IBM launches new service to help businesses lower environmental impact

Sustainable Asset Analytics is a comprehensive service that will enable businesses to manage and measure their activities in areas such as waste, planning, maintenance and energy management. It will apply to property and assets, such as a company's buildings, IT, office equipment, manufacturing tools, warehouse machinery, as well as business activities, such as travel.

The new service forms part of IBM's global consulting arm Global Business Services and has already been piloted with a select number of clients in the UK. Natural England, the Government’s advisor on the English natural environment, has reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent and aims for a 50 per cent reduction by next year, through using the service, said IBM.

“Buildings alone are a source of huge waste and inefficiency, accounting for 70 per cent of all energy use and 38 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the US,” said Rich Lechner, energy and environment vice president for IBM. “Squeezing out that inefficiency and cost requires new ‘smarter’ technologies and business analytics.”

The race to provide UK businesses and public sector organisations with the most comprehensive service to reduce their energy consumption and environmental impact is gaining pace, as the date for the introduction of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme draws closer.

Earlier this week, Swedish company IFS launched a software tool that it claimed to be the first to allow businesses to monitor, measure and evaluate the environmental impact of their entire operations, and the related costs to business.

Meanwhile, energy provider, npower launched its ‘encompass professional’ tool, earlier this year. It promises to help businesses reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions with the added benefited of being able to gauge energy usage two decades into the future.

Through its new service, IBM will look to help clients in both the public and private sector. Morgan Sindall, the UK construction and regeneration group has already signed up for the new service, IBM said.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a carbon emissions trading scheme that comes into force in the UK in April 2010 and will affect companies with energy bills of more than £500,000 a year.