Elusor Environmental Accounting Tools Network

Gridiums' energy management product Snapmeter is an interesting approach to the growing mountains of smart meter energy data, it takes the data together with available weather data, and sends an email alert to industrial and commercial building owner customers when they are about to get hit with high charges, like a high monthly “demand charge.” Large users of electricity have to pay a demand charge to have the right to have energy capacity available — it’s essentially paying the utility for part of the infrastructure — and it’s calculated by the maximum demand during the month. So rather than have a complex dashboard it reports via simple emails to building owners, I think this will have some great apeal. More on Gridium energy management here.

Recently Miserware has released a new version of its Granola PC energy software. Granola has a range of offerings for different markets. The market for PC energy management software is set to grow exponentially with Pike Research finding the market will grow 40 percent per year to 2015, with SME's to make up much of this.

A new App created through the EPA's Apps for the Environment contest lets you calculate the energy and cost savings. The EPA estimates that using the app can help homeowners cut their electricity bill by $120 a year and cut their CO2 emissions by 1,360 lbs a year.

Greenstone has launched a new product called SupplierPortal that enables buyers and suppliers to track, monitor and share responsible sourcing information. Suppliers can publish their data to multiple buyers and record performance across multiple responsible sourcing areas - Environment, Health & Safety, Labour, and Anti-Bribery & Corruption.

This supply chain management solution enables suppliers to report key responsible sourcing data and calculate their carbon, waste and water footprints. Whilst enabling buyers to view and compare their suppliers' performance across key responsible sourcing metrics.

I discovered this fascinating web map tool urbmet.org that has just been launched. Urbmet is a web-map that illustrates data on material and energy use in cities. It covers 40 US cities so far.

Growing Blue has launched the Water Impact Index (WIIX) Calculator, a new web-based tool for water management, which is designed to measure and reduce the impact of human activity on local water resources. A good explanation of how the Water Impact Index can be found here too

The word "landscaping" automatically sounds like taxing chore. There's something laborious to its very sound, and subsequently, many people presume that an organic or 'green' approach to landscaping must be even more of a task--particularly for properties with significant space or facilities with vast space. Truth be told, 'green' landscaping doesn't only become less work, but it can also save money over time in maintenance. Furthermore, it demonstrates a commitment to the environment, and for business owners or facility managers, it shows corporate social responsibility--which is a good environmental practice, and good marketing. 

Restoring landscaping to its natural state is the healthiest state for flora, and that leads to less maintenance needs over time. 

The Environmental Protection Agency says that, “Maintaining a wide variety of healthy plants, soil organisms, beneficial insects and animals can keep most pests and diseases in check.” The EPA refers to this as “putting nature to work.” Read more below 

Advanced Business Solutions has won the ‘Environmental Accounting & Management Software of the Year’ category of the Green IT Awards 2012.

The Carbon Accounting system, which is integrated with Advanced’s financial management system (OpenAccounts), enables businesses to measure carbon emissions quickly and easily and to more effectively budget for emissions thanks to the solution’s tight integration with OpenAccounts’ budgeting system.

Using Carbon Accounting, the captured carbon emissions data is automatically recorded in the general ledger and relevant project ledgers, providing instant transparency while cutting time-consuming manual processing.

Simon Fowler, Managing Director of Advanced Business Solutions (Commercial Division) says, “We are proud to have won a Green IT Award. This achievement puts the spotlight on the quality of our Carbon Accounting system, which is already proving popular with customers. It also highlights our dedication to helping businesses to measure and reduce their carbon emissions, while improving business performance.”

The World Wide Fund for Nature - WWF has developed the Water Risk Filter a new water management tool to quantify water-related risks for all industries in all countries
It's features include:

• It is easy to use. Geared specifically for non-experts, it guides users through a simple questionnaire and a pre-assessment survey that uses industry and geographic information to evaluate in less than 5 minutes if additional evaluation is necessary.
• It is global and draws on data sheets for more than 180 countries and territories, providing interactive maps and case studies.
• The tool uses the best available data as well as company specific information to analyse all relevant indicators of water risk.
• The tool goes beyond an assessment and provides a mitigation toolbox for the user.

I've read this interesting white paper Product Life Cycle Management Strategies "Lifecycle Management Strategies: Designing Products for Sustainability and Profitability". The paper outlines how PLM software can be used to increase both environmental sustainability and competitive advantage.
It outlines the steps organizations should focus on  to create environmental and business value through PLM, which include
Project and portfolio analysis
Project and portfolioanalysis allows you to establish goals for Green initiatives and monitor your progress toward reaching those goals. Visibility into your current status allows timely mitigation of risks and ensures you capitalize on opportunities.
Integrated compliance.
Integrating compliance capabilities into your business operations provides a
timely feedback mechanism to ensure you are in compliance with environmental goals and product standards. Integrating compliance also helps to minimize rework costs, reduce wasted R&D capacity, and minimize
time to market.
Process, product, and compliance modeling.
Modeling your current product capabilities, costs, and future
environmental impact provides a valuable source of information for integrating sustainability and business strategies.
Integrated intelligent workflow.
An integrated workflow engine automates the collection, routing, and roll up of sustainability information. Integration of all required roles improves compliance and minimizes time to market.
Documentation management.
A secure, centralized repository of sustainability information enables you to
document and control compliance information.
Read more here