Electric vehicles offer a green transportation alternative. There have been great advances in the sector after the launch of popular models such as Nissan’s LEAF, which recently won the car the of year award at the Tokyo Motor Show.

However, electric car battery technology is one aspect of e-mobility that inspires caution in potential drivers. This is known as ‘range anxiety’, that is, the fear that the battery will not go far enough and perhaps leave the driver stranded.

But some companies are working on improving EV battery performance, including IBM. energyNOW! (via Energy Collective) recently uncovered the company’s research into nanotechnology to make EVs more powerful. IBM is hoping to come up with a battery that is ten times more powerful than current lithium-ion ones, which have a range of around 75 miles on a single charge.

IBM has a fantastic track record in meaningful innovation, so it’s great news that it’s working on EVs. Watch the video below and find out more about IBM’s plans for electric vehicle batteries.

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At the IBM Smarter Cities forum in Rio de Janeiro last week, I had the chance to go behind the scenes and take a first-hand look at Rio’s smart city project. My main impression is that the project represents one of the purest emerging examples of a smart city project that is simultaneously developing smart solutions on multiple fronts – natural disaster management, public safety, health, utilities, to mention a few – and is starting to achieve a true “system of systems” – nirvana in smart city terms. This level of integration and interoperability across city agencies – and the successes Rio has had so far – bodes well for the smart city opportunity not only in emerging markets but worldwide.

The City of Rio de Janeiro has accomplished this by deploying smart technologies ranging from broad, continental-scale weather tracking down to mobile device-enabled notification systems for potholes and burnt-out streetlights. The centerpiece, of course, is the Rio Operations Center, which features Latin America’s largest screen and dozens of stations that provide visualizations of real-time data feeds. Within the center, 35 city agencies work together to synergize their responses to city events. (One interesting detail is that the operators wear uniforms modeled after NASA that create a sense of camaraderie and homogeneity across the historically separate city agencies, which creates something of a spectacle.)

To provide an example of how this works: If heavy rains cause flooding in a specific portion of the city, the operations center coordinates teams that notify citizens ahead of time via text message, close down the streets, mobilize ambulances, and shut down electricity distribution systems in the neighborhood to prevent electrocution. These processes are all pre-determined via standard operating procedures (SOPs). On the city side, bringing all these agencies under one roof helps break the silos that perennially plague the smooth delivery of city services. And, on the citizen side, it certainly helps that Brazil’s mobile device and networks are exploding, providing the platform for vigorous smart city app development and citizen involvement.

But technology is only one part of the winning recipe for a smart city. One persistent barrier echoed many times at the event is that smart city projects often rely heavily on the vision and initiative of specific mayors and administrations, which typically face four-year election cycles. The timetables required for certain types of infrastructure – particularly those involving high-tech and high initial capital expenditures – don’t always fit neatly into mayoral terms. Indeed, Rio’s mayor, Eduardo Paes, who spoke at the event, described the challenges of making progress on the project despite his uncertain future as mayor. Selecting smart city technology measures that optimize in terms of high net-present value, ease of deployment within a tight timeframe, and high PR benefits for the mayoral office seem to be emerging as the most pragmatic smart city solutions that address this challenge.

What differentiates Rio from other smart cities is the added challenge of managing its favelas – shantytowns perched on steep hillsides throughout the city that have historically received little in the way of city services or regulation – and integrating them with Rio’s urban fabric. These areas are among the most vulnerable to disasters such as mudslides as well as important symbolic testing grounds for Rio’s ability to serve even its poorest citizens as scrutiny of the city mounts in the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. From the perspective of a smart city, the favelas also provide opportunities for infrastructural “leapfrogging,” installing smart systems that could catapult these portions of the city to levels found in the rest of the city using state-of-the-art technology.

All in all, though, the event provided a clear picture of the concrete progress that’s being made on the smart city front and, in particular, the unique opportunities afforded by cities in emerging markets.

Article by Eric Bloom, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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The numbers surrounding urbanization worldwide are staggering. In 2008, the number of people living in cities, for the first time in civilization, surpassed the number of people living in rural settings. Although urbanization is happening on every continent, the story could not be more dramatic in China, where urban migration will add 350 million people – more than the entire U.S. population – to cities by 2025.

