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High speed rail proposals get mixed reaction

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 12, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 Proposals for a high speed rail network announced yesterday by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis, have received a mixed reaction from business leaders and environmental campaign groups.

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Climate Exchange sees profits climb as carbon trading volumes increase

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 12, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 Climate Exchange plc (ECX), the exchange company for trading emissions and environmental products, saw profits grow last year on the back of a big increase in volume of emissions trading.

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WRAP ‘superbody’ to target SMEs

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 11, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 WRAP is to work more closely with small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) when it becomes the new single Government ‘superbody’ on resource efficiency for England next month.

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SMEs encouraged to exploit growing low carbon export market

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 11, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) today told 170 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) how they could exploit the fastest-growing low carbon markets in the world as it produced figures showing that the low carbon sector is already worth some £112 billion and employs 900,000 people in the UK.

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E.ON launches new services to improve energy efficiency in UK businesses

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 10, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 Within a week, energy company E.ON has launched two new services aimed at improving the energy efficiency of UK businesses – one mainly for SMEs, one for high energy users.

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Enviance launches an EPA reporting solution

Posted by Pete Foster on Mar 10, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 

image 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.

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Mexico unlikely to deliver climate treaty

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 10, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 Hopes for drawing up a global climate change treaty this year appear to be fading.

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Fujitsu achieves Carbon Trust Standard

Posted by Pete Foster on Mar 10, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 

Fujitsu 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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UK manufacturers embrace resource efficiency but reject eco-design

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 9, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 Despite their greater commitment to resource efficiency, UK manufacturers – particularly SMEs – are reluctant to invest in ‘eco-design’ to reduce the environmental impact of their products.

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European Commission faces lawsuit for withholding biofuel data

Posted by Green Wise - The Bottom Line for Business on Mar 9, 2010 in Green Computing, Silver Light  | View Original Article
 A coalition of environmental groups is suing the European Commission over its refusal to release documents that allegedly contain previously undisclosed information on the negative impact the widespread use of biofuels in the EU is having on climate change.

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