Intel and KT Corp to jointly develop high temperature data centre technology

According to the Korea Times, Intel and Korean telecom company KT Corp have agreed to jointly develop energy-efficient technology to reduce power consumption in data centres. The technology is based on operating data centres at above 30 degrees Celsius, saving the electricity costs needed to maintain the temperature between the usual 18-22 degree range.

The agreement has been prompted by a rise in electricity costs and growing data centre usage. In particular, a recent heatwave in Korea has meant that using air conditioners to maintain temperatures in overheating data centres has been posing serious problems for a country trying to conserve energy.

If the system works as planned, internal data centre temperatures can be set higher than 22 degrees without any problems. The companies maintain that for every degree that the temperature can be raised air conditioning costs can be reduced by about 7%.

The two companies will operate a high-temperature test centre before adapting the technology at KT's data centre. The plan is to apply the technology in one of KT’s internet data centres by the end of 2013

 

Review: While most data centres still keep the heat down to 21-22 degrees, there’s already a lot of work going on to increase working temperatures. There are servers certified to work at higher temperatures and building technology organisation ASHRAE has come up with a set of temperature standards for equipment to make it easier for data centre managers to use them. ASHRAE has a classification for servers that can run at temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius.

It’s not clear what the Intel/KT collaboration will bring to the party. Hopefully a more holistic data centre approach - it will be interesting to see what develops. Certainly KT is looking for real solutions and Intel seems like a good partner, given that much of the data centre heat emanates from the processors themselves.

What’s also interesting is that the move is the result of the recent hot weather in Korea. Climate change can be seen as the driver, creating additional costs that need to be addressed.

Europe and Australia agree to fully link their emissions trading schemes by July 2018

Greg Combet MP, the Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, and Connie Hedegaard, the European Commissioner for Climate Action, have announced that Australia and Europe will be linking their emissions trading systems.

The plan is for a full two-way link between the two cap and trade systems to start no later than 1 July 2018. It means that businesses will be allowed to use carbon units from the Australian emissions trading scheme or the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for compliance under either system.

Connie Hedegaard said “The European Union is the first regional emissions trading system and spans the largest part of the European continent. We now look forward to the first full inter-continental linking of emission trading systems”.

To make it work the Australian Government needs to make a couple of changes to its legislation, so an interim link will be established whereby Australian businesses will be able to use EU allowances to help meet liabilities under the Australian emissions trading scheme from 1 July 2015. There’s more detail in the press announcement.

 

Review: Only another five continents (at most, depending on what you count) to go before we have something like a global emissions reduction mechanism in place for business. This sort of international agreement will certainly help to put pressure on other nations/regions to implement or take part in emissions reduction schemes. Let’s hope it becomes a reality, although with the resistance to carbon legislation in Australian it’s by no means certain.

Any eventual agreement would also give a boost to carbon management and trading software solutions, both through greater awareness of the available solutions and from the additional functionality needed to manage, report and trade carbon between the two continents.

Fujitsu has developed a system to recycle CDs and DVDs to make Notebook PCs

Fujitsu has announced what it says is the first recycling system that collects used CDs and DVDs and reuses the plastic in the bodies of notebook PCs. The recycled plastic is already being used for part of the front panel of its Lifebook P772/E notebook. Fujitsu has the recycling centres already in place, while Fujitsu Labs provided the expertise to turn the CDs and DVDs into new components.

Generally it’s difficult to reuse recovered plastic because of the need for a uniform mixture with the desired properties. Add to that potential contaminants and the need to comply with the European Restriction on Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) and REACH regulations on chemical substances.

Fujitsu’s answer was to use CDs and DVDs which are made from polycarbonate and can be used in the bodies of notebook PCs. Also, they don’t include any contaminants, such as flame retardants, so were deemed suitable for recycling. In addition, the company employs Fujitsu Laboratories risk management database of the chemical substances included in plastic materials to verify whether or not the collected CD and DVD fragments contain harmful substances.

The system is expected to reduce the amount of newly produced plastic by 10 tons per year while cutting CO₂ emissions by around 15%. In the future Fujitsu plans to expand the process to support a wider variety of recycled materials in addition to CDs and DVDs and to employ these plastics in other products.