This will result not only in a swelling of the built environment, which will grow by 26 percent over the next ten years. It will also create unprecedented levels of demand for city services on a scale that most city governments have never experienced before, especially in the developing world. This realization is driving city leaders and technology innovators to launch an effort to leverage information and communications technology (ICT) systems to make it easier for cities to deliver services and foster innovation. Pike Research documented these efforts in our recent report, Smart Cities.

Next week, worldwide experts on smart cities will descend upon Rio de Janeiro for IBM’s SmarterCities forum to examine IBM’s work on implementing ICT technologies to improve Rio’s urban infrastructure. IBM and the Rio de Janeiro city government have been working hard on the Rio Operations Center to manage its burgeoning investments in infrastructure and prevent the urban disasters that have plagued the city in the past.

The Operations Center emerged largely in response to pervasive mudslides in Rio in 2010, which claimed the lives of more than 200 Cariocas. In an effort to avoid such disasters in the future, Rio is first investing in smart city infrastructure that tracks weather patterns and identifies likely vulnerabilities. In the long term, however, the Operations Center will be used to monitor a broader range of city services. And as attention turns to Brazil in anticipation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, Brazil is particularly keen on demonstrating its ability to become a 21st-century nation.

The drive for smart city infrastructure takes a different tone in the developing world compared with modern cities. Many of the most prominent smart city projects, in places such as Amsterdam and Boulder, are focused on improving city infrastructure in a way that makes a city more competitive (for families and for businesses), reduces costs, and improves environmental sustainability. While these objectives certainly apply in emerging markets such as Brazil, urban infrastructure is being built out for the first time in many developing cities like Rio, and city governments in emerging markets are finding themselves more responsible for the welfare of their citizens than ever.

Cities in emerging markets are coming of age right on the cusp of a technological revolution. Even just a few years ago, smart cities were more the stuff of science fiction than reality, but as costs for information and communications technology infrastructure have come down and the concept has been proven, dozens of cities worldwide have started to adopt smart city technology. First-world city governments, though, remain constrained by governmental structures, entrenched bureaucracies, existing last-generation e-government systems, and ingrained processes for city service delivery. Emerging markets are more of a blank slate; they provide the opportunity to build out smart systems from the ground up. Augmenting city services is inevitable in cities looking to develop and attract businesses and investment; it’s a question of how you do it, and the most ambitious cities, like Rio, will be looking to leapfrog to smart-city technologies.

Pike Research forecasts total smart city investment in Latin America to grow to $2.8 billion by 2020. Much of this investment will land in Brazil, though city governments in other countries such as Mexico and Colombia are already starting to develop smart city projects of their own. I’m looking forward to discussing the evolution of smart cities next week in Rio and getting a better sense for the course of urban development in Latin America and other emerging markets.

Article by Eric Bloom, appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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IBM saved $26.8 million in energy expenses in 2009 as a result of companywide conservation efforts that surpassed corporate targets. How did they do it? Last year, 1,900 energy conservation projects at 270 IBM facilities around the world helped deliver savings in energy consumption that were equivalent to 5.4 percent of the company’s total energy use.

Granted, your business may not be an IBM with worldwide facilities, but, at a minimum, your business occupies office space. There are numerous opportunities for your small business to capitalize on company conservation efforts delivering benefits to both the bottom line and the environment. In fact, more and more leading companies are becoming increasing aware of the cost savings and long-term benefits associated with implementing sustainable changes in their organization. Managing and planning a company’s operations to reduce environmental impacts can result in reductions in resource consumption, emissions, and waste streams.

Small businesses looking for quick wins with a minimum of resource outlay can see generate results:

• Install switch plate occupancy sensors in proper locations to automatically turn off lighting when no one is present, and back on when people return.
• Turn off your monitor and other office equipment when not in use.
• Turn computer off at the end of the day.
• Turn lights off in conference room after meetings and remember to turn off the projector as well.
• Use more natural light when available and adjust lighting to your actual needs.
• Unplug infrequently used office equipment. Many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. These “phantom” loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as computers and kitchen appliances.

As part of a business sustainability plan, small efforts such as these executed consistently over time, can contribute to improved energy efficiency in your workplace.

