by Michael Harris, Vice President and General Manager, Johnson Controls
The need for companies to measure their energy usage and carbon emissions just became more urgent.
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued new guidance to publicly traded companies: you must disclose the impact of climate change and climate change regulation on your business.
Included are actual physical effects of severe weather, rising sea levels, changes in demand for products and other direct impacts that may result from a changing climate. In addition, companies must also disclose risks and opportunities they may experience from either existing or potential regulation of their carbon emissions.
The SEC’s action comes on the heels of two important reports about the growing market in the U.S. and worldwide for carbon management tools – an industry in which Johnson Controls is a recognized market leader.
In early January, Pike Research – a market research firm focused on global clean technology markets – published a study titled Carbon Management Software and Services. Johnson Controls contributed to the report. Among its major findings:
- The global market for carbon management software and services will grow from $384 million in 2009 to more than $4.3 billion in 2017 – a compounded growth rate of roughly 40%
- The North American market will grow 44% during this same period, making it the leading market by 2013
- Western Europe – the current market leader – will drop to second by then, followed by Asia
The Pike report identified four primary market drivers:
- Mandatory carbon reporting requirements in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.S. and elsewhere
- Demands of global suppliers such as WalMart
- Expectations of shareholders and customers
- Incentives to reduce energy usage and cut costs
Also in January, Groom Energy released a report titled Enterprise Carbon Accounting: An Analysis of Organizational-Level Greenhouse Gas Reporting and a Review of GHG Software Products.
The Groom report projected that the carbon management software market will grow seven fold over the next two years. The report attributes this “explosive growth” to the same drivers identified by Pike Research: pressure from customers and investors, and potential energy usage and cost reductions.
Of the more than 60 carbon management vendors Groom identified, it ranks Johnson Controls as one of the top eight market leaders based on financial stability, number of customer deployments, strength of technology and vision.
Johnson Controls’ Energy and Emissions Management System enables organizations to both analyze their energy trends and calculate greenhouse gas emissions. This web-based tool uses one of the most advanced management software programs available to measure, manage and forecast energy costs and consumption, energy efficiency initiatives, fleet emissions and waste.
The Johnson Controls Energy and Emissions Management System manages $1 billion in global energy each year while monitoring 63 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions for 5,000 buildings located in 88 countries. Over the past eight years, the system has identified more than 8,000 energy and cost savings solutions for global companies including Dell, Xerox and Pfizer.
Clearly, pressures to measure and report carbon emissions are mounting. And as they do, our Energy and Emissions Management System helps organizations in every industry and in every corner of the globe meet these emerging greenhouse gas reporting standards in a completely transparent and verifiable way.
What are the implications of measuring and reporting energy usage and carbon emissions on your organization? How are you addressing the challenges?