 

Review:  Fujitsu should be congratulated for putting the effort into coming up with a process that enables plastic to be reused in this way. Someone has to make the investment from which, no doubt, other manufacturers will ultimately benefit. 

But perhaps the real message here is about the ability to effectively recycle products. Fujitsu points out that as part of its quality control process the company has long followed the practices of designing products to be easily disassembled and labelling the types of plastic used to enable easy identification. If all manufacturers did the same then the process of reusing materials would become significantly easier and cheaper.

A list of green technology/business events in the UK/Europe, autumn 2012

We will shortly be entering the conference/exhibition season in the UK and Europe, so below are a list of the events I’m aware of that might be of interest to those involved in low-carbon and sustainable technology and business:

 

- The Energy Event claims to be the largest UK event of its kind to offer insight into energy purchasing, management and efficiency. The exhibition and conference is aimed at ‘professionals who are looking to get a grip on their company's energy use, comply with legislation and put in place sustainable energy efficiency and procurement solutions’. It’s on at the NEC in Birmingham on September 11-12.

- ITU Green Standards Week is designed to raise awareness of the importance and opportunities of using ICT standards to build a green economy. It will bring together leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others. It takes place at Microsoft’s Paris HQ from September 17-21. Participation is free of charge and open to all.

- Green ICT: Smart and Efficient Computing for Sustainable Business from the Institution of Technology and Engineering (IET). Will ‘bring together researchers, designers, developers and practitioners interested and involved in reducing the environmental impact of ICT systems’. The seminar takes place on October 9 in London - £250 for members and £300 for non-members if you book now.

- Metering/Billing CRM Europe doesn’t need much explanation, but the shift to smart energy means that this exhibition/conference will be joined with Transmission & Distribution/Smart Grids Europe and Smart Homes. It all takes place at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam from October 9-11. Exhibition registration is from €295 and the conference from €1,000, depending on which event(s) you want to attend.

- The Carbon Show is organised in partnership with the Carbon Trust and the ENDS Report and is for sustainability professionals from industry, government, energy and finance who are working to increase energy efficiency and meet UK and European emissions targets. The exhibition is free, with seminars costing from £125 for a half day (early booking). It takes place on October 23 at the Business Design Centre in London.

- The BusinessGreen Smart Business Summit will ‘provide you with unique insights into the latest emerging smart and clean technologies’ and ‘Explore how the convergence of renewable energy, green building and electric vehicle technologies will change the way we all do business over the next decade’. October 23 at the Millenium Hotel in London (the same day as The Carbon Show – see above). It’s free for senior sustainability executives from FTSE350 companies and other large organisations only, with a limited number of ‘networking’ tickets available for £249.

- ICT for Sustainability (The Green IT Expo as was. Is the Green Party going to change its name to the Sustainability Party? I think not). Exhibition and seminars that aim to help senior executives to understand, evaluate and implement the latest ICT solutions to support strategic sustainability objectives. It’s on Tuesday 13th November at the QEII Centre in London and registration is free.

- The Sustainable Leaders Forum is for ‘forward-thinking professionals who want to collaborate, challenge the status quo and drive progressive change across their organisation and supply chain’. It’s at the CBI Conference Centre in London on December 5th. Early booking is £474, cheaper for the public sector and not-for-profit organisations.

 

Review: That’s what I have to hand. I’ll update the list as and when I find out about more events.

The more consumers know about smart meters the more they want one - DECC survey

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has released research into UK attitudes to smart grids. One of the major findings is that the more respondents felt they knew about smart meters the more likely they were to support the UK’s roll-out of the devices and to want one themselves. Britain’s smart meter installation programme aims to ensure smart meters are in all homes by 2019.

The research is to understand consumer awareness, understanding of and attitudes towards domestic smart meters and to see how these are changing over time. There will be three face-to-face surveys in homes across the country, the first was in April 2012 with further surveys in October 2012 and April 2013. This first phase reflected the views of nearly 2,400 energy bill payers.

Responses included:

• Half of energy bill-payers had heard of smart meters (49%), with 5% claiming that they have one installed.

• A third (32%) supported smart meter installation, while 20% opposed the plan. But it leaves almost half undecided.

• Four in ten (42%) of those without a smart meter in their home were interested in having one installed. Younger and larger households expressing greater support and interest.