More advanced eco actions include evaluating the following:

• Which appliances and/or equipment are consuming the most energy?
• How are these high energy consumption items being run -simultaneously, non-efficiently?
• When are these high energy consumption items running -when not needed, during peak load times?
• What kind of light bulbs are used in the business?
• Has an energy audit been performed within the last 3 years?
• Are lighting fixtures equipped with control features (sensors, dimmers, timers)?
• Is regular maintenance performed for HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning)?
• What percentage of your electrical equipment is Energy Star?
• Which energy and lighting policies do you follow in the business?

Conservation and active energy management are first steps in reducing energy costs. Take it a step further:

• Use high -efficiency HVAC equipment.
• Purchase renewable energy.
• Run non-essential high demand items during off-peak hours to minimize usage charges.
• Stagger your high demand equipment to minimize your demand charges.
• Evaluate the efficiency of your high demand equipment to improve your power factor.
• Don’t waste electricity in an unoccupied space.
• Start a daytime cleaning program to reduce lighting needs at night.
• Implement energy efficient “contests” to train and educate workers for improved eco awareness and energy efficient behavior.

Get employees involved! Employee engagement is an effective, but possibly underutilized strategy for improving energy efficiency. In fact, energy efficiency can be a gateway to wider business innovation and engage stakeholders in broader process evaluations. Suggestions made in our eco friendly training include:

• First establishing a baseline of consumption for benchmarking efforts.
• Create an energy policy for the business. Using your consumption information, you may want to identify areas of improvement.
• Implement behavior and usage modifications.
• Measure and monitor your progress.
• Communicate your success and appreciation to employees for taking eco action.

Companies that conserve energy reduce operating costs and improve their bottom line. What is your small business power style?

Article by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company; appearing courtesy 3BL Media.

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Building management systems do a good job of managing the complex energy and operational processes of commercial and industrial buildings. However, some in the industry are starting to realize that they also leave a lot of value on the table. A new generation of products and services that combines sensor technologies with software-based analytical platforms is helping squeeze this untapped value out of building management systems.

I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Erik Russell, IBM Software Group Senior IT Architect, Smarter Buildings Industry Solutions, and one of the leads in developing IBM’s new Smarter Buildings solution. The platform can be applied to existing BMS systems available today, leveraging the system’s existing protocols and alert systems to provide actionable data streams on buildings’ energy use and operations. The platform goes one step further than your typical BMS, though, by running new building management analytics that depict what’s going on in a particular building at a remarkable level of granularity. It also enables predictive building management, an element missing from many building management systems that can nip costly emergencies and equipment failures in the bud.

Of course, it’s always nice to test the capabilities of a system like this at home and that’s exactly what IBM has been doing. Using its own facilities and campuses as test beds and working with industry partners including Johnson Controls, Eaton, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, and Siemens, IBM has been able to evaluate the potential applications of the system to other companies and organizations that manage large building portfolios.

Using this platform, IBM creatively assembles a wide range of data inputs including the BMS’ existing alert systems, badge-in/badge-out employee tracking, and other specialized sensors. These inputs are then collected, analyzed, and formulated into a dashboard that can be customized for different stakeholders in energy and operational management, from executives to facility managers.

The solution will help companies with large building footprints manage energy costs, operations, and space utilization both on a building scale as well as across their entire building portfolios. With it, a company can answer questions like, “Which five facilities use the most energy per square foot?” or “Are we utilizing our office space as efficiently as we should be?” In effect, the system uncovers new opportunities for companies to increase efficiencies and reduce operating costs that the BMS alone can’t reveal. For example, IBM tested its solution on one of its major manufacturing facilities and found additional savings even though the facility had already undergone significant energy savings programs.

In a broader sense, IBM’s Smarter Buildings solution ties into a larger effort happening at all scales, from single facilities to entire cities, to digitize and analyze data streams that not only make asset management of all varieties easier but also open up entirely new approaches to energy and cost management that were impossible in the past as well. Platforms such as IBM’s Smarter Building solution serve as an initial “backbone” on which more and more data and analytics can be layered over time and they represent one of the first steps toward holistic energy management at the community, city, or grid scale.

Article by Eric Bloom appearing courtesy the Matter Network.

