How Green was my Videoconference? – assessment of carbon calculators

Last year the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), the body that supports the use of ICT in higher education in the UK, started a project under the heading of ‘How green was my videoconference?’ (HGWMV). The aim is to assess the environmental credentials of videoconferencing and verify whether the quoted benefits are realistic and accurate when compared with travel.

A report, entitled ‘Carbon Calculators for Transport and Electricity’ has just been published, written by the lead researcher of the HGWMV project, Geoff Constable. It looks at two aspects of the original project; the carbon and GHG emissions that would have been emitted by cars and other forms of transport during journeys that videoconferences replace, and the carbon costs of the power consumption of the videoconferencing equipment itself.

It’s an attempt to see if there’s agreement on multipliers/conversion figures for CO₂ and/or CO₂e amongst those that publish such figures. The HGWMV project would like to use existing conversion figures for car and air travel as well as electricity consumption.

The, not surprising, conclusions of the report are that some journey planners and carbon calculators are more reliable than others. Those that appear more extensive and easier to verify are generally those provided by public sector initiatives whilst information from manufacturers and resellers is often vague and generalised.

“The videoconferencing industry does not provide as much reliable, verifiable and transparent information regarding the CO₂ costs of travel as can be found in the governmental and not-for-profit sectors in the UK. In fact videoconferencing travel calculators are few and far between, and patchy in reliability and transparency (although there is plenty of verbiage about the subject). Videoconferencing manufacturers do not include the CO₂ embodied in the total lifecycle of their products when calculating CO₂ savings (i.e. there is no figure to offset the savings made by travel)”. But the report does go on to say that there is reliable data available from other sources that can be used to compare the carbon cost of travel with videoconferences.

The findings are being released in the hope that the survey will also be of interest to others working in the videoconferencing and green ICT area.

 

Indeed it is. It’s a salutary lesson for anyone who wants to make effective comparisons for almost any ‘dematerialisation’ strategy, such as videoconferencing.

With regard to travel calculators the conclusion is that ‘there is such a degree of variance in the figures available that there is no single calculator that can be taken as providing a definitive figure’. But if you need to make these sorts of calculations, particularly around travel, the report gives some useful insights as to where to start.

It does, though, raise the more general question as to how the various commercial carbon management software solutions compare in accuracy. The report gives some ammunition for those choosing such a system.

HP partners with Hara for energy and sustainability management

Earlier in the month Hara and HP announced a joint offering combining HP’s Energy and Sustainability Management (ESM) solutions and services with Hara’s Environmental and Energy Management solution (Hara EEM). The aim is to help organisations optimise their energy use and reduce their environmental impact.

The example given was communications company Avaya. The Hara and HP solution will provide the company with an overall view of its energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact to help it manage and reduce energy use and emissions. The tracking and reporting capabilities will also help Avaya deliver on its commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 15% by 2015.

HP followed up a couple of days ago with an announcement of new products, services and HP Labs research aimed at helping customers reduce their energy use.

At an ‘Unlocking Your Energy’ event in San Francisco on Monday HP introduced the EcoSMART portfolio, including solutions to help customers address energy use. HP EcoSMART fleet and console software options provide real-time performance information to help businesses save energy and track information to reduce their environmental impact.

The announcements included home energy monitoring research from HP Labs, including a tool that uses sensors and HP gateways to track energy consumption by room and appliance. HP also introduced the HP EcoSolutions Store, which features all HP’s Energy Star and EPEAT certified products.

The ‘Unlocking Your Energy’ tour is a global initiative by HP to demonstrate how energy efficiency, sustainability and profitability are compatible concepts for consumers and businesses.

 

There’s more information on all of this and HP’s other sustainability actions on the Environment part of HP’s web site.

If you’re interested in what other vendor’s are doing around green ICT, there are links to the relevant part of all the main players’ green portals on The Green IT Review web site.

GRI releases updated sustainability reporting guidelines

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the NGO that came up with the widely-used sustainability reporting framework as part of its aim to make sustainability reporting common practice and transparent, has launched the latest version of its guidelines.

G3.1, described as ‘the most comprehensive and complete sustainability reporting guidance’ is now available. It features up-to-date guidance on human rights, gender and community. GRI is also launching ‘The Technical Protocol – Applying the Report Content Principles’, guidance to help companies determine what to measure and report. The organisation is planning updates to its support materials in line with the updated Guidelines.

Organisations that are already reporting on their sustainability performance can use either the current G3 Guidelines or the updated version, although GRI recommends that they use G3.1. Both versions remain valid until the next generation of Guidelines is in place, due in 2013.

 

Corporations that want to be seen as leaders in sustainable reporting will be quick to adopt the new guidelines. There may be knock-on implications for some suppliers of corporate climate change and sustainability reporting solutions, such as IHS and PE International, who may need to adapt.

Data gathering and reporting around sustainability is effectively a compliance issue, albeit not directly driven by legislation (yet). But because it’s not driven by legislation there are various bodies setting standards and differing views on what needs to be reported (nationally and internationally). It’s a challenge for solutions providers and means they need to continually invest time and money into solutions until common standards emerge. At least GRI is rapidly becoming the de-facto standard.