• Smart grid benefits were seen as being better able to manage household finances (33%), to avoid wasted energy (26%) and produce a greater accuracy of billing (19%). Disadvantages included direct or indirect cost (19%) and data security (10%).

There’s more about customers’ experiences with smart meters, attitudes to in-home displays (IHDs) and the need for more information in the survey results, which are available here.

 

 

Review: Mark England, CEO of smart grid/meter company Sentec, commented on the research:

The research DECC has published today is very much in line with their decision to put the consumer at the heart of the smart meter rollout. The UK has genuinely learnt from the large consumer backlash experienced in the US market that early customer engagement is key to success. The advantage of the UK’s unique supplier-led rollout is that it’s in their interest to educate customers about the energy and money-saving benefits of smart meters to encourage participation and retain their customers. The report has found that the more respondents felt they knew about smart meters, the more likely they were to support the rollout, highlighting once again that if the rollout is to be a success, it is imperative that it remains consumer-focused and that any confusion/ lack of knowledge is avoided.

I agree very much with his sentiment, but would put it more strongly.

The report points out that while 5% claimed to have smart meters installed that can’t actually be true yet. Clearly some respondents didn’t understand what a smart meter is even after it was explained. And we are increasingly seeing reports in the UK press of the negative views of smart meters in some other countries.

So I would look to DECC to step up the efforts to educate and inform consumers. It seems to me that in the long run (particularly when we have smart grids in place) smart meters can only be a good thing. But we’ve seen enough examples of government’s encroaching on personal freedoms to know that smart meters may suffer from a backlash.

The subsequent waves of the survey should at least show any shift in attitude.

© The Green IT Review (www.thegreenitreview.com)

UK manufacturers are reversing the trend towards globalisation in the light of the threat from natural disasters

The EEF, ‘The Manufacturers’ Organisation’ (previously known as the Engineering Employers' Federation) has released the results of a UK survey that found that companies are now very alive to future threats to supply chain management, with one third of companies viewing it as an issue of Board level attention.

The trend in recent year towards globalisation of supply chains (which has been a significant IT market driver) has brought with it the potential for disruption. Companies that responded to the survey reported that a range of local, international and economic disruptions to their supply chains have had tangible impacts on revenue, orders and meeting customer requirements.

This has led manufacturers to assess where potential vulnerabilities might lie and to take steps to shore up the resilience of their supply chain. Consequently, two fifths of companies are bringing production back in-house, whilst a quarter have increased their use of local suppliers.

Additional findings from the survey show:

• The average manufacturer has 190 suppliers and 20% said that half are located outside the UK. A quarter have increased their use of overseas suppliers in the past two years.

• Actions to improve supply chain resilience have included better inventory management, increasing collaboration and planning with suppliers and investment in IT to improve supplier management.

• One third of companies see supply chain management as a business critical issue worthy of board level attention whilst 60% of companies monitor their immediate suppliers.

• But, despite the potential risks, the survey showed that only 11% of companies monitor their entire supply chains and 16% of companies do not monitor their suppliers at all.

 

Review: The number of companies bringing production back in-house is an eye-opener and seems at odds with well publicised economic data for the UK. Also, while a quarter have increased their use of local suppliers, a quarter of manufacturers have also, apparently, seen an increase in the use of suppliers outside the UK in the past two years. So it’s not completely clear what this survey is saying. It will be interesting to see if this shortening of supply chains is confirmed by other sources.

Nevertheless, you would expect this to be the long-term trend. Supply chains are long and stretch globally, making them vulnerable to the disruption from the extreme weather events around the world that climate change brings. It’s too much of a risk to business to ignore. (Although it does appear that companies are only addressing part of the supply chain and could well get caught out by consequential disruption elsewhere).

The ironic aspect is that the IT sector has done well from the globalisation of business over the years and now looks like it may also benefit from a reverse trend. Bringing manufacturing back onshore and putting in place plans to minimise the risks to the remaining international supply chain will need IT input. So ensuring against the impact of climate change requires using more of the stuff that helps cause it …..

© The Green IT Review (www.thegreenitreview.com)

New EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation has come into force

I reported back in January that the European Parliament and Council had thrashed out an agreement on updating the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) legislation. Well the new and more stringent rules came into force on August 13. Member States now have until February 14 2014 to include the new rules into their national e-waste laws.