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Though Smart Water offers equal or potentially greater benefits than Smart Energy, Smart Water isn’t getting equal coverage.

It’s been a great year for the Smart Grid. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, analysts, journalists, and regulators can’t stop talking about it. Experts are competing to project greater market potential. Zpryme puts the Smart Appliance market alone at $15.2 billion by 2015, Lux Research talks about $15.8 billion, Cisco estimates the overall opportunity at $100 billion and Pike research uses a whopping $200 billion figure.

Giants like Cisco and IBM have set aside billions to fund Smart Grid activities. The US government has kept up, allocating hefty tax credits and incentives for Smart Grid development, with $3.4 billion from the stimulus bill granted to 100 smart-grid initiatives last October. VCs are investing heavily, as these three lists show. But while we anticipate the first Smart Grid IPO (market-permitting) from Silver Spring Networks, we’ve got to wonder out loud: Why isn’t water being served at this party?

Urban water distribution systems are not exactly ‘grids’. A lot of energy (and money) is invested in water production, treatment, distribution and reuse, but current water systems don’t comprehensively measure usage in real-time. Without measurement, there is no data to base grid management upon. The electric Smart Grid leverages the proliferation of measurement points collecting large amounts of (largely untapped) data, but this is not the case in water networks.

Nevertheless, even sparse data can take a utility a long way, even without consumer-side measurement. Analysis is the real enabler of the Smart Grid, and if you are able to collect the data, clean it and then crunch it in a meaningful way, you can manage your network more effectively, the way it’s done in IT or Telecom networks. The result may be higher efficiency in water use, optimized energy expenditure and obviously consumer-side savings.

What exactly does a Smart Water Grid do? Take a look at the definition of the Smart Grid, and now consider the following moderate adaptation to the water space:

A Smart Water Grid delivers water from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control consumption at consumers’ homes to save water, reduce cost and increase reliability and transparency. It overlays the water distribution system with an information and net metering system. A Smart Water Grid includes an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all water flowing in the system. It also incorporates the use of monitored water mains for less water loss, as well as the capability of integrating renewable water. When water is least expensive the user can allow to the Smart Water Grid to turn on selected water-consuming appliances such as sprinklers or water-boiler pumps that can run at arbitrary hours.

While parts of this vision are still a few good years away, the data revolution in the water space has already begun. In fact, analyzing available flow and pressure data to determine anomalies in real-time or scheduling pumps and valves according to energy consumption peaks and lows is already part of the Smart Water solution today. There’s no shortage of data in distribution networks, even if we’ve yet to see universal adoption of Automated Meter Reading and online transmitting meters. At TaKaDu, for example, we have been working with water utilities to introduce network intelligence into their distribution systems by applying advanced algorithms to pre-existing data — which is a huge leap en route to gaining full control over the system. Other companies, like i2o, AUG signals and more, are deploying smart sensors into the network. These are all building blocks of the Smart Water Grid.

Industry giants such as Siemens, IBM and Oracle have also been talking about a smarter way to manage water networks, and have even used the explicit ‘grid’ terminology in their recent announcements about plunging into Smart Water. But the billions being poured into the smart electrical grid market through government initiatives, venture capital investments and corporate allocations have missed, at least thus far, the Smart Water Grid. Yes, VCs are investing in water technologies, but the lion’s share is going into capital-intensive processes for desalination, treatment, reuse etc. To catalyze a new wave of investment, many VCs would like to find more “capital efficient” ventures (one of the buzzwords du jour in that community).

However, we’re seeing signs of a change. Experts and analysts are talking about the intersection of Water and IT. Some VCs, our own investors included, have singled out Smart Water as an area of focus. Innovative water utilities are also starting to talk about the Smart Water network, and water technology companies are developing solutions to meet their needs.

Sure, it will be a while before each tap and sprinkler is smart and connected. To make the water complex a true ‘grid’ would require massive deployment of remotely accessible and always-on consumer metering, which will take quite a few years. The Smart Water revolution is starting with smarter distribution, improved water infrastructure monitoring, and intelligent asset management. But just like water, innovation and capital are flowing along the distribution network, and will eventually make their way to a faucet near you.