The product Lifecycle Assessment software market is set for accelerated growth - Verdantix

In a report entitled Smart Innovators Product LCA Software, Verdantix has identified 18 companies that offer product LCA software, ranging from specialists such as PE International, PRé Consultants and SolidWorks, to consulting firms like Bureau Veritas, PwC and WSP Environment & Energy.

Demand is being helped by regulations for environmental reporting. Europe leads the world in setting standards for product sustainability with regulations such as the EU’s REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances) and the French government’s Bilan Carbone which requires Scope 3 emissions data reporting by the end of 2012. France is expected to become the leading market for LCA software adoption worldwide.

Among adopters are global food retailers and public procurement agencies who aim to improve their sustainability credentials and cut costs through better purchase decisions. Brand name suppliers like Unilever seek to get ahead of the curve by performing product LCA studies, while potential for differentiation also lifts LCA software demand as firms upgrade environmental design product strategies.

“In the last two years more than a dozen suppliers have rushed into the product LCA software market” said Emilie Beauchamp, Verdantix the report author. “In 2010 investors committed more than $20m to fund new ventures and accelerate growth plans for existing players. So far demand for product LCA software has been patchy, price points for new online applications are as low as $85 per month and the market lacks direction. But in 2012 demand will pick up due to a growing focus on green procurement, new regulations that require reporting of Scope 3 emissions and evidence of business value delivered by LCA projects.”

Dell offers off-the-shelf desktop virtualisation service

Earlier this month Dell announced the availability of its pre-packaged Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DDVS) aimed at making it easier to implement virtualised desktop environments for any end-user computing device.

DDVS includes the hardware, software and services in the Dell Integrated Solution Stack, which has apparently been used to deploy virtual desktop technology in a number of major organisations.

Dell’s offering includes it’s own purpose-built hardware and can also make use of its partnerships and alliances with industry leaders in virtualisation. DDVS is fully integrated with solutions from Citrix and VMware, which means that customers can adapt to their own circumstances.

There are four delivery models for DDVS:

• Virtual Desktop as a Service (vDaaS) Solution – fully hosted and managed by Dell.

• Managed Service Solution – Dell implements and manages the customer-purchased Integrated Solution Stack. 

• Customer Managed Solution – Dell implements the customer’s Integrated Solution Stack on the customers site but turns over management after deployment.

• Custom Solution – Dell provides design, build and/or implementation consulting services.

Dell plans to expand DDVS to include solutions specifically designed for vertical markets. Examples of vertical solutions already available include Virtual Lab, for education institutions, and Mobile Clinical Computing Solution for clinicians in healthcare.

 

Well desktop virtualisation is not necessarily green, it depends on a number of factors such as the devices used, the efficiency of the data centre and the telecoms load, something I pointed out in February when Ericsson and Novatium announced the global launch of their PC as a Service.

In the case of Dell it should at least be fairly transparent. The company features Energy Star end-user devices and has been vocal about greening data centres.

SAP releases a new CSR report and gives the thumbs down to nuclear

SAP has released its fourth annual sustainability report. It details the company’s impact in three areas; delivering customer solutions that turn sustainability into a business opportunity, improving SAP’s own sustainable operations, and pursuing social innovation to create sustainable growth.

In climate change, the highlight is the company's progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6% despite revenue growth. That’s on the back of a 10% reduction in energy use, thanks to investment in energy efficiency and an increase in renewable energy use to 48% (from 16% the previous year).  SAP has now cut GHG emissions by 25% from peak levels in 2007, on track to achieve its target of reducing emissions to 2000 levels by 2020.

 

It’s an interactive report and very readable – take a look. The company is trying to encourage feedback, so it’s also accessible via mobile devices, including iPad, with integration to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

The way the graphs and charts are laid out is also interesting. In the figure above, for example, the chart has been turned upside down so that it now follows the usual business chart of upward progress towards the target.

But what appears below the line can be a value judgement and not always clear cut. In the chart on progress in renewable energy use, nuclear is not only below the line, but below fossil fuels – progress is towards the green up-hills of hydro and wind.

Events in Japan have dented the reputation of nuclear energy, but its a stretch to say that nuclear is worse than fossil fuel in its generation of greenhouse gas emissions, which is what the chart implies.

IBM and Cable & Wireless Worldwide announce UK Smart Energy Cloud

IBM and Cable & Wireless Worldwide have announced that they are working together to develop a new intelligent data and communications solution, UK Smart Energy Cloud, to support the UK's Smart Meter Implementation Programme.

Combining IBM’s software and middleware (scalable WebSphere enterprise messaging infrastructure and an Informix time-series database) and C&W Worldwide’s secure, next-generation network and communications capability, UK Smart Energy Cloud is designed to provide a complete overview of energy usage across the country.

The solution will apparently be able to gather data many times a day from any smart meter in the country and store it centrally in a secure, purpose-built, cloud environment hosted in the UK. Data can then be sent to energy retailers for billing and to Distributor Network Operators (DNOs) to enable smart grid functionality.

