Enterprise Carbon and Energy Management Systems Await Carbon Regulation

Posted under environment by Daniel Stouffer

No matter who you talk to, it appears that carbon regulation is coming and maybe sooner rather than later. Rampant energy use and associated emission of carbon will be the subject of significant restrictions, as we try to contain the damage caused to our environment by such greenhouse gases. Our long-term reliance on fossil fuels means that this will not be an easy position to change, but enterprise carbon and energy management systems have emerged to help an organization understand where it is and where it can go from here.

Carbon regulation will be a new and strange animal to handle and many different ideas exist about the way forward. Western industrialized nations think that market forces should contain carbon, through the implementation of cap and trade programs and others. Should carbon become a tradable commodity, the government can artificially restrict its availability and drive down its use.

The status quo is unacceptable, as most organizations realize than conventional energy usage must become less prevalent. Until organizations begin to understand how they should address the issue, progress may be slow. Enterprise carbon and energy management systems have been invented to help this position, as they allow a company to analyze energy needs, reveal its carbon emissions and process a large amount of information to take action.

It would be nice to think that carbon regulation could happen by itself as we all became “greener” and move to renewable forms of energy and better practices. While this will make something of a difference, it will be nowhere near enough to bring the major changes necessary to safeguard the planet. The smartest organizations, understanding that carbon regulation is near, adopt enterprise carbon and energy management systems to help them cope.

Reputational ham awaits those who flounder around and do little. Carbon can be viewed as a threat, something that could really affect brand management and it is not acceptable to be energy inefficient anymore. Throughout the company, individual assets must be scrutinized and a concerted plan developed.

The Kyoto Protocol has almost run its course and in the next year or so governments from around the world will meet to discuss its successor. Kyoto had only limited effect and much will be expected from now on, as individual nations also make their own pledges to cut their carbon emissions. Individual economic needs and political agendas may not be as damaging to the new protocol.

If carbon regulation is not enough to push an organization to take concerted action, the opportunity to carve out significant reputation and competitive gain should. Each company should be careful that it does not rush forward and make any claims without being fully aware of its documented position and its ability to make a difference. Enterprise carbon and energy management systems must be in place and providing this information ahead of time.

Sustainability is not an option and while carbon regulation may yet be some way off, recent rulings by the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States show that an increasing number of organizations nationwide will now have to provide data about their energy use and emissions for the first time.

Daniel Stouffer has much more information about enterprise carbon and energy management systems and how a visit to www.verisae.com can aid you.