Guy Horowitz is VP Marketing at TaKaDu; article originally published in BlueTech Blog

photo: Lucy_Hill

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IBM researchers have increased by 40 percent the efficiency of a thin solar cell that can be applied like ink and that uses widely available materials.

The new cells can convert solar energy into electricity with an efficiency of 9.6 percent, a significant improvement on the 6.7 percent high for existing technologies and close to the level that would make the cells practical for use in commercial solar panels, according to a report published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The new technology uses a semiconductor material made of fairly abundant elements — including copper, zinc, tin, sulfur and selenium — and utilizes an inexpensive ink-based process in creating the cell.

Experts say some existing solar technologies have limited long-term potential because of the cost or relative rareness of materials used. For instance, the leading “thin film” solar cell technology currently in existence uses a material that includes tellurium, a rare element that limits the ability to mass produce the solar cells.

Matthew Bear, a senior scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, called the IBM advance a “breakthrough for this technology.”

Researchers hope to reach an efficiency of 12 percent in the laboratory in order to convince manufacturers of the technology’s commercial viability.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

photo: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

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This is the last of three posts on the Executive Council’s “Value-Based Sustainability” event last week (read previous posts here and here). As official sponsor of the event, CleanTechies raffled off five free tickets to our Facebook fans, Twitter followers (@CleanTechies) and Newsletter subscribers. The author of this article was one of the lucky winners. Fan us and follow us to learn about upcoming raffles like this!

Many companies easily jumped on the ‘green’ bandwagon in 2007 and 2008 when the economy was growing.  Now that the U.S. is in a recession, unless sustainability was already a guiding pillar for your company, making the business case for green, clean, and lean initiatives can be challenging.  At last week’s Executive Council summit on Value-Based Sustainability: the Business Case for Clean, Green, and Lean, several best-of-breed companies shared their thoughts on sustainability and the role of consumers.

Executives from UPS, IBM, eBay, Coca-Cola and Microsoft along with others all agreed that sustainability is the right thing to do, especially since customers are asking for it.

When Microsoft’s Environmental Sustainability Director, Francois Ajenstat, was asked why Microsoft decided to formally implement an environmental strategy two years ago, he answered that it was because customers kept asking for it.

Adam Werbach, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S, called for companies to implement a ‘North Star’ framework, that is: actionable by every employee, core to the business, solves a global human challenge, achievable in 5-15 years, and inspirational.  For example, PG&E plans to sell $50 billion worth of sustainable innovation products by 2012.

Beyond differentiating a company, sustainability has an additional benefit: cost savings and employee morale.  The low-hanging fruit exists in data center efficiency and recycled printer cartridges.  Additionally, most of the companies at the event had a green team or an internal green website where grassroots sustainability and company-wide implementations converge.

But how does one implement and maintain a sustainable strategy?  The answer: measure, measure, measure.  Also, the executives present said it was essential to be transparent with your data and work with other companies or organizations.  While most executives wanted some guidance from the government, they were not going to wait for regulations to implement a global good.

Examples showing that sustainable actions can be profitable were described as part of a five-point framework by Rupert Davis, a sustainability leader at Monta Rosa, where he helps companies build sustainable business cases.  The bottom line can be impacted the following ways:

• Profit – Sustainable measures can reduce costs and increase earnings.  For example, the Empire State Building renovations included energy efficiencies, which are saving the site $5 million a year with an IRR of 37%.
• Growth – Sustainability can both increase customer value and expand a company’s competencies into a new market.  For example, the Toyota Prius had the longest consumer waiting list in U.S. history.  Also, Clorox found new customer value by promoting products with less toxins.
• Regulations – If companies are already sustainable, then regulations will provide them with a competitive advantage.
• Risk Management – In some cases, sustainability can manage risk exposure.  For example, Walmart has required a sustainability scorecard for its suppliers.  If suppliers does not score highly, they will not be selected.
• Image – If you do good, you look good, and you sell more.  For example, Unilever had a campaign to help educate children in India on the importance of washing their hands to prevent diarrhea.  The result of that effort was a decrease in diarrhea in India as well as an increase in Unilever stocks.

Even in these tough times, the green business case is not only viable but can have a positive impact on the bottom line.  Companies just need to align with what their customers want and be transparent about it.

