(1888PressRelease)
October 08, 2009 - Palo Alto, California is one of the first U.S. cities to begin using an automated system to track municipal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy, water and other resource use. This comes at a time when many businesses and municipalities are seeking solutions for calculating and reducing their carbon footprint. In “Palo Alto Cuts Carbon with Hara,” AltaTerra Research presents a case study of Palo Alto’s implementation of carbon management software from Hara Software, Inc.
The case study provides context for Palo Alto’s decision to put a carbon management system (CMS) in place, including approval of a Climate Protection plan in December 2007 and identification of the need to transition from a discrete approach between departments to an integrated approach across departments. It discusses the city’s vendor review process and criteria, experience with the implementation process, primary challenges, savings projections, and key lessons learned.
“In response to reduction commitments made by the city, Palo Alto’s 13 departments initially attempted to independently plan and manage their carbon emissions using spreadsheets and other calculation tools, but this quickly became unworkable. A unified approach was needed with an ability to link to common metering data,” according to Karl Van Orsdol, Sustainability Team/Energy Risk Manager for the City of Palo Alto.
Don Bray, President of AltaTerra Research, adds, “The City of Palo Alto has aligned visibility and responsibility for resource use at a departmental level, and the ability to track and manage against specific savings targets over time. As simple as it sounds, many organizations do not yet have this capability – which is fundamental to making the aspirational goal of ‘conservation’ measurable, actionable, and profitable.”
The case study concludes with an overview of Carbon Management Systems (CMS). CMS is emerging as a new category of information systems designed to help businesses, governments, and other organizations manage their carbon emissions. The overview includes background analysis of business drivers, operating practices, solution capabilities, and the vendor landscape, followed by recommendations for potential buyers. This information is derived from AltaTerra’s comprehensive report, “Carbon Management Solutions: Business Value Through a New Lens.”
Further information and a link to download the case study summary are available at: http://altaterra.yourmembership.com/members/blog_view.asp?id=272897&post=80467
More information and a link to download the summary of the comprehensive report, “Carbon Management Solutions: Business Value Through a New Lens,” are available at: http://altaterra.yourmembership.com/members/blog_view.asp?id=272897&post=72019
About AltaTerra Research
Founded in 2007, AltaTerra Research is the first research consultancy dedicated to corporate environmental sustainability and commercial markets for clean technology solutions. With consulting services, industry research reports and executive events, AltaTerra helps business leaders make informed decisions on green business. Current topics include alternative energy, the corporate carbon footprint, carbon credits and environmentally-friendly products.
More information is available at www.AltaTerra.net.
Contact:
Anneke Mueller Hohl
AltaTerra Research
Anneke.Mueller ( @ ) AltaTerra dot net
(212) 537-5044 ext. 683
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