The cloud advantage for energy retailers is that they won’t need to invest in hardware, systems, people, or the communications network and can deploy smart meters knowing that they can be replaced with no service disruption. (It also means that switching retailers will be easier for energy users). As the number of meters and the level of functionality inevitably grows, the solution will be able to respond without the need to replace or significantly modify the installed infrastructure.

"As we start the journey towards a low carbon economy smart meters will drive a wave of change in the energy system and are set to become an increasingly important part of the nation's critical infrastructure", says Laurence Carpanini, Director of Smart Meters and Smart Grids, IBM UK & Ireland. "With this collaboration, we can provide the UK with a flexible, intelligent solution based on proven technology. We can support the national Smart Meter Implementation Programme and help communities become smarter, more connected and in turn, more sustainable."

The two companies have a strong background in the sector. In the UK IBM is currently advising three of the six largest energy retailers on smart metering. C&W Worldwide has a heritage in the UK utility sector through its acquisitions of Energis (previously part of the National Grid), THUS and Your Comms, as well as an operational infrastructure intertwined with sub-stations and the energy transmission networks

 

This looks like a bid from IBM and C&W for the role of central data and communications company (DCC) as defined by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in the UK’s Smart Metering Implementation Programme Prospectus last year. (The government will shortly be responding to the subsequent consultation process)

Applying a cloud solution sort of makes sense. For example, one of DECC’s requirements was that the wide area network communications module should be upgradable without the need for the meter to be exchanged. Putting the solution in the cloud overcomes this problem.

The question is, will 50 million smart meter users be happy about their smart meter data and communications being in the cloud? It just enhances the security fears. It’s problematic enough that one company gathers and disseminates all this household energy data across the UK (as DECC proposes) without it having the added perceived vulnerability of being in the cloud.

Cisco extends the corporate wireless network to teleworkers

Cisco has announced OfficeExtend, a new wireless hardware and software solutions designed to extend the corporate wireless network to teleworkers.

The solution includes new access points, a full line of wireless controllers and a dual-band access point specifically designed for home workers. It means that the IT department can remotely manage home access points alongside the corporate infrastructure, incorporating existing control, management and security.

The new solution provides similar support for teleworking as for mobile office workers and is voice- and video-ready. For example, the new Catalyst 6500 Series Wireless Service Module supports up to 500 corporate and teleworking access points and can be scaled to support the increasing number of mobile devices running rich-media applications such as telepresence, voice and virtual desktops.

Ray Smets, vice president and general manager, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco said: “The proliferation of smart mobile devices, the adoption of cloud services, and even government regulation are all changing the concept of workplace, and many employees have both the expectation and need to work from home. The Cisco OfficeExtend solution addresses the need for organisations to provide simple, highly secure wireless access to company resources for teleworkers either at home or in the office."

 

Teleworking is the new frontier for corporate networks and Cisco is making sure it has that part of the market covered. Access to the corporate network is an issue, particularly the security aspect, so anything that makes it easier to manage helps.

Home working is not guaranteed to be a greener alternative to going to the office – it depends on commuting distance, how you travel, the IT equipment used at home, how efficient home heating and lighting systems are, etc, but it can be more energy-efficient overall. Little things can make a difference, though, such as ensuring that the PC power management implemented at work is also applied at home. This is one of the challenges for PC power management software companies. 

Cloud Security Alliance UK launch meeting set for March 24th

The recently-formed UK & Ireland chapter of the Cloud Security Alliance is holding its inaugural meeting this Thursday (March 24th) in London. Membership of the Alliance is free and anyone interested in the cloud computing security is invited to attend the first meeting at Canary Wharf (full details are here).

The Cloud Security Alliance is a non-profit organisation formed in 2008 in the US to promote the use of best practices and provide education around security within cloud computing. The UK organisation describes its objective as: “To provide a programme which allows all stakeholders in cloud services to become engaged in discussion to increase their understanding of the risks in order to allow them to manage those risks to attain benefits from the use of such services".

The UK branch aims to provide a forum for all stakeholders in cloud computing to discuss the management of risks in cloud services. It will expand and disseminate knowledge through research, publications and workshops, as well as award recognised knowledge certification.

In this first meeting the main presentation will be given by Peter Wood, CEO of First-Base Technologies on the topic “The Cloud Security Landscape - an Ethical Hacker’s View”. Members will be able to decide on and get involved in the organisation’s research for 2011 at the meeting.

 

From a green IT perspective there are two main issues with cloud computing. Firstly, is it green? The simple answer is that it depends who’s doing it. Cloud computing can (and should) be more energy efficient given the economies of scale. Large data centres tend to be more efficient and IT services suppliers are generally working to make data centres greener.

Perhaps the bigger question is how widely cloud computing will be adopted. Relying on the cloud to provide all your day-to-day ICT is a risky business – security is a primary concern. Currently views tend to be polarised between those who see cloud computing as the answer to making ICT delivery simpler and cheaper (emissions reduction is not yet a primary driver) and those who see it as a disaster waiting to happen. The issue of security separates the two views.