Under the new agreement the current national WEEE collection rates of 4Kg per person will remain for four years. For the following three years collection rates will be assessed at 45% of the weight of equipment entering the market. After that (2019), member states can chose a collection target of either 65% of the weight of equipment entering the market or 85% of the weight of waste equipment.

There is also the possibility that from 2018 the rules will be extended to all electronic waste. The excuse that a lot of equipment is too hard to recycle has kept a significant amount out of the legislation, but the EU is looking to extend the coverage.

 

Review: It’s been a tortuous process getting to this point. Initially the European Parliament wanted national collection targets to be 85% of e-waste produced by 2016. The European Council effectively watered down the proposal by pushing it back to 2019 and now countries can choose to use the European Council’s preferred target of 65% of the weight of equipment placed on the market.

But it is a significant improvement – the EU anticipates five times more e-waste will be collected. It also gives national government’s new powers to make responsible e-waste disposal easier as well as increasing penalties for illegal exporting of waste. The latter point, in particular, has been seen as undermining much of the WEEE legislation.

The GRI is looking for feedback on its draft guidance for greenhouse gas reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is asking the public to comment on the next generation of its Sustainability Reporting Guidelines – G4. The GHG Emissions Working Group has proposed new content for G4 that more closely aligns GRI’s guidance with the GHG Protocol standards, jointly released by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the ISO 14064 standard produced by the International Standards Organisation.

As the GRI points out, GHG accounting and reporting is a fast-moving area, with increasing regulatory requirements. Public interest is growing rapidly and demands for information about companies’ emissions will continue to increase, hence the need for feedback.

A draft of G4 is now available and as part of the development process an additional 90-day Public Comment Period is now open for organisations and individuals to share their views and help shape reporting. The comment period is open until 12 November - for more information and to download the consultation documents, visit the GRI website.

 

The more the standards for emissions calculation and reporting are aligned the more likely they are to be adopted, so the closer the GRI standard and the GHG Protocol methodology the better. But it also needs to fit with the demand of users, in terms of content and presentation, so if you have any views, let them know.

CO2High has launched an online IT carbon footprint service

A new UK company is offering an automated service that it claims will accurately measure a company’s IT carbon footprint and provide recommendations on where savings can be made.

CO₂High offers the software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution over the web. It automatically identifies IT assets and applies its database of IT energy use information to come up with the carbon footprint total.

The software can provide analysis for each type of device in a network, identify priority items, compare with industry norms and recommend actions.

There’s a free evaluation of the SaaS service available (limited to 30 days and 50 devices). The full service cost depends on the size of an IT estate. There’s also a Metered Footprint+ service coming soon which will measure usage characteristics at the device level.

 

It sounds an interesting service, but I guess you need to try it to see. The company says it aims to have error margins of less than 2% for power consumption, which sounds pretty good. The other question is how effective are the recommendations for savings and hence the potential return on investment? Some indication might help justify the base ‘launch special’ subscription of £2,000 + £0.69 per device, at least for smaller companies. Maybe that’s not the target market.

Mandatory carbon reporting could boost cloud computing

Last week I mentioned that the UK Government has published a draft of the GHG reporting regulations due to come into force next year. The basic requirement is that all UK quoted companies report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which will certainly stimulate the carbon management software market, but what about the impact on broader IT services?

We’ve been round this loop before with the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, which caught the IT industry off-guard. The problem with the CRC scheme was that it penalised heavy energy users, both financially and in PR terms, through the ranking of performance of the 3,000 companies covered by the scheme. There was no allowance made for IT services supplies handling the IT of their customers.

Changes by the coalition government have effectively turned the CRC into a carbon tax, reducing some of the sting for IT companies. By contrast, mandatory carbon reporting could work in the industry’s favour.

The reason is that the regulations are expected to only cover Scope 1 (directly generated emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from electricity use), not other indirect emissions (Scope 3), which include outsourced activities. So any emissions from off-site IT services or third party data centres are not included.

It means that companies that choose to use outside suppliers to help run their IT could reduce their reported GHG emissions at a stroke. And since mandatory emissions reporting will inevitably fuel comparisons between corporations, those with outsourced IT may well look greener to shareholders and customers. It could provide a significant boost to the take-up of cloud computing in the coming years as well as IT outsourcing, Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) and other IT services.

