from both plant operations and from the final product. Monitoring and collecting data across the organization as well as tabulating and benchmarking against publicly stated goals requires an enormous amount of data integration and reporting capability.
We have been seeing this trend across the enterprise lately, in all industries, as corporate social responsibility becomes a matter of setting and reaching sustainability goals that are expressed in numbers and percentages. Moreover, we’re seeing a need to allow this kind of data aggregation and reporting from mobile platforms as well as from desktop PCs. As a result, we have set out a product roadmap that meets these needs for our customers more completely and fully than any of our competitors. Fortunately, we have the talent on our team to get this done!
Tags: climate leaders deere & company epa ghg greenhouse gas emissions
June 19th, 2008
Forward thinking companies are gaining a competitive advantage and expanded profits by leading the way in addressing climate change.
According to a recent report from Goldman Sachs, companies that are leaders in environment; and good governance policies have outperformed Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index by 25 percent. Seventy-two percent of the companies outperformed industry peers.
That’s why I was intrigued by a new report, The Economic Case for Climate Action. It maintains that companies that implement climate-protection programs can enhance their financial performance by cutting energy and materials costs in industrial processes, facilities design and management and fleet management. They can enhance core business value through sector performance leadership and first-mover advantage, gain easier access to capital, improve corporate governance, strengthen their ability to drive innovation and improve government relations. Doing this helps companies retain competitive advantage, enhance their reputation and brand equity and increase their ability to capture market share and differentiate their products. Such programs increase companies’ abilities to attract and retain the best talent; increase employee productivity and health; improve communication, creativity and morale in the workplace and achieve better stakeholder relations.
The report provided examples of companies that are using proactive climate change measures to gain a business advantage. For example:
- DuPont pledged in 1999 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 65 percent below its 1990 levels by 2010 and obtain 10 percent of its energy and 25 percent of its feedstocks from renewables. The company made this announcement in the name of increasing shareholder value and delivered on that promise, when, during the same period, the value of DuPont stock increased 340 percent as the company reduced global emissions 67 percent for a savings, to date, of $3 billion.
- ST Microelectronics pledged to become carbon neutral (zero net CO2 emissions) by 2010 with a forty-fold increase in production. Figuring out how to do this drove the company’s innovation, taking it from the twelfth-largest microchip manufacturer in the world to the sixth. ST gained market share, won awards, and believes it will have saved almost a billion dollars by the time it meets its goal.
- Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer; pledged to reduce energy use at its stores by 30 percent over three years; become carbon neutral; become 100 percent powered by renewable energy; double the efficiency of its vehicle fleet; build hybrid-electric long-haul trucks and sell millions of compact fluorescent light bulbs.
These companies realize that cutting carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases is a winning strategy. Using energy more efficiently not only reduces carbon emissions, and reduces risk and costs.
Tags: carbon neutral climate change dupont goldman sachs greenhouse gas emissions reduce energy use st microelectronics wal mart
May 16th, 2008
Corporations have recently enlisted new participants to support their greenhouse gas management programs: Chief Information Officers (CIO). That point was reinforced in a recently-published article in CIO Magazine.
CIOs are now on the front lines of corporate climate change programs. That’s because manual spreadsheet accounting and disparate legacy systems are not able to support organizations’ need for accurate, verifiable carbon data for compliance under market based compliance schemes that are being considered in the U.S. and several other jurisdictions, as well as growing disclosure demands from investors, community stakeholders and activists. In order to meet those new standards, organizations will need to implement information management tools that support efficient and accurate reporting and analysis in order to address changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) management that are just around the corner. CIOs will play a central role in that process.
ESS has just published a white paper entitled, “A CIO’s Guide to Global Climate Change,” which provides a detailed discussion of this issue. It’s now available for download from our web site.
The process of building a program for evaluating, monitoring and measuring GHG emissions should begin with the development of a carbon management strategy. Managing climate risk in the context of corporate objectives starts with understanding the company’s operations. Executives need to identify which practitioners or business units need to use the data and for what purpose. Answers to these questions will provide critical direction for best practices for collection, processing and reporting of GHG information.
It’s a very complicated process, and will likely affect most businesses — including many that previously have not been required to provide GHG emissions reporting.
So GHG management is coming out of the bailiwick of environmental managers, facility managers and even the risk managers. CIOs will soon inherit responsibility for a challenge that has real bottom-line implications. That will eventually require organizations to develop a comprehensive plan for GHG management, supported by an integrated software platform.
Tags: cio ghg emissions reporting ghg management global climate change greenhouse gas management
May 7th, 2008
The federal government is now debating the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and with that debate comes the need for policymakers to find a way to collect the emissions data necessary to support efforts to address climate change.
We all know that you can’t manage something that you can’t measure. Without data, we can’t make or assess policies.
Last December, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes a provision to direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from everywhere in the economy. So that points to the development of a national greenhouse gas registry.