An organisation like the Cloud Security Alliance should certainly help close the gap between these polarised viewpoints, although whether public clouds will ever be seen as secure enough to be used for business-critical applications remains to be seen. It’s far from being the ultimate answer to green ICT.

Orange Business Services launches an IT energy audit service

Orange Business Services, the B2B services operation of France Telecom/Orange, in partnership with US energy management systems company JouleX, has launched an IT Energy Audit assessment service.

The idea is to help public and private sector organisations assess their energy usage and make savings. The service offers an analysis of the energy consumption of devices, a simulation of savings and the rollout of actions to achieve savings. It’s pretty comprehensive in coverage, the JouleX software can monitor, analyse and manage the energy consumption of all IP network-connected devices, which includes most forms of IT, telecoms equipment, copiers, VoIP phones, lighting systems and HVAC.

The service is designed to save money on equipment and energy use (the company quotes 30-60% savings) with little hardware or software requirement and payback within three to six months.

Jean-Pierre Lemaire, CEO of Orange Consulting said “Sustainability and Green IT have become key targets at a CEO level within the enterprises, and we are now in a position to meet the expectations of not only CIOs, chasing for new levers to reduce the TCO of their IT infrastructure in and beyond their data centres, but also Heads of CSR looking for minimising their company’s energy bill and carbon footprint. JouleX software will be key in that ambition.”

You can’t really call yourself an ICT consultancy these days unless you have some ability to measure and manage ICT emissions (indeed many ICT consultancies wouldn’t confine themselves to just ICT emissions). More often than not the service is based on software from a specialist supplier, which is the case here. Privately-held Joulex has been rapidly making a name for itself in the green IT/energy management market since it was founded in the US in 2009. Orange Business Services is adding the consultancy layer, which will also be a great help to Joulex in cracking the French market.

The service has been launched in France, but expect it to be available internationally soon.

Revised EU WEEE legislation is coming, but collection targets are reduced

We reported earlier in the year that the European Parliament had voted for tougher e-waste rules as part of a revision of the waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) legislation. But it had to go before the European Council for their agreement.

The European Parliament had proposed a 2012 target for Member States to collect 4kg of e-waste per inhabitant (the existing level) or the same weight as in 2010, whichever is greater. But by 2016 the figure would go up to 85% of the e-waste they produce.

The Council disagrees. In its first consideration of the changes on Monday of this week it concluded that member states must
annually collect 45% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on their national markets. This would take effect four years after the law was revised, i.e. in 2016. Four years later the figure would go up to 65%. Some EU states where consumers use fewer electronic devices may have more flexibility in achieving the targets.

The Council also widened the scope of the law to cover, in principle, all electric and electronic equipment six years after the revised law comes into effect. Photovoltaic panels will be included immediately.

The next stage is for the Parliament and Council to negotiate an agreement they can both live with. That should happen later in the year.

 

At least some agreement on new WEEE requirements is now on the cards, although exactly what remains to be seen. The Council is rightly being accused of watering down the proposals, but there is a way to go yet before it’s settled. It seems to me that 65% of e-waste collection by 2016 and 85% by 2020 might work as a compromise.

But there was nothing in the Council’s published decision about policing the requirement for safe disposal of e-waste. The European Parliament supported the original Commission’s proposals for stricter inspections of shipments of e-waste declared as ‘reusable’ and exported.  It held the view that the exporter should carry the burden of proof that goods are reusable. It’s not clear what the European Council’s view is.

Microsoft is moving into energy management in commercial buildings

According to a report in greentechgrid last week, Microsoft is working with partners on ways to offer software and services for managing energy consumption in commercial buildings.

The company is also investigating how building management systems can be enhanced by predictive analysis tools, so that, for instance, air conditioners in buildings could be turned down to compensate for a decline in power from a wind farm.

The greentechgrid report points out that commercial buildings in the US account for 20% of the country’s energy consumption, about the same as used in homes. Microsoft already has a platform – Hohm – for home users to monitor their energy consumption, but adoption appears to be slow, given the current costs and limited benefits. Commercial property, on the other hand, is generally larger and more complex and offers better business opportunities.

 

The article is based on comments from Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s chief environmental strategist. He’s also quoted as saying that "Upwards of 20% of energy can be reduced not by replacing windows, but by deploying technology".

Greentechgrid makes other comments on the fact that home energy management systems have had limited success to date. It’s certainly a difficult market to be in. There will be significant benefits to users, but they’re not going to be available until smart grids are fully implemented. Even then, much will depend on how ‘smart’ the systems are, the extent to which renewable energy results in differential power rates during the day, the need to charge electric vehicles, etc. It’s likely that home energy management will go through a number of iterations and marketing pushes as they are able to take advantage of smart grid implementations. As Microsoft seems to have decided, the commercial market, with often an immediate capability of reducing power use on a larger scale, represents a much better short-term opportunity.

iPhone app to warn of flooding in the UK

The UK has launched a mobile phone application that provides flood warnings. It’s part of the Environment Agency’s strategy of using new technology and social media to protect people from floods.

