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Showing posts with label D- Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label D- Company. Show all posts

Friday, 23 October 2009

Carbon Accounting Software - a 7 - $Billion Market

Published, 2 OCtober, 2009. (WSJ)

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A recent move by U.S. regulators means more paperwork for companies emitting greenhouse gases. That's a boon for the emerging environmental-software industry.

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule that will require annual reporting from 10,000 facilities that account for 85% of the emissions that contribute to potentially catastrophic climate change. The first such reports detailing types of emissions and volumes are due to the EPA on March 31, 2011.

Ripple effects from the U.S.'s shift toward addressing global warming under the administration of President Barack Obama are now being felt beyond industries such as power generation and crude-oil refining that are directly affected. Software start-ups as well as software giants SAP AG (SAP) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have taken note and rolled out products.

The EPA rule was a "tectonic shift" for the niche industry, said Lawrence Goldenhersh, founder and chief executive of Enviance, a provider of Web-based greenhouse-gas emissions solutions.

The global market for carbon accounting, collecting data and consulting services is expected to balloon from $510 million in 2009 to $7 billion-$9 billion in two to three years, said Paul Baier, vice president of consulting firm Groom Energy Solutions. SAP, which acquired Clear Standards earlier this year for an undisclosed sum to enter the market, estimates that the untapped potential is $15 billion worldwide.

Even if Congress fails to pass wide-ranging climate change legislation, demand for such services will continue to grow due to shareholder and consumer demands for information, Baier said.

Enviance's software-as-a-service model is one of the most efficient ways to manage carbon data, according to Verdantix, an independent research firm. The Carlsbad, Calif.-based company boasts 12,000 customers - half of which are Fortune 1000 firms - that subscribe to software that helps them manage compliance with thousands of local and federal environmental, health and safety codes. That client base represents a huge opportunity for Enviance if they sign on for services to help them adhere to the new EPA rule, Goldenhersh said.

Major customers include American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP), Chevron Corp. (CVX), E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (DD), PG&E Corp. (PCG) and the U.S. Army.

Enviance's core software, customized for every facility, sends alerts when there is a chemical leak or ahead of compliance deadlines. Designed by emissions experts, the software accurately measures carbon output based on the type of greenhouse gas emitted, whether its carbon dioxide, methane or another compound.

An Internet-based dashboard lets managers view emissions for specific plant processes or on a company-wide level.

This year, the company turned profitable for the first time and is expected to generate $20 million in sales. Enviance has raised $31 million in venture capital money since it was founded a decade ago. Enviance's revenues could grow 30% annually over the next three to five years as more companies look to comply with the EPA rule, said Dan Miklovic, research vice president for Gartner, a technology research firm.

There's also a profit motive. Tweaking consumption patterns can reduce energy costs by at least 5%-8%. The environmental-compliance software typically saves customers $500,000 annually per facility and frees up employees who were inputting data on spreadsheets for other tasks, Goldenhersh said.

So, it's no surprise that software giants are starting to latch onto the trend. SAP is one of Enviance's biggest threats, but Gartner's Milcovic said that their system "is based more on breadth than depth." SAP, though, is making a big push in this industry and is using its entire salesforce to get its base of 90,000 customers to adopt its own web-based carbon-management software.

The pipeline of Clear Standards' new projects has quadrupled since the acquisition was announced in May, said Anirban Chakrabarti, vice president of SAP Carbon Impact and former CEO of Clear Standards. Last week, SAP announced it is teaming up with Microsoft and Accenture Plc (ACN) to develop analytical carbon-reporting tools.

While acknowledging that Enviance may have an edge for their environmental-compliance solutions at local plants, Chakrabarti said, "we believe in the next 12 months we are going to be so far ahead."

The key difference, he noted, is that Enviance is building its base through various corporate departments while SAP's has cemented its relationships "on the board level."

Still, SAP's pursuit of snagging carbon-management business with large corporations leaves plenty of room for niche firms to thrive. Enviance's combination of environmental-compliance software and carbon-management solutions could make it a prime takeover target. CEO Goldenhersh said the company has been receiving offers but has no imminent plans to merge or go public.

The Rest @ The Wall Street Journal



Thursday, 13 August 2009

CICS Awarded the Bat3ch Verification Process for The ClimAte Registry

May 19, 2009 -- HOUSTON, TX, USA 18 May 2009 Complete Integrated Certification Services (CICS), a global leader in CO2 verification, has been appointed as the first official Batch Verifier to Members of The Climate Registry. This non-profit organization establishes consistent, transparent standards throughout North America for businesses and governments to calculate, verify, and publically report their carbon footprints in a single, unified registry ― ultimately helping them to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Successfully completing the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) GHG accreditation program (based on the internationally-recognized ISO 14065 standard), CICS will work within The Climate Registry’s rigorous and comprehensive standards.

