The Carbon Trust and Credit360 are developing a carbon management software system designed to let companies track and manage value chain emissions.
The partnership’s first product, the “Value Chain Hotspotter,” was designed to allow companies to quickly estimate carbon intensive areas of their value chain. The tool covers seven Scope 3 categories.
The collaboration’s full value chain reporting platform, which will calculate, interpret and make recommendations on carbon reduction activities, will be released in the autumn.
Carbon footprinting typically includes direct and indirect operational emissions, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Value chain footprinting also includes Scope 3 emissions, which represent the full lifecycle from suppliers through to consumers.
Companies that have a robust carbon management strategy across a corporate value chain can improve brand equity, reduce costs, enhance revenues and mitigate risk, the Carbon Trust said. But accurately measuring value chain emissions is complex, time consuming and presents specific challenges, the organization added.
For example, the value chain can represent a high volume of data, which must be captured to the right level of accuracy to enable strategic business decisions to be made confidently. A value chain footprint also involves integration of information from suppliers, which must happen securely. Processing and modeling this level of data can be costly and hurt productivity, Credit360 said.
The two organizations’ carbon management software will automate the process by providing interfaces for gathering supplier data securely, Credit360 said.
The partners are developing their value chain software management system on the cusp of new greenhouse gas emissions reporting regulations being implemented in the UK. Last month, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced a government mandate that will force companies listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main market to publish the full details of their greenhouse gas emissions.