‘Flood Alert’, developed by Halcrow, a design, engineering and environmental consultancy, uses live data from the Environment Agency to provide real time updates on flood warnings. The application also provides users with information on what they should do to help reduce flood risk - how to flood-proof homes, for example.

When flooding is possible the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service already sends localised warnings by phone, text or fax to almost one million people at risk from flooding who are registered with the service. A total of five million people in England and Wales are at risk from flooding from rivers and the sea.

The application can be downloaded from the Apple ‘App Store’ and is available throughout England and Wales 24 hours a day. Both an Android and Blackberry version will be launched in the next few months.

 

It’s the ‘preventative’ side of green ICT. Global warming will make flooding in the UK more prevalent, particularly along the coasts as sea levels rise, so technology has a big part to play in monitoring, predicting and warning.

UK companies Intergence and Green Energy Options partner to develop an energy monitoring solution

Intergence Systems, an IT optimisation consultancy and Cleantech company, and Green Energy Options (GEO), which designs and manufactures energy monitors and is active in a number of smart metering trials across Europe, have announced a partnership to develop an energy monitoring solution.

The aim of the partnership is to help organisations reduce energy consumption and save money by enabling staff to monitor exactly where and when energy is being consumed in the organisation. The partnership will help make it possible to identify and target inefficiencies at departmental, appliance and individual level and aims to encourage energy efficient behaviour for all employees. Ian Barnes, Head of Green IT at Intergence said: “Our work with GEO will raise awareness of energy consumption in the workplace; everyone will feel they have a stake in reducing the energy bill.”

The partners see the opportunity from the UK’s CRC Energy Efficiency legislation, which comes into full effect in 2012 when the first allowance sales start at a fixed rate of £12/tCO2. “There has never been a more crucial time for organisations to reduce the amount of energy they consume and the carbon they emit,” said Peter Job CEO of Intergence.

Apparently some of the early work from the partnership has already attracted the attention of the UK Government and is being developed to help achieve its recently announced strategy and targets.

 

It’s a timely reminder that it’s little more than a year until the impact of the CRC Energy Efficiency scheme hits home and payments need to be made (assuming that the CRC still exists – there still seems to be some reluctance from the government).

Assuming it does go ahead, the need to purchase allowances will concentrate minds on energy use and carbon emissions and is likely to generate renewed interest in the means to better monitor and effectively manage emissions. Expect more announcements like this one as the emphasis moves from monitoring to management.

A new UK solar charger that works with the iPad

Gloucestershire–based Solar Technology International UK is one of a growing number of companies offering solar chargers for electronic devices. The company’s new FreeLoader Classic claims to have super powerful solar panels collecting 25% more power and the ability to provide charge for the Apple iPad.

 

Solar Technology International designs and manufacturers a range of useful and stylish solar powered devices and the Freeloader Classic is an update of its existing technology. It can charge its internal battery in eight hours, which in turn, can deliver power to an iPod/iPhone for 18 hours, a smart phone for 44 hours, a PSP or DS for 2.5 hours and an iPad for 2 hours.

The device is supplied with nine connectors, including the new ‘standard’ micro USB, as well as a USB socket that provides input for the standard USB cable supplied with many gadgets, including all Apple devices. It also has a built-in LCD panel which provides information on battery level, power input and connectivity. All for a £39.99 retail in the UK.

 

Well it looks good, and I suspect that will be half the battle in getting people to adopt solar technology to charge their devices. It’s also more of an uphill battle in the UK, where the sun doesn’t always shine. But the FreeLoader Classic can also be charged via USB in three hours and the fold-up device is quite small and rugged (described as ‘built to survive the vigors of the road’, by which I assume they mean the rigours of the road) so can be taken anywhere.

New guidance on counting ICT footprint due at the end of the year

New guidance is being developed on how ICT companies and customers should calculate the carbon footprint of ICT products and services.

It’s the result of collaboration between The Carbon Trust (the UK government’s low-carbon agency), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) – the two organisations behind the Greenhouse Protocol Initiative - and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), responsible for the Smart 2020 report. NGOs, government experts and academics will be involved and ICT companies are also being recruited.

The GeSI, which is an ICT industry organisation, is leading the promotion of the initiative to the industry and a number of major ICT companies have apparently already given their support. The guidance, due at the end of the year, is expected to encourage companies to measure, report, and reduce the carbon footprint of their ICT products and services.

The guidance will be published as an ICT Sector Supplement to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Accounting and Reporting Standard, part of the GHG Protocol Initiative, the widely adopted emissions accounting and reporting standard.

Hugh Jones, Managing Director Advisory Services, Carbon Trust, commented, “This is an important project which will provide ICT companies worldwide with a much-needed, consistent and credible way to measure the carbon impact of their products and services.”

 

It’s a move to be welcomed. It’s by no means straightforward, as readers will know from previous blogs. There are various approaches and methodologies by a number of organisations, often with their own agendas. It makes comparisons difficult and that’s one of the main benefits of counting in the first place.

It’s not clear at this stage exactly what will be included in this guidance. One danger is that it might cause some confusion in the market, with existing emissions reduction guidelines or with current product assessments such as that from Energy Star.