The emissions registry will be a database that will collect, verify and track data from both facilities and companies. U.S. corporations have long had voluntary GHG emissions reporting because they want to be in a position of leadership on sustainability initiatives. But a mandatory registry will serve two further purposes: It will support regulatory compliance tracking and public disclosure, which can be an effective tool to promote cooperation.
To be effective, a mandatory registry should do several things:
- Collect data at the facility level on a mandatory basis;
- Make that data transparent, consistent and verified in accordance with international standards;
- Collect emissions data even from facilities covered by a cap and trade program;
- Provide a common infrastructure for reporting from emission sources not covered by cap and trade program regulations, and from facilities before a cap and trade system becomes operational;
- Collect both indirect and direct emissions data and make that data available to the public.
Only from that specific data can the EPA compile a national database to find out whether we are achieving the U.S.’s climate control objectives.
Tags: climate control compliance emissions registry epa ghg ghg emissions greenhouse gas emissions sustainability
May 1st, 2008
What Can WE Do?
April 22 is known to most people as Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, according to Wikipedia. Much has changed since then. The world’s population has risen from under 4 billion in 1970 to over 6.6 billion today (with projections of 9 billion inhabitants by 2050).
The importance of carbon dioxide emissions as an environmental issue of international concern has grown substantially since 1992, when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted because of increasing concern over rising atmospheric concentrations of GHGs and their possible adverse effects on the global climate system. The UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol call for an enhancement of energy efficiency and an increase in the production and use of new and renewable energy, as well as measures to limit or reduce GHG emissions.
The production, generation, distribution and use of energy today releases substantial amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) pollutants. As population growth in the developing world continues to materialize, the pressure on local environments to supply the required energy sources will increase considerably, as will the amount of GHGs released. How the international community and governments respond to these issues will be of vital importance if society is to have a sustainable future.
Global climate change mitigation depends greatly on the increased use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in all countries.
The efforts and measures required to successfully address climate change are extremely challenging in a number of ways. However, one specific step we can all take is to focus attention on energy usage.
Where Do I Start? What can we do as individuals?
Here’s one way you can help reduce GHG emissions. EPA has launched a new national campaign to help Americans join in the fight against climate change. The campaign, “Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR” helps people make important energy-efficient changes at home and at work that can add up to significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases. The campaign builds on the success of the ENERGY STAR “Change a Light” campaign by providing a set of steps people can take to save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Change the World. Start with ENERGY STAR a national campaign encouraging all Americans to join with millions of others and take small, individual steps that make a big difference in the fight against global warming.
What can corporations do?
The buildings where we work, shop, play and learn spend $200 billion annually on electricity and natural gas and contribute nearly half of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, 50 percent of U.S. electrical generation relies on coal, a fossil fuel; while 85 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions result from energy-consuming activities supported by fossil fuels.
With help from programs like EPA’s ENERGY STAR, you can help reduce energy waste and energy costs where you work as well as where you live!
The most energy-efficient businesses in America use about 30 percent less energy than their competitors. Finding smart ways to manage the energy you need to run your business can improve your profit margins, increase funds available for development of new products and services and enhance overall corporate value.
Tags: carbon dioxide emissions earth day energy usage ghg emissions global climate change global warming UNFCCC
April 22nd, 2008
If you haven’t already registered, here’s a personal invitation from me to join us at ESS EXPO.08 from Sunday, April 13 - Tuesday, April 15, at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort outside Phoenix, Arizona.
ESS EXPO.08 is the largest software users’ conference of the year dedicated to Environmental, Health & Safety and Crisis Management. Attendees will see the latest technology innovations from ESS – with up-close looks at new versions of our software (Essential Suite™ version 7.1 and the browser-based version of Compliance Suite™) as well as quick tips and in-depth explanations from the experts who design, develop and support those tools. In addition, our training team will offer training courses that address key regulatory compliance issues and best practices.
Participants will hear the latest news about a variety of Governance, Risk and Compliance issues and information management challenges. Sessions like “Corporate Sustainability: Helping People and Businesses Reach Their Potential” by Microsoft and “REACH – Understanding and Implementing for Compliance” by PTK, Ltd — the firm that co-authored the regulation — provide a brief sample of the topics that will be discussed at this year’s ESS EXPO.
At ESS EXPO, you can meet your peers, exchange best practices and meet keynote speakers Simon Jacobson of AMR Research and racing icon Kyle Petty. Jacobson will provide an overview of enterprise trends, while Petty, of course, plans to talk about NASCAR and business success.
Our business partners will show how they can enable ESS users to achieve even greater success with complementary solutions and services. And finally, ESS software users will benefit from sharing their own ideas and experiences while networking with other top professionals from a wide variety of vertical industries.
ESS EXPO.08 continues the tremendous success of previous EXPO events, which have attracted hundreds of EHS and Crisis Management professionals.
Tags: amr research corporate sustainability crisis management ehs ess expo governance risk compliance kyle petty reach
February 13th, 2008
What is the 2030 Challenge?