Members under the batch verification process will be provided with accurate, complete, consistent, transparent, and verified GHG emissions data supported by a robust reporting and verification infrastructure as part of a three step process:

1. Calculate: each year all Members must calculate all GHG emissions (CO2, CH4, N2O, PFC, HFC, and SF6) from operations in North America (Canada, United States, and Mexico) using the General Reporting Protocol.

2. Report: Members must enter their GHG emissions into the Climate Registry Information System (CRIS), an online GHG calculation, reporting and verification tool that enables public access to verified emission reports.

3. Verify: all Members must then obtain annual third-party verification to ensure the accuracy of the data.

YouYube

CICS can also offer verification under the California Climate Action Registry and is positioned to participate in the forthcoming mandatory schemes across North America.

Shaun Bainbridge, Director at CICS, comments: “GHGs are having a major impact on the global climate and it is through important initiatives such as The Climate Registry that organizations can calculate and report their GHG emissions. CICS will work in conjunction with The Registry to ensure the accuracy of Members’ data – a critical part of ensuring robust and transparent reporting.”

Tony Kinsella, Managing Director of CICS, adds: “This is a very prestigious and important appointment for CICS, particularly in light of the strong competition we faced. Covering industries from healthcare and manufacturing to transportation, government and defense, the CICS team is ideally placed to work alongside Members to ensure completely independent verification of their GHG emissions and play a role in tackling the effects of climate change.”

About CICS

With Regional North American offices in Houston, Texas, CICS provides industry leading experience and knowledge of CO2/GHG verification under both mandatory and voluntary (carbon foot printing) schemes throughout North America. A range of related ISO certification services is also available. http://www.cicsglobal.com/

The Rest @ Free Press Release

Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Center for Sustainability Performance (CSP) Launched

NEW YORK, August 10 /CSRwire/ - Deloitte today announced the launch of the Center for Sustainability Performance (CSP) in Waltham, Mass. The CSP will be led by Mark McElroy, Ph.D., and will provide

  • on-site client training,
  • research and development,
  • with a focus on corporate sustainability measurement and reporting

Prior to joining Deloitte, McElroy served as executive director of the Center for Sustainable Innovation where he worked with clients on sustainability management, measurement and reporting engagements. He is also the creator of the Social Footprint Method, a procedure for measuring and reporting the social sustainability performance of organizations. McElroy will lead the CSP's research and development efforts and work with clients to formulate tailored metrics and tools designed to help manage, measure and report on non-financial performance. He will continue to serve on the board of the Center for Sustainable Innovation and also the Sustainability Institute, both located in Vermont.

"An evolving regulatory environment combined with increasing stakeholder interest in sustainability performance across the entire supply chain continues to drive demand for transparency, disclosure and compliance around nonfinancial performance," said Chris Park, co-leader of Deloitte's Enterprise Sustainability Group.

"Deloitte's Center for Sustainability Performance will provide customized training modules in the areas of sustainability measurement and reporting, enabling our clients to comply with regulatory demands while also reporting on social and environmental sustainability performance throughout their supply chain."

Further underscoring the need for supply chain transparency, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, recently announced plans to develop a worldwide sustainable product index, which will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of products.

"Nonfinancial reporting is evolving from voluntary communications to mandatory compliance, and the environmental regulatory and financial reporting worlds are converging," said Kathryn Pavlovsky, co-leader of Deloitte's Enterprise Sustainability Group. "

This convergence will require increased collaboration across many facets of an organization to ensure that the internal control frameworks are in place for measurable, consistent and repeatable corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting that is strategically, operationally and financially achievable."

In addition, Deloitte has teamed with LEAD Canada, the only Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) certified training organization offering GRI-certified sustainability reporting courses in both the U.S. and Canada. Deloitte will host GRI-certified training courses at Deloitte offices throughout the U.S. and Canada. Course participants will receive their course completion certificates directly from GRI.

"The prevalence of sustainability reporting is growing and the GRI has emerged as the world's most widely used reporting framework," said Eric Hespenheide, global reporting and compliance leader of Deloitte's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Group. "As sustainability reporting matures and becomes more standardized, assurance of company reports will become increasingly important, just as it has for financial reporting. We look forward to hosting this training."

For a schedule of GRI training courses hosted by Deloitte, please click here.

The Rest @ CSRWire

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Coca Cola Sets Goal to Reduce Carbon FootPrint

ATLANTA, GA - July 23, 2009 - Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) announced today that it has set goals for its five strategic Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) focus areas and has committed to achieving these goals by the year 2020 - what the company is calling "Commitment 2020."

"Even during difficult economic times, our commitment to CRS has never been stronger, and our quantifiable Commitment 2020 goals demonstrate the progress we are making on our journey," said John F. Brock, chairman and chief executive officer. "We have been recognized as a CRS leader in the global Coca-Cola system, and by embedding CRS into every aspect of our business, we are working to meet or exceed the expectations of our retail customers and consumers."

CCE also reiterated its participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Leaders program, an industry-government partnership that works to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. As a partner in the EPA Climate Leaders, CCE has pledged to reduce its company-wide greenhouse gas emissions and will annually report its progress to the EPA.