What’s different here, though, is that it has a group of heavyweight organisations behind it. Between them they have the skill and experience to come up with a effective guidance, the ICT industry tie-in to give it credibility in the industry and the GHG Protocol’s existing user base to help ensures the guidance will reach a wide audience.

BT has introduced a climate change procurement requirement for all its suppliers

BT has announced the introduction of a climate change procurement requirement that will apply to all its suppliers. The idea is to encourage companies to reduce carbon during the production, delivery, use and disposal of products and services supplied to BT.

BT now expects all contracted suppliers to:

• Have a policy in place to address the challenge of climate change;

• Actively measure and report carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions;

• Set targets to reduce emissions and to report on progress.

Suppliers will be asked to complete a questionnaire to find out what actions they are currently taking and how they could be improved. The emphasis on improvements can be reinforced by specific requirements built in to procurement awards, such as achieving a set emissions reduction target. Suppliers are expected to drive similar programmes in their own supply chains.

To prepare for the introduction, BT, together with the Carbon Trust (the UK government’s low-carbon agency which recently had its funding cut by 40%), has been holding workshops with suppliers to help them with their carbon reduction policies.

The procurement requirement is part of BT’s ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions. I went to an update of progress last year, which listed the following among the company’s achievements to date:

• A reduction in the carbon intensity of BT's global business by 54% compared to 1997;

• Fleet mileage reduced by 15% and associated CO2 emissions by 12% in the year;

• Cutting over 33 million kilometres and 6,700 tonnes of CO2 from company car travel;

• A cut in waste sent to landfill by 15% compared with 2009 and a 44% recycling rate of total global waste generated by the company.
  

BT has a target of reducing energy use across the organisation by 3% (net) in its 2010/11 financial year. One of the long-term emissions goals is to reduce UK carbon emissions by 80% from 1997 levels by 2016.

 

BT is certainly doing its bit in reducing emissions and having been to a couple of their progress updates it’s clear that the company is putting a lot of time and effort into its actions. It’s all led by Chris Tuppen is BT’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Tuppen has had high-level involvement with the Global Reporting Initiative’ (GRI), the Global e-Sustainability (GeSI) and the European Telecommunication Network Operators Association’s environmental working group and he was also a co-editor of the SMART 2020 report.

The make or break of this new procurement initiative will be the level of support that BT provides to suppliers, particularly the smaller ones. While the programme is aimed at ‘encouraging’ suppliers, specific requirements and targets will be built into contract awards. It could create a negative reaction to what BT is trying to achieve unless the company also provides sufficient support and encouragement.

On the other hand, emissions have to be tackled up and down the supply chain and, realistically, it has to start with large companies applying pressure. BT has taken the initiative and is providing support to suppliers.

Pike Research forecasts 240 million smart meters deployed in Europe by 2020

Pike Research has released a report, entitled ‘Smart Grids in Europe’, that predicts investment in smart grid technologies in Europe will total $80.3bn between 2010 and 2020. Investment will reach a peak of $9.8bn in 2017, falling back to $9.1bn by 2020. By the end of the period almost 240 million smart meters will have been installed.

Smart grids will be an essential element in realising Europe’s low-carbon targets, says the report. Eric Woods, senior analyst at Pike, points out that there are different priorities for smart grids in Europe; “In particular, carbon reduction programs and energy efficiency are seen as primary drivers for smart grid and smart meter deployments. A program is taking shape that will take the use of smart grid technologies to another level over the next five to 10 years, linking them closely with the achievements of Europe’s 2020 goals.”

The EU’s target is a 20% reduction in GHG emission, 20% of energy provided by renewable sources and 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020, a plan enshrined in a range of national targets, laws, and regulatory orders. Smart grids are seen as an important low-carbon enabler, an essential part of the ultimate plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% (from 1990 levels) by 2050.

While smart meters are attracting most of the attention at the moment, transmission system upgrades will be the largest portion of investment between now and 2020, 37% of the total.  Smart meters will be the next largest application category, followed by distribution automation and substation automation.

 

More details of the report and its coverage – trends, forecasts, players, etc - plus a free executive summary are available on Pike Research’s web site.

 

Well there’s lots to talk about in the smart grid market in Europe, although it will be difficult to draw a line under what is included in the revenues. The basic grid and meter infrastructure requirements can be defined (although the technologies employed can vary significantly between implementations), but there is a huge tail of hardware and software that can, and will, be added over time to make smart grids more effective and enhance user benefits.

For example, home energy management systems will become closely integrated with smart meter technology and devices (arguably smart grids will not reach their full potential until they are). Similarly, the applications and solutions that utilities will look to deploy to maximise the smart grid functionality will continue to grow for many years as the smart grids, and their capabilities, expand.

Oracle has acquired Ndevr’s GHG accounting software

Oracle has announced the acquisition of parts of Ndevr’s software business, adding environmental reporting and business intelligence (BI) capabilities to Oracle's ERP Solutions.

