Whether it’s due to travel, logistics, or production operations, every organization generates carbon emissions. A digital carbon management program tracks and measures these emissions, as well as efforts to mitigate them, and presents the metrics in an intuitive dashboard.
Digital carbon management provides an overview of the processes generating greenhouse gases (GHG). Businesses can then identify and improve problem processes, and take the first step towards net-zero emissions and true sustainability.
A program that measures the carbon emissions created by an organization, and through decision science, attempts to mitigate them.
Improved business outcomes, reduced environmental impact, easier compliance with carbon reporting legislation, and lower energy consumption costs.
The accuracy of digital carbon management programs depends on the quality of the data. Any inaccuracies could also have a knock-on effect on mitigation policies and costs.
With mounting pressure from consumers and investors to curb greenhouse gases, major carbon producing entities are turning to digital carbon management solutions to identify opportunities to control and minimize emissions.
What is it?
To tackle any problem, you first need to accurately identify where that problem is, and how significant it is. Digital carbon management tools help businesses solve sustainability challenges by clearly showing how their operations are contributing to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The tools bring together data on direct emissions from logistics and manufacturing, emissions from purchased energy, data center operations and indirect emissions from activities such as employee commutes, generating a complete view of a company’s environmental impact.
Equipped with practical visibility of its carbon footprint, a business can use decision science to identify, pick and execute actions to improve financial outcomes, drive emissions down, and improve the sustainability of its operations. Plus, having all of that data to hand makes it far easier to comply with environmental regulations.
What’s in for you?
Accurately measuring and understanding your carbon footprint is a crucial first step to reducing GHG emissions, and building sustainable, environmentally-friendly processes. With the right digital carbon management solution, there’s no guesswork, and every metric is centralized into an intuitive dashboard, so it’s easy to see where emissions are highest.
The largest impact will come from identifying financial trade-offs and opportunities in reducing carbon emissions. Excess carbon output is also a byproduct of inefficient operations, process and equipment; the most efficient process is unlikely to produce excess carbon.
A carbon management system can also help you comply with carbon recording legislation. In over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, GHG reporting is already mandatory, and that number will only grow as we begin to see the effects of climate change.
Tracking and minimizing your emissions will also make your organization more attractive to investors by showcasing your commitment to tackling climate change issues.
What are the trade offs?
The accuracy of a digital carbon management program depends on the quality of the data that’s put in. Any uncertainty, gaps, or poor-quality data can lead to an inaccurate assessment of emissions, costs, and mitigation potential. Plus, any GHG reduction policy based on inaccurate insights will likely be ineffective.
It’s also difficult to measure every source of emissions, especially the indirect ones. Organizations need to capture bottom-up information from every aspect of their operations, including cross-division or intra-company collaboration. It’s an important undertaking, even for medium-sized enterprises.
How is it being used?
The carbon management industry has seen huge growth in recent years, and analysts predict it will be worth more than $12 billion by 2025.
Software giants such as Salesforce are beginning to create carbon management software for their customers. Meanwhile, Persefoni, a startup founded by two oil and gas executives, provides intelligent carbon footprint management to firms in the energy sector.
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