Of course the IT suppliers will have to account for the additional emissions they generate in taking on the IT workload of their clients, but only if the supplier is listed on the London stock exchange. Even then, the emissions performance of outsourcers will primarily be compared with their peers, which should increase the competition to make services more energy efficient. IT services companies have already been vying to be seen as the greenest through greater data centre efficiency (in terms of Power Usage Efficiency – PUE – ratings) and also in their purchase of green energy.

As it is, the larger IT services suppliers generally (but not always)have more efficient data centres than most in-house facilities. Some have made their own comparisons of cloud computing versus in-house applications. Microsoft found that, for large deployments, its cloud solutions can reduce energy use and carbon emissions by more than 30%. For small deployments the figure is over 90%. Google has calculated that a typical organisation can achieve energy savings of 65-85% by migrating to Google Apps as a whole – documents, spreadsheets, email and other applications. It will clearly be an attractive proposition for companies looking to reduce the level of GHG emissions they need to report.

Cloud computing and outsourcing could benefit even more if the regulations are extended, which is more likely than not. The Government will review the first two years of mandatory reporting in 2015 and then take a decision in 2016 on whether to extend the coverage to all large companies. It’s not clear what the definition of ‘large’ is, but it’s going to be a much broader group than the listed company sector currently proposed.

This is a sponsored post, but, as always, the words and thoughts are mine.

United Nations data centre monitoring methodology based on Power Assure technology

Data centre energy management software company Power Assure has announced that its technology is the foundation of a new United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) baseline and monitoring methodology, AM0105: ‘Energy efficiency in data centres through dynamic power management.’ The methodology is based on elements of the proposal from Power Assure and Carbonomics, a carbon offset and trading company.

The aim of the UN methodology is to help data centre managers realise potential energy savings and carbon reduction. It’s particularly aimed at developing countries where carbon emission reduction credits can be sold to buyers in industrialised countries that have reduction targets to meet. Trading of these emission credits, under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), is now a multi-billion dollar market.

The financial incentives can help move data centres from an ‘always-on’ model to an ‘always-available’ model. Rather than having all data centre IT equipment and cooling systems on all the time, whatever the need, only equipment needed to support current applications are running at any one time.

Power Assure quotes a Gartner study that says that the number of data centres in developing countries is increasing faster than the rest of the world. This new methodology provides a mechanism for these data centres to monetise efficiency improvements, getting CERs (Certified Emission Reductions) that have an image value, as well as monetary value in the international carbon markets.

 

I’m not a great fan of carbon offsets, but carbon trading, in some form, is inevitable, if only as the result of legislation. In any case, with IT an essential tool in making business more carbon efficient, IT energy use is inevitably going to increase if we are to reach overall reduction targets, so offsets/credits pretty much have to be an element. The Power Assure’s contribution is helping the UN to regularise and support this carbon credits trade.

Draft UK carbon emissions reporting regulations published

The UK Government announced in June that it will introduce a regulation requiring reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by UK quoted companies from 2013.

Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has now published a draft of the GHG reporting regulations for consultation. It gives more information on what companies will need to disclose in their reports.

Greenstone Carbon Management, which provides carbon management software, has produced a summary of what it sees as the important points in the draft regulations:

• While the regulation is due to come into effect from April 6 2013, the consultation includes the possibility of moving the start date to coincide with the expected new regulations on corporate reporting from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, expected to come into force from October 2013.

• Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect, e.g. electricity) greenhouse gas emissions will be included, but not other indirect emissions (Scope 3) such as business travel and outsourced activities.

• The methodology used to calculate the CO₂ emissions must be included in the report. Companies can use calculations from other reporting schemes, such as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme or the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, but must say so in the report.

• Some form of intensity ratio must be included, i.e. a figure that expresses emissions in relation to a quantifiable factor that reflects business activity, such as carbon emissions per employee or per £m turnover.

• There will be a five year review period for the legislation, but the Government will also review the first two years of reporting in 2015 and then take a further decision in 2016 on whether to extend the coverage to all large companies

 

There are some aspects worth discussing here. For example, it would be better to have some Scope 3 emissions included initially, particularly business travel, which could uncover some wasteful practices and perhaps dampen demand for air travel. And while carbon intensity should not be the overall benchmark – we need to make absolute reductions in emissions – it will at least allow for comparisons between companies and exert some competitive pressure. You can give your views (until October 17th) via the Defra website. 