Ndevr is an Australian company that began life in 1998 as a JD Edwards specialist. It has been providing greenhouse gas (GHG) and environmental solutions for Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and Oracle E-Business Suite customers since 2008 and has been a certified partner for a lot longer.

The combined solution is expected to provide Oracle’s customers with the ability to track emissions and other environmental data against targets and produce a variety of reporting formats. The acquisition is part of Oracle’s on-going move into the area of sustainability.

 

Frankly I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of these sorts of acquisitions in the last year or two as the enterprise software companies take sustainability requirements on board. Ndevr products are ideal because of their existing integration with Oracle’s solutions, but it’s likely that other, more specialised environmental management software companies become targets as the market becomes more sophisticated.

Reducing dependency on fossil fuels gets a new focus as the draft Carbon Plan is published by the UK Government

According to the papers in the UK over last weekend, the government is looking harder at the need to reduce Britain’s dependence on oil, given potential oil price rises as the result of the unrest in Libya.

The Guardian said that government departments will be obliged to revisit their plans to reduce the need for oil so that the government can give a coordinated lead to the country as a whole in moving to renewable energy sources. Ministers will be assessed on environmental targets and environmental pressure groups, such as Greenpeace, will help assess departments.

It means, for example, that recent proposals to increase the speed limit on UK roads will be abandoned while the need for an electric car infrastructure will be pushed forward.

There was a great quote from John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, who pointed out that only some in government appeared to understand the need to break free from oil; "Sadly, over at transport, Philip Hammond (Secretary of State for Transport) is still confused. Cuts to public transport, coupled with his recent proposals to raise the speed limit, appear designed to reduce fuel efficiency and increase our dependence on oil. Huhne (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) really needs to drag Hammond away from Top Gear and force him to spend some time watching the news".

So now there is a renewed focus on the Carbon Plan, the draft of which has just been released this morning. It’s the Government’s plan of action on climate change, which sets out actions and deadlines, department by department, for the next five years, as well as spelling out international activities. The draft plan is here, together with a summary of the actions in an Excel spreadsheet. The final version of the Plan will be published in the autumn and updated annually.

 

At least the Government now seems to be taking the issue of climate change and oil dependency more seriously. It was only a week or so ago that I complained about the lack of clear targets for government departments and any reference to the part that technology can play.

Unfortunately, the Carbon Plan doesn’t add much on the use of technology. The only references to ICT I can find are about procurement of greener products and the fact that ICT allows people to work from home. And the word ‘technology’ does not appear in the Action Summary at all.

The Government needs to accept that only ICT can deliver the efficiency gains that will help the UK achieve a low-carbon economy. Unfortunately, large-scale IT project failures over the years have had the result that Green ICT only has a minor role to play in government plans.

Seamless Sensing announces smart grid-integrated home monitoring and control solutions

At the Ecobuild event for sustainable design and construction, which took place in London last week, UK company Seamless Sensing announced new wireless real-time energy monitoring and control technology for smart grids.

The wireless products have been developed for integration with smart grid networks and are apparently the only ones designed specifically for homes as well as other buildings. The company launched seven EnOcean Wireless Smart Sensing Modules, including indoor solar powered temperature sensors, energy meter pulse monitors and a weather station that tracks the efficiency of renewable energy.

The EnOcean wireless solutions draw power from their surroundings, i.e. from motion, light or temperature differences, so are fully independent. The energy produced is sufficient to transmit a wireless signal, for instance, to turn on a light. This not only saves installation costs, but also means no cabling is required.

The system controls home electronics through ‘smart plugs’, which are placed between the electrical outlet and the device or system being controlled. These plugs act in direct response to commands, such as on/off requests, from a smart grid through the smart meter which is controlled through the internet or the smart meter’s user interface.

The company’s GPRS gateway can support hundreds of wireless sensor modules and provides a two-way transfer of data and communication with the Seamless Sensing web-based platform.

 

Dr Edward Mellor, founder and chief executive of Seamless Sensing, said: “The EnOcean Wireless Smart Sensing Modules can be easily connected to equipment, appliances and systems. The data each module collects is then transferred in real-time to a cloud-based platform, allowing people to monitor and set up automatic controls of the energy they use.”

Seamless Sensing is a member of the EnOcean Alliance, a consortium of companies that have come together to develop and promote self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings by agreeing on interoperable wireless standard.

 

The home energy management market is increasingly becoming a green ICT focus, one of the direct outcomes of smart grid implementations.

One result is that we will have the ability to control the devices in our homes remotely through our smart phones. The extent to which we will, and what technology and products we use (and from whom) remains to be seen, but ease of installation will be a big factor.

The Green Grid introduces the Data Centre Maturity Model

In 2010, the Green Grid identified the need for a comprehensive model of what could and should be done in the data centre to improve overall energy efficiency and sustainability. As a result it has developed the Data Center Maturity Model (DCMM) and has released a paper to clarify and support the use of the model.

The DCMM covers all the main areas of the data centre, including power, cooling, computing, storage and the network, and provides descriptions of levels of maturity within each area so that operators can benchmark their current performance against the model. It also identifies the steps to take to achieve the next level of energy efficiency and sustainability.