Tamara Becher is an award-winning process and project manager in the Bay Area transitioning into the CleanTech field.  Most recently with Johnson & Johnson, Tamara is learning how to make the most impact for Clean Technology utilizing, among other things, engineering, project management, process excellence, and corporate effectiveness skills.

photo: Vermin Inc

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This is the first of three posts on the Executive Council’s “Value-Based Sustainability” event last week. As official sponsor of the event, CleanTechies raffled off five free tickets to our Facebook fans, Twitter followers (@CleanTechies) and Newsletter subscribers. The author of this article was one of the lucky winners. Fan us and follow us to learn about upcoming raffles like this!

First of all, a big thank you to Bob Johnston, Eric McNulty, April Lo and the rest of the Executive Council staff for putting together an excellent event last Tuesday.  Value-Based Sustainability: The Business Case for Green, Clean and Lean brought together a high caliber of sustainability professionals and thought leaders from many sectors.  Thank you Ceylan Thomson for bringing the event to our attention on www.CleanTechies.com.

This event had excellent speakers throughout.  Some of the speakers highlighted what their specific companies were doing and what were the drivers for those priorities.  This component provided excellent examples of early wins and highlighted the importance of proper metrics.  The keynote speakers, Adam Werbach, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S (and author of the book “Strategy for Sustainability” – see cover on the left) and Rupert Davis of MontaRosa discussed more generally, the state of sustainability and what needs to happen to make sustainability viable long-term.  Werbach emphasized that sustainability must incorporate social, cultural, economic, as well as environmental aspects in order to withstand the downturn.  To be successful, these four elements must be combined into a single corporate “North Star” goal that is transparent, engages stakeholders (at a personal level) and expands networks.

A few examples of North Star goals include:

• Dong Energy: In a single generation, move from an 80% fossil fuel-based generation mix to one that is 80% renewable sources.

• Proctor and Gamble: Sell $50 Billion in sustainable innovation products by 2012.

• Toyota: Make a car that never crashes and cleans the air as it drives.

Rupert Davis echoed those sentiments, emphasizing the importance of couching sustainability in language of decision makers:  profit, image, risk management, growth and regulation.  By framing sustainability in terms of critical business drivers, everyone will listen because they recognize that it is smart business.  Rupert provided numerous compelling examples:

• Johnson & Johnson spent $1 million on sustainability initiatives and had 16% IRR, which matches the best private equity returns
• The Empire State Building’s $14 million energy efficiency retrofit earns $5 million annually – that’s a 37% IRR
• The reliability of project IRR will be critical as China continues to grow and demands more inputs.  As China grows, so too do the eco-efficiency returns on projects
• Clorox’s GreenWorks line had $200 million in sales in its first year, gaining a 50% market share in its segment
• Sustainability efforts future proofs the enterprise and creates competitive advantage.

The balance of the panels and interviews raised many interesting points.  Bryan Jacob, Head of Energy and Climate Protection for Coca-Cola discussed his company’s recent initiatives including their executive delegation at COP-15 in Copenhagen.  Bryan commented that while many have expressed their disappointment with the outcome, he feels optimistic because not one single group (governments, NGOs, private sector) can make decisions in a vacuum.  There needs to be collaboration and coordination.  This is evidenced by climate change being high on the agenda at Davos and continuing discussions between the US, BRIC and South Africa.

Francois Ajenstat, Microsoft’s Director of Environmental Sustainability stated that Microsoft sees sustainability as a global good and the company approaches the issue much like they do security – by quietly incorporating sustainability features into their products and processes.  Microsoft’s efforts focus on three elements – driving responsible leadership, using IT efficiently, and using IT to increase efficiency elsewhere.

The Green IT panel moderated by Dunstan Hope, Managing Director of BSR’s ICT Practice, included Dr. Peter Williams, CTO Big Green Innovations IBM, Scott Bolick, VP Sustainability SAP, Kathrin Winkler, VP Sustainability EMC and Sumir Karayi, CEO of 1E.  The discussion brought up some very interesting tidbits but revolved around two primary points

• While ICT is in every supply chain, it must be used and addressed strategically not just tactically to reduce our overall ecological footprint
• ICT currently generates 2% of global GHG emissions, but could help use reduce up to 15% (according to a recent McKinsey study) of global emissions if currently available technologies were more widely deployed.

