IBM WebSphere Portal software is an integral part of a greenhouse gas meter called GreenCert, which can calculate carbon reductions across industries and devices. Compliance tools such as GreenCert are necessary to encourage the investment in and growth of the potentially US$30 billion global carbon market, according to a World Bank report.
GreenCert can gauge and document greenhouse gas management efforts and transform this data into Certified Carbon Emissions Reduction Credits (CCERC). The technology is designed to extend the global greenhouse gas reduction trading market to sectors such as power, agriculture, government, and financial services.
GreenCert provides a standard way to collect and manipulate large volumes of information and calculate and document emissions reductions; a process that has previously used specialized labor- and transaction-intensive methods. Previously, organizations had to use customized approaches to measuring emission reductions before they could monetize and trade a credit.
Organizations need cost-effective tools to manage, quantify, analyze, and report on their greenhouse gas footprint. Investors want an accounting of greenhouse gas-related liabilities and assets. Energy use (as measured by kilowatt-hours or kWh) is critical data for calculating emissions. Converting emission reduction to CCERC opens an untapped revenue source. CCERCs are valued between US$3 and $8 per metric ton, the measurement used to quantify greenhouse gases.
According to the World Bank report: State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2006, "Reducing climate change risk and promoting investment in clean energy systems is a long-term venture requiring billions of dollars of annual investment... In order for the (carbon) market to generate sustainable long-term capital at the scale required, the market needs a strong compliance system, more transparent and credible processes about formulating and releasing emissions data, and clear signals about future policy direction."
GreenCert is a collaborative project among IBM Business Partner Enterprise Information Management, Inc. (EIM) Evergreen Energy Inc. and its subsidiary C-Lock Technology Inc. (C-Lock). The GreenCert infrastructure is based on a services-oriented architecture (SOA) that uses IBM Software, including: WebSphere Portal, Lotus Forms, DB2 Universal Database, DB2 Content Manager, DB2 Records Manager, WebSphere Process Server, and WebSphere Business Process Management software.
Powering GreenCert is an engine designed by C-Lock to process many kinds of data available from a wide variety of sensors and tools, and use them to quantify the greenhouse gases emitted and changes in emissions.
GreenCert will be available from C-Lock in the first half of 2008. Click here for a trial beta of GreenCert.