It is a standard now being promoted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors mandating 50 percent energy consumption reductions for commercial buildings. It is also a response by the building industry to the specter of climate change, and an example of industry taking the lead to solve this enormous problem.
In America, we emit an estimated 20 billion tons of CO2 per year. Some experts believe that if emissions don’t level out and begin a downward trend within seven years, CO2 levels in the atmosphere could reach 385ppm, a significant tipping point. This controversial position suggests that major climate change could result if current trends are not abated.
There are powerful voices on both sides of this issue. However, despite the controversy, a growing number of industry leaders worldwide are now taking steps — like acquiring information management tools — to reduce their emissions and increase energy efficiency.
A 50 percent reduction in building energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled, water consumption and infrastructure power consumption, which has been referred to as the 2030 Challenge is another major step in that direction. Consumers are already focused on it, as are public policy experts. Now the building industry, too, steps up.
Tags: 2030 challenge building industry climate change emissions energy consumption reductions
January 21st, 2008
Al Gore has received his Nobel Prize and is on his way to Bali to monitor the talks on climate change, which appear to be going well. No nation would like to be seen as the sole impediment to averting a planetary catastrophe. News of the environment is all over the media. All the focus on climate change has led to a rush of businesses to monitor greenhouse gases and lower their carbon footprint. While this is a good thing to do, in some cases organizations are taking a reactive approach that takes a narrow view of one issue while ignoring the interrelationships of GHG emissions to all other environmental issues. This has the risk of becoming a knee-jerk reaction that obscures the view of an integrated enterprise wide strategy that deals effectively with the complexity and impact of all environmental risk to the organization. GHG management is a problem that can and should be incorporated within the holistic and strategic framework of risk management that aligns the organization with their overall environmental stewardship and sustainability goals. Forward thinking businesses understand that managing these issues effectively is an integral component of their ability to achieve and maintain leadership in their given industry now and in the future.
Best of class organizations are taking an integrated organizational approach rather than taking a singular and tactical approach to GHG. An integrated systems approach will allow businesses to more effectively organize their people, processes and technology in a manner that will allow them to compete now and into the future.
We see this reflected in our own business. Our customers are not only interested in their carbon footprint, they’re interested in everything else that might impact the sustainability of their organization. Long before that set of buzzwords became popular, they have had the capability to monitor, predict and avert catastrophes that are perhaps equally as important as the emission of greenhouse gases: chemicals, hazardous wastes, fugitive emissions, waste water, industrial hygiene and regulatory compliance. These risks are more than compliance risks. They are operational risks inherent in business and they all must be monitored and managed.
Taking a holistic systems approach also requires implementing an IT technology strategy that aligns with the organizations enterprise wide strategies. As far back as 1999, we decided that enabling an organization to execute on their corporate initiatives for environmental stewardship, compliance, health & safety and sustainability is best accomplished through an integrated technology platform. The reason we believe in the integrated technology platform rather than a fragmented single application for each environmental issue is the concept of the interrelationship and common data elements between all of these issues. Every business I have talked to over the past 20 years wants to have an effective system in place to minimize all of their environmental risks. The reality is that it is very difficult to take an enterprise wide holistic approach to managing environmental risk when you have to rely on a multitude of single disparate applications that don’t talk to each other. If you do integrate them and try to roll up the information for management purposes and stakeholder reporting, it is costly to build and maintain the integration points between applications and the integrity of the data at a corporate level has and additional layer of risk. Each of these stand alone disparate applications actually becomes part of the risk. Why manage risk with a risky technology strategy and platform?
As a result, over the years we have chosen the integrated modular path over the “individual application” path. Our modular solutions are all excellent, but as a whole they are more than the sum of their parts. They enable the management and leaders of the organization to view their entire business from a sustainability perspective and to look at sustainability itself in the most complete possible way.
As I read in a recent AMR report, businesses need to take a hard look at three dimensions (business strategy, organizational processes and enterprise architecture) when assessing the right technology. They need to be intertwined so that businesses don’t just change their business strategy; they also change the technology and organization to match for maximum value. Called the Performance-Driven Business Network (PBN), this new business model is about synchronizing business strategy, organizational principles and enterprise architecture not just within a company, but up and down the greater business network with suppliers, customers and other partners to better compete—no, to compete at all—in the new global economy. They need to stop being project driven and become performance driven, in which change is a constant, and people, technology and business processes are changed in concert for the betterment of the business.
The result: Faster, predictable response to business shifts, a performance-driven collaborative culture, risk and compliance management embedded into operations, extended influence beyond traditional ecosystems and much better use of assets, including information and knowledge, technology, internal and external human capital, facilities and returns on invested capital.
In Bali, governmental representatives and NGOs are meeting. Again, this is good. But I guarantee that what will come out of those meetings has already been factored into a sustainability initiative by any enterprise that wishes to compete and survive. I see it every day because for almost two decades we have been on the front lines.
Tags: al gore bali carbon footprint climate change environmental stewardship ghg emissions greenhouse gases nobel prize
December 10th, 2007
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