Commitment 2020 Goals

CCE's Commitment 2020 goals for its five strategic CRS focus areas are:

Energy Conservation/Climate Change: Reduce the overall carbon footprint of our business operations by 15 percent by 2020, as compared to our 2007 baseline.

Water Stewardship: Establish a water-sustainable operation in which we minimize our water use and have a water-neutral impact on the local communities in which we operate, by safely returning the amount of water equivalent to what we use in our beverages and their production to these local communities.

Sustainable Packaging/Recycling: Reduce the impact of our packaging; maximize our use of renewable, reusable, and recyclable resources; and recover the equivalent of 100 percent of our packaging.

Product Portfolio/Well-Being: Provide refreshing beverages for every lifestyle and occasion, while helping consumers make informed beverage choices.

Diverse and Inclusive Culture: Create a culture where diversity is valued, every employee is a respected member of the team, and our workforce is a reflection of the communities in which we operate.

CRS Report

CCE's fourth company-wide CRS Report provides a comprehensive look at the company's commitment to being a sustainable business partner in the communities in which it operates. To access CCE's Report online, please visit the company's website at http://www.cokecce.com/assets/uploaded_files/FINAL_CCE_2008_CRSReport_lowres.pdf. Comments and feedback related to the Report are welcome at crs@cokecce.com.

CCE's CRS reports have garnered several awards in the past few years, including two Golden Peacock Awards (corporate social responsibility reporting) and two CorporateRegister.com awards (creativity in communications, best overall report runner-up). This Report achieves B-level compliance with the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

CRS Report Highlights:

Reduced beverage calories in U.S. schools by 58 percent since 2007. The American Beverage Association's School Guidelines support the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership between the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.

Measured the global and individual country carbon footprints of the company's operations in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. CCE's efforts to measure and reduce its carbon footprint have resulted in a seven percent reduction in energy use from 2006 to 2008.

Created the first certified product carbon footprint of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Oasis in Great Britain and Dasani in the United States.

Saved 301 million liters of water through water efficiency initiatives, further reducing the company's water use ratio from 1.82 to 1.73 liters of water to produce one liter of product in the last three years. CCE has one of the lowest water use ratios in the global Coca-Cola system.

Recovered and reused approximately 125,000 metric tons of packaging materials through internal programs and Coca-Cola Recycling's work to increase opportunities for consumer recycling in the marketplace and at large-scale events.

Continued support of the United Nations Global Compact by endorsing the CEO Water Mandate, which recognizes the impact companies have on the world's water supply.

Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world’s largest marketer, producer, and distributor of bottle and can liquid nonalcoholic refreshment. CCE sells approximately 80 percent of The Coca-Cola Company's bottle and can volume in North America and is the sole licensed bottle for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, and the Netherlands. For more information, please visit http://www.cokecce.com/.

The Rest @ CSRwire

Saturday, 1 August 2009

First Solutions Certified as a Validation and Verifying Body

Boonton, NJ - January 8, 2009 With so much confusion regarding the validity of carbon credits here in the United States, First Environment recently completed a program to standardize the process for documenting and verifying greenhouse gas emissions.

Working with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), First Environment has been accredited as a Validation and/or Verification Body (VVB). This program will facilitate the true reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the environment.

ANSI coordinates development and use of voluntary consensus standards in the United States, and represents the needs and views of U.S. stakeholders around the globe.

ANSI launched this pilot accreditation program in early 2008. Lane Hallenback, ANSI Vice President of Accreditation Services said, “This program marks a significant step forward in assuring integrity and consistency in emission reporting and reduction projects across industry sectors and geographical borders. The institute is pleased to join in strengthening consumer confidence and promoting best practices for the validation and verification of GHG emissions.”

As a result of ANSI’s accreditation, The Climate Registry and The California Climate Action Registry recognize First Environment as an accredited 3rd party verifier. In addition, First Environment is accredited for emission reduction projects under the Voluntary Carbon Standard and is the only verification body in the United States accredited for Chicago Climate Exchange.
The benefit of this program is that buyers and sellers of carbon credits can be sure that firms verifying emission reductions possess the technical qualifications to perform such an audit. This will bring order to the marketplace of companies who are claiming to offer the technical expertise to document and reduce the six greenhouse gases that are the primary cause of climate change.

Tod Delaney, President of First Environment says, “We have been working in the industry for 30 years and are pleased to be recognized for our commitment to assuring the integrity and consistency in emission reporting. Standardizing this process and making sure it is transparent is critical to the success of any government regulatory scheme or marketplace driven solution that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

First Environment offers engineering design and implementation services to meet your company’s environmental and sustainability goals. Established in 1977 we are an international leader in emerging environmental standards and have built award-winning Environmental Management Systems for the Westchester County Airport as well. Email Bob Previdi at rwp@firstenvironment.com and for more information about ANSI go to http://www.ansi.org/.

The Rest @ First Environment
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