It was also noted that looking strategically across any given enterprise was not enough to fully leverage the benefits of IT.  Rather we must look at the big picture – across ecosystems and the planet – to ensure the transparency, inter-operability, and life cycle analysis necessary to achieve that 15% reduction.

A panel consisting of Bob Stoffel, SVP Engineering, Strategy, Supply Chain and Sustainability at UPS, and Libby Reder, Head of Environmental Initiatives at eBay discussed issues around greening the supply chain.  Both speakers provided interesting insights and statistics from both companies.  Bob highlighted UPS’s internal sustainability activities as well as initiatives with clients to help simplify routes, reduce costs and reduce the carbon footprint of logistics and distribution.  Libby highlighted the challenge of a working in a largely virtual supply chain and the importance of leveraging eBay’s community of 39 million users and 25 million sellers.  Both firms emphasized that metrics are the Holy Grail of sustainability and essential for any good strategy.

Jonathan Storper, Partner at Hanson Bridgett moderated a panel on Clean Tech, post recovery.  The panel consisted of Lynelle Cameron, Chief Sustainability Officer at Autodesk, Derek Sim Loo, VP of Stirling Energy, and Aaron Johnson, Director of Renewable Energy Policy and Strategy at PG&E.  The key points made during this discussion include:

• All too often CFOs insist on extremely low hurdle rates for sustainability projects (i.e. 3-8 months).  Increasing the hurdle rate to even 12-15 months can facilitate 40-50% IRRs, enabling “deep” retrofits, rather than more superficial actions
• The primary drivers for renewable energy manufacturing companies are the stimulus package (ARRA) – especially the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Manufacturing Tax Credit – and the state Renewable Portfolio Standards.
• For renewable energy manufacturing companies the consolidation in the auto industry provides tremendous access to domestic manufacturing capacity and talent that otherwise wouldn’t be there
• Leading electric utilities such as PG&E are investing heavily in renewable energy, but it takes time to bring that mix online.  Since these new renewable energy facilities cost more than older, largely amortized assets, there is also the thorny issue of who pays for that cost of transformation and how much.  Volatile natural gas markets further complicate the situation by making it harder to accurately gauge relative costs.

The closing keynote by Rupert Davis of MontaRosa came full circle from the opening keynote.  Rupert emphasized five key elements (profit, image, risk management, regulation and growth) to make a strong business case for sustainability.  By framing the argument with critical business drivers, executives will understand that sustainability is seen as smart business.

Thomas L. Rosenberg is an energy, climate change and environmental sustainability specialist with more than 11 years of experience working in Latin America, Europe, and the US. By combining big picture market and policy strategy with solid technical knowledge to connect the “less-than-obvious” dots, Mr. Rosenberg empowers senior management to develop effective sustainability strategies for their organizations.

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The creation of a smart grid of energy producers, distributors and consumers will undoubtedly be at the center of a sustainable future. Similarly using information and communications technology (ICT) to extend the benefits of urban living to outlying areas will become a much larger business opportunity.

Cisco is one company envisioning that the same principles of sustainability that will reshape the power grid will also be applied to essential services including health care, education, and municipal services.

IBM, AT&T, GE and Siemens also have designs on capturing a share of this market.

Being sustainable and smart is interchangeable, which is defined as economic, environmental and social sustainability, according to Anil Menon, VP of Cisco’s Globalisation Center in Bangalore, India. During a discussion of the company’s Smart and Connected Communities initiative, Menon outlined a future where people don’t have to travel into city centers to receive medical care or access public services. With sufficient bandwidth, people in suburbs or villages can interact via video conferencing (Cisco its technology “Telepresence”) and receive high quality service.

It’s true that video conferencing has been eroding the need for in-person meetings for years; Telepresence technology takes it to a higher level by enhancing the video and audio quality and streamlining the sharing of data. Menon said that Telepresence centers would likely be established around airports, which are usually away from downtown and easier to access, and could eliminate traffic. He said that KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has found that operating Telepresence centers at airports can be more profitable than running local routes.

Building mini-cities around airports seems like