Whatever the detail, it does open up additional opportunities for suppliers of carbon management software solutions. Greenstone, for example, has developed a programme to support affected companies, including an initial Readiness Assessment and a fixed cost outsourced carbon reporting service. It won’t be the only supplier gearing up for the opportunities.

Energy management can impact brands, but technology is not helping

Deloitte has released its ‘reSources 2012 Study - Insights into Corporate Energy Management Trends’. This is the second year of the research, which looks at the attitudes and practices that US companies have towards energy management.

It makes interesting reading – the full report is available here – but here’s some of the highlights:

• Energy management activities at US companies have increased since last year’s study. In all, 90% of companies have electricity and energy management goals and 90% are targeting electricity consumption and cost reductions.

• Energy management is seen as essential to staying competitive. For example, over 60% report that their customers are demanding that they offer more environmentally considerate solutions and three-quarters actively promote their efforts to their customers.

• Over 70% indicate that their companies are or will be recognising the cost of carbon as an important long-term balance sheet item, although 80% say that it’s very difficult to measure with any confidence, up from 71% in the 2011 Study.

• Last year’s study showed that, on average, companies were working to reduce their energy consumption by 25% over a three-to-five-year period, but were less than one-third of the way to achieving those goals. The latest study found that they have achieved closer to 60% of their targeted reduction levels.

• In all, 80% of companies report that they have become  more sophisticated in managing their electricity costs, but there is recognition that further progress will be  difficult as they harvest the ‘low hanging fruit’. Capital funding is the main barrier, followed by length of payback period. Also, 60% agree that smart technology is not effective for their own circumstances and an equal number agree that current technology is not up to the job.

• Only about half the companies are regularly measuring and verifying their progress toward goals. Some of the difficulty can be attributed to the IT systems they have in place. Around 70% are currently using a spreadsheet, while just 20% have implemented more sophisticated software solutions. Of those that have software systems, only 41% say that what they are using meets their needs extremely or very well.

 

So, in short, corporate energy management in the US is becoming more important all round, with carbon taking on a significance in its own right. Progress has been accelerating towards achieving energy reduction goals, but it’s now getting more difficult as companies run out of low-hanging fruit. As payback gets longer, so projects are failing to meet corporate ROI requirements for investment.

It reads like the scenario that green IT suppliers have been dreaming of. The time has come when companies need to increasingly turn to ICT to help deliver the energy/carbon reductions which they accept as essential to their businesses. Technology can provide the tools to help leverage energy reduction, but the research finds that most companies feel that technology is not up to the job.

It seems that IT suppliers still have a long way to go in educating the market about what they can offer. To some extent this reflects a reluctance by many suppliers to spell out the ‘green’ credentials of solutions. Energy efficiency and carbon reduction need to move up the list of features and benefits across all corporate solutions. But, on the other hand, if new solutions, such as energy management software, are not providing what customers need, then suppliers need to think again.

Perhaps more market research?

Carbon Trust and CRedit360 to deliver value chain carbon management software

The UK’s Carbon Trust, initially set up by the government to promote the move to a low-carbon economy, has partnered with sustainability software supplier CRedit360 to develop a series of software solutions to enable companies to cost effectively manage value chain carbon emissions.

The commercial collaboration will develop a series of software solutions that provide the capability to calculate, interpret and make recommendations on carbon reduction activities. While most carbon footprinting tools only include direct and indirect operational emissions - Scope 1 and 2 emissions under the Kyoto Greenhouse Gas Protocol – this value chain footprinting also includes Scope 3 emissions. It covers the full lifecycle, from suppliers to consumers, and includes all use and end of life emissions.

 

The Carbon Trust points out that there is clear evidence that having a robust carbon management strategy across a corporate value chain can deliver significant rewards, including brand equity, cost reduction, revenue enhancement and risk mitigation. But accurately measuring value chain emissions can be complex and time consuming, hence the coming together of the two organisations, the Carbon Trust providing the footprinting experience and CRedit360's bringing the software expertise.

 

The Carbon Trust is now an independent company with no government support so has been expanding its operations into new revenue channels. Developing software tools for carbon footprinting is one avenue to pursue. It certainly has extensive experience, including a role in the development of the GHG Protocol ICT footprinting standard, which is due shortly.