The levels of the model reflect both current best practices
and a five-year roadmap for the industry. The initial levels (0 to 2) chart the progress of a data centre, be it underperforming or state-of-the-art. Levels 3 to 5 represent future capabilities toward which the industry should collectively move. An optimistic timetable for achieving Level 5 maturity is five years.

 

The expectation is that state-of-the-art data centres
(green line) will progress from Level 2 today to Level 5 by 2016, typical data centres (amber line) will move to Level 3, and underperforming data centres (red line) will lag at Level 2. The Green Grid is encouraging organisations to move through the levels of the maturity model as soon as feasibly possible, taking into account business and site constraints.

Companies assess their own data centre efficiency, mapping progress with the Data Centre Maturity Model Equaliser across the various aspects of the model.  Addressing the different aspects enables managers to understand the relative progress, the best opportunities for improvement and where resources should be focused. 

 

 

It sounds like a useful and well thought out model, providing the means to break down the level of maturity in some detail whilst also setting sites on what data centres should be able to achieve in five years time.

The potential problem is that it might be seen as just another set of rules to beat data centre managers with.  But The Green Grid emphasises that this is a maturity model, something with which to map progress, so does not conflict with more prescriptive programmes such as the EU Code of Conduct for data centres.  We shall see.

Australia joins the carbon tax club - and the queue for carbon emissions management software

Last week the Australian government announced a plan to introduce a carbon tax. It was proposed by the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee (MPCCC) and agreed by the Government and Greens members of the Committee. (Australia has a coalition government, with the Labor party supported by Greens and Independents who broadly support climate change legislation).

The bottom line is that there will be a carbon tax which will commence on July 1st 2012 aimed at the stationary energy sector, the transport sector, industrial processes sector, fugitive emissions (i.e. leaks) and emissions from non-legacy waste.

Initially set at a fixed price (yet to be announced) which will increase every year (again, no details), after 3-5 years the scheme will convert to a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme. The start of the trading phase will depend on a number of factors, including the state of the international carbon market and the adoption of carbon pricing in other economies.

During the fixed price phase, international offsets will not be allowed to be used for compliance, but when the price becomes flexible offsets ‘meeting appropriate criteria concerning their quality’ will be possible.

One of the principles of tax is that it will be budget neutral, although how that will work has not been specified. Nor is it clear whether there will be any incentives or rewards for the adoption of low emissions technologies, something that was included in the UK’s CRC Energy Efficiency scheme.

Of course it’s all subject to being passed by both houses of Parliament this year, difficult enough for a coalition government even without the very vocal opposition in place in Australia

 

There’s a way to go yet and lots of details to fill in, but it does represent another potential brick in the international carbon containment wall. (Pseuds Corner?)

The implementation of another national scheme increases pressure on businesses, in Australia and internationally, to get their houses in order. In the case of Australia, in the first instance (as with the UK) it’s likely to drive the growth of carbon emissions management software (CEMS) solutions.

Hopefully Australian businesses will look further ahead than those in the UK and seek out longer term solutions, rather than short term fixes to satisfy the legislation. The market has, in any case, moved on and products increasingly cover energy and water as well as carbon, which may be particularly appropriate for the Australian market.

Either way, Australia will add to the CEMS market focus for the next couple of years.

Bluesky maps property heat loss to help address energy efficiency and reduce emissions

UK-based aerial mapping company Bluesky has been awarded a number of contracts by UK Local Authorities to map heat loss from properties using thermal imaging technology. The company produces thermal maps that Councils can use to address fuel poverty, improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The areas being surveyed by Bluesky include Leeds, North Lincolnshire, East Lindsey, Bassetlaw and Breckland.

The latest thermal surveys will use cameras with a navigation and positioning system together with improved sensor control and user interface so that heat loss from property roofs to be recorded with higher precision and more consistent results than was previously possible. The thermal maps will be supplied ready for use in the Councils’ Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and web mapping services. In the case of Bassetlaw, the thermal data will be used to support the Council’s intentions to reduce CO2 in the area and educate the public on energy efficiency.

Rachel Tidmarsh, Managing Director of Bluesky International, commented that “Local authorities in particular are trying to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and the accurate heat loss maps created from the thermal surveys enable better targeted and more effective energy efficiency campaigns.”

It’s not the only area in which Bluesky is helping with energy efficiency. The company is also rolling out nationwide coverage of its Solar Suitability Map. Using thermal imaging the company can map the potential for solar panels on roofs and identify the most appropriate locations. The solar maps calculate the usable roof space of each property, discarding features such as dormer windows, large skylights and chimneys.

 

A huge amount of energy is lost through the poor insulation of houses, so the easier and more accurate it is to identify houses for improvement the more easily the issue can be addressed. The ability to map information more accurately and even integrate with GIS and other systems makes the data even more useable.

The same is true of solar panels. The use of solar panels is becoming more cost-effective, to the extent that the location of a house, and the suitability for panels, will become an issue in the future. House prices may depend on it.

With the UK’s fickle climate, there is a lot of emphasis on making homes as fuel-efficient as possible - green IT can help.