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Environmental ERP software provider Enviance has announced the launch of its 60-day Greenhouse Gas (GHG) FastTrack program designed to help companies comply with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air emissions reporting requirements.
The new regulation went into effect on January 1st and at the time of its announcement the program was expected to cover around 10,000 facilities and account for around 85% of US emissions. For many facilities it will be the first time that have needed to keep track of, and report on, their greenhouse gases. The first reporting deadline is March 31, 2011, for the 2010 fiscal year - companies found in non-compliance will be subject to significant penalties.
Enviance describes the benefits:
• A turn-key (online) GHG solution
• Fully implemented in 60 days or less, supported by Enviance consultants
• Online training
• The basis of a full EHS and Enterprise Sustainability solution
• Competitive fixed cost model (from $1,995/month)
• Able to scale to meet user expansion requirements
A press release with the announcement quoted a recent Enviance survey that showed that 61% of companies lack systems in place to record carbon emissions: ‘a large number of companies will be scrambling to implement auditable GHG measurement and reporting tools or risk serious fines’. This is the market that Enviance is aiming for with this ‘peace-of-mind’ solution.
The company certainly has the pedigree. It’s been in the business for ten years and was identified as one of the emerging leaders in a Groom Energy Research report into the Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) software market.
But note that eight companies were identified as emerging leaders in the report. Enviance may win business on the grounds that it’s a safe pair of hands and fulfils an immediate requirement, but it’s likely to encounter a lot of competition when the market has settled. The stand-alone carbon counting software market may well turn into a price-based war of attrition.
By the way, the Groom Energy Research report (in January) said that increased pressure from customers and investors for companies to create a ‘greener’ public image was a more important market driver than pending GHG regulation. Probably true over the long term, but legislation will clearly generate spikes in demand.
Fujitsu UK and Ireland has achieved the ‘Carbon Trust Standard’ for reducing its carbon footprint. The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company set up by the UK Government to take the lead in helping businesses and the public sector cut carbon emissions and save energy.
The Carbon Trust Standard was launched in June 2008. The award to Fujitsu was in recognition of a ‘robust and transparent’ process for measuring emissions and clear progress in reducing its carbon footprint. The emissions reduction was 1.7%.
In achieving the standard Fujitsu joins household names in the UK such as First Direct, Tesco and O2, and public sector organisations such as HM Treasury, London Fire Brigade and Manchester University.
I know what you’re thinking – 1.7% doesn’t sound like much (although it does represent 1,483.7 tonnes of carbon), but that’s not the whole story. The Carbon Trust Standard is strict in requiring organisations to measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprint and make real reductions year-on-year. So the quoted reduction only relates to what was achieved as the result of the company’s own actions – on a like-for-like basis for example.
In particular it’s only internal actions that count, not offsets, which continue to be a bone of contention in carbon reduction. (Interestingly, the UK government itself has a target of making its ICT carbon neutral by 2012, something which is unlikely to be achieved without purchasing offsets).
So the Carbon Trust Standard is as much about transparency, independent certification and real emissions reductions. It puts a very visible peg in the ground against which future actions will be measured, which is something Fujitsu will have to live up to.
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