COMP 4923 A2IT for a Greener Planet

Danny SilverJSOCS, Acadia University

Application Areas

• Green/Environmental Accounting• Green/sustainable building planning• Energy management• Environmentally-friendly manufacturing• Green transportation / routing systems

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Type of accounting that attempts to factor environmental costs into business finances

• Previously ignored at corporate and national levels (GDP does not consider environment)

• First used by economist and professor Peter Wood in the 1980s

• Considers depletion and pollution • Controversial – standard practice needed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_accounting

GDP –vs- GPIGDP = Gross Domestic Product-(OECD) aggregate measure of production, value add

GPI = Genuine Progress Indicator-incorporates environmental and social factors

GDP gains double the amount when pollution is created, since it increases once upon creation and again when the pollution is cleaned up, whereas GPI counts the initial pollution as a loss rather than a gain.

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Identifies resource use and measures and communicates costs of an organizations economic impact on the environment

• Costs include:– clean up or remediation of contaminated sites– environmental fines, penalties and taxes– purchase of pollution prevention technologies– waste management

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Why do companies do it?• Assessment of complete costs of business

– Environmental remediation– Long term environmental consequences and

externalities– Risk reduction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_accounting

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Green accounting seeks to incorporate costs and benefits of:– environmental protection – depletion of natural capital

• Two measurements not typically included in national accounting systems such as gross domestic product

http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/analytics/green-accounting.htm

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Integrates social and ecological costs and benefits resulting from the natural environment into traditional economic accounting systems

• Aims to capture the interdependency and dynamic interactions between the three pillars of sustainability (economy, society, and environment).

Green / Environmental Accounting

• Would see the capital value of certain resources of an organization decrease in favour of alternatives (oil , solar )

• No substitutes for the life-sustaining services of nature; but how to account for such is the source of many ongoing debates

• The Satellite Economic and Environmental Accounts (SEEA) - widely discussed framework

Green / Environmental Accounting

• At present, national economic accounts fail to include non-market goods and services, such as those provided by natural resources and the environment.

• Until this obstacle is overcome, a full system of green accounts is not possible.

• United Nations Environment Program has developed Green Accounting: A Virtual Resource Center

Key Issues of Green Accounting

• How will it affect organizations?– To reduce its carbon footprint, an organization must first measure it. – Organizations will have to report measures to regulators, taxation

officials, carbon credit trading organizations, etc.

• Who will be affected? – Energy-reliant manufacturers and power-generating

utilities– Other business sectors will also be effected:

• Retailers, may need green accounting software to calculate carbon ratings for each product on their shelves.

• Businesses may need to use carbon accounting programs to calculate taxes based on the amount of energy consumed.

Key Issues of Green Accounting

• Green accounting information technology areas: – Accounting and ERP (enterprise resource planning) – Software vendors beginning to add more green-oriented features into

their products business system products – Carbon unit measurement and management tools– Programs designed to enable companies to trade carbon credits– Software that preps data / interfaces with climate change regulations

Key Issues of Green Accounting

• Business Costs:– Vary depending on your company's size and line of business– Small firms with a relatively modest CO2 impact - costs could be

minimal– Many finance and accounting software vendors may simply

incorporate green accounting features into upgraded versions of existing products.

– Heavy users or producers of energy, or those with large CO2 emissions, will have significant costs:

• Specialized software and collection instrumentation that will track• Organize and report vast amounts of carbon data

Major Players• Enablon - Management & performance software. World’s largest sustainability s/w provider• Enviance - Environmental ERP system is comprised of the three components of sustainability:

air, water and waste. It is a Cloud-based, on-demand platform. 12,000 users, 45 countries.• Hara - Closed a number of deals in 2009 with industry leaders including Coca-Cola, News

Corporation, the City of Palo Alto and the City of San Jose.• IHS - 50 year old company provides a full suite of environmental and chemical management

software and service solutions for EHS and sustainability management. • Johnson Controls - The Energy and Emissions Management System analyses energy use

trends and calculates greenhouse gas levels. Annually monitors 63 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions for 5,000 buildings in 88 countries.

• PE International - SoFi-Software provides data collection supported by interfaces to ERP systems; carbon footprint measurement; performance tracking; and analysis software.

• ProcessMAP - Measures and tracks environmental and carbon footprint as well as, inform on their performance in the Global Citizenship and Annual Sustainability Reports

• SAP - Carbon Impact enables reporting from a single repository to voluntary or mandatory registries, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project and U.S.

TED Talks

• Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaF-fq2Zn7I

• Ray Anderson: The business logic of sustainabilityhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP9QF_lBOyA

Sustainable Building Planning

• Where can energy/money be saved in a building?

Sustainable Building Planning

• Where can energy/money be saved in a building?– Electrical system– Heating system– A/C system– Lighting– Transportation– ICT systems– Structural system

CAD/CAM Building Planning and Analysis Software

• Autodesk BIM Software– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-USXU7Ge5E– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y22Fmqmvyk

Building Management Systems

• BMS - a computer-based control system that monitors, controls and optimizes a building’s environmental components:– Power systems - Illumination system– Electric power control system - HVAC System– Security and observation system - Fire alarm system– Lifts, elevators, escalators, etc - Plumbing system

• Systems linked to a BMS typically represent 40% of a building's energy usage, 70% if lighting included

Building Management Systems

• BMS usually delivered as fully integrated systems and services

• Major players are:– Siemens Honeywell– Severn Controls Voltas– Johnson Controls Trend Controls– TAC(Schneider Electric) Trane

Energy Management Systems

• Avantech iBuilding Solutions– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ax2wLIR6g8

• Energy Management Systems | Next Energy Management– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqAsaxL4Vuw

• Cool video of the near future: – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNdozvf8Gew

Energy Management Systems

• EnerNOC - leading provider of energy intelligence software (EIS). Web based tools allow users to monitor and manage energy use in real time from anywhere in the world– http://www.enernoc.com

Projections for Energy Consumption• US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast that energy

consumption will continue to increase - up 56% by 2040.

Source: http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=12251

Green Manufacturing

• Manufacturers under increased pressure to– Proactively manage their energy consumption– Maintain compliance with evolving sustainability

requirements

• A better understanding of the energy consumption allows manufacturers to better manage:– Production planning and execution – Strategic contracting – Environmental impact– Profit / Loss

Projections for Energy Costs • US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast that energy prices will

continue to escalate • California Department of Water Resources predicts similar for water. • Expected price increases predicted by 2040:

– 71% for oil - 20% for natural gas – 41% for water - 57% for electricity

• Current portion of direct product cost due to energy consumed during the manufacturing:

– 24.5% Cement - 20.4 Iron & Steel – 14% Glass - 8.8% Pulp & Paper – 3% - 8% Brewing - 6.7% Metal Finishing – 4.4% Wet Corn Milling - 3.3% Food Manufacturing – 2.7% Fabricated Metal Products

Source: https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/nrg/ntgrtd/ftr/2013/index-eng.html http://www.eia.gov/analysis/projection-data.cfm

Green Manufacturing

• Two reactions:– Academia – let’s study it

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16vobnhafVw– from 2:50 onward

– Business – GM at Frito Lay• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jzxdi6KoQg

Solutions are Maturing

• Entegreat has developed enCONTEXT. A cloud-based SaaS energy and water management system for manufacturing sustainability:– Captures near-real-time energy, water, production and

environmental data from manufacturing sources– Data is streamed to the Cloud for integration and analysis– Provides dashboards & metrics for better decision

• Reduce production costs• Conserve energy and deliver environmental stewardship

• 5 Ways to Reduce Your Energy Intensity– http://info.entegreat.com/blog/5-ways-to-dramatically-reduce-your-energy-inte

nsity-infographic

Emissions Management Systems

• Enablon – Software solutions that make companies sustainable– help companies manage environmental and social

performance, ensure compliance, minimize risks and improve profitability by leveraging some of the world’s most advanced technologies.

• INTELEX – Empowering sustainable business– empower organizations to meet the challenges of an

increasingly complex marketplace while minimizing their negative social, environmental and human impacts.

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Transport systems – 20% and 25% of world energy consumption and

carbon dioxide emissions– Greenhouse gas emissions from transport are

increasing at a faster rate than any other energy using sector

– Road transport is a major contributor to local air pollution and smog

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transport

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Social / Economic costs of transport– Road crashes– Loss of physical inactivity– Time taken away from the family– Vulnerability to fuel price increases– Traffic congestion wastes time and slows delivery

of goods and services

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Q: So what is the real purpose of transport?• A: Access to:

• Work• Education• Goods and services• Friends and family

• There are proven techniques to improve access while simultaneously reducing environmental and social impacts, and managing traffic congestion

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Focuses on strengthening or replacing the current transport systems with more fuel-efficient, space-saving and healthy lifestyle-promoting alternatives

• Includes:– human or animal muscle-powered vehicles– low-carbon fueled vehicles– renewable sources of energy for propulsion

• Q: What is the best form of transportation?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transport

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Forms of green transport– Walking– Cycling – bi-, tri-, quad- cycling (even icebiking)– HPVs – Human Powered Vehicals:

• Planes:– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghulwll702A

• Helicopter?– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGz3Ry298g

• Boats:– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXzLZFmgZVY

Sustainable / Green Transportation• What is a Green vehicle? – One that burns biofuel

…• Made from living things, or the waste of living things:

vegetable oil, biodiesel, or bioalcohol (ethanol)• Supporters: biofuels could significantly reduce greenhouse

gas emissions; while burning the fuels produces carbon dioxide, growing the plants or biomass removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

• Detractors: biofuel production poses a major threat to global food systems and the natural environment

– Panda Poo Powered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8T57p3ANEQ– The Butterfly Effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmrOOG-IYQ0

Sustainable / Green Transportation• What is a Green vehicle? - One with lower

emissions than the average new vehicle – TLEV-Transitional Low-Emission Vehicle (pre-2004)– LEV-Low-Emission Vehicle (2004+) – initial hybrid vehicles– ULEV-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle50 percent cleaner than average new

vehicle– SULEV-Super Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle90 percent cleaner than average

new vehicle– PZEV-Partial Zero-Emission VehicleSULEV + 15-year/150,000-mile

warranty and zero evaporative emissions– AT-PZEV-Advanced Technology PZEV (e.g. Prius hybrid)– ZEV – Zero emissions Vehicles (electric, hydrogen fuel cell, e.g. GM EV1

1996, Tesla) – Telsa vs Lamborghini

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• What is a Green vehicle? - self charging electric– Electric cars / bikes use battery packs, charging systems,

electric motors and controllers. Problems? IT solutions? – Solar vehicles – electrically powered by solar energy panels.

Problems? IT solutions. • http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au

/article/528814/delft_university_wins_world_solar_challenge_car_race/

– Wind-powered electric vehicles - uses wind-turbines to convert wind energy into stored electric energy. Problems? IT solutions?

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind-powered_vehicle

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• All of the above must be coupled with public transportation strategies and tactical plans (walking and bicycling paths, fuel sources, etc)

• IT will be used to:– Monitor current traffic– Better urban planning (work, service, play area placements)

– Plan new pathways, roads and rail, routes and schedules– Control vehicle movement in urban centers– Connected Vehicles:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxmLkqVrg4c

Sustainable / Green Transportation

•Sustainable Freight Transportation Systems– Europe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrqCZR2Nuic – Canada: http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/policy/acs-sd-menu-2990.htm

Sustainable / Green Transportation

– The Future of Transportation:• Planes: First solar-powered airplane

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI4VQux3qIo

• Boats: Large solar-powered boat– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcbFWo00jM4

• Electric Helicopter?– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJZzEtfMfw0

• Electric Hoverbike?– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq2FYr8SToc

• Hyperloop– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2D4qDeHveA

Debate / Discussion

• Be it Resolved:Highway systems in Canada should be downscaled and replaced with modern highspeed train systems

–The world’s busiest freeway• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMtusG5tuC8

–What it’s like in Europe:• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AxtbifeoBY

–High speed rail network to be doubled• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j2yT5SIaDQ

Sustainable / Green Transportation

• Workshop -- Find 3 innovative methods to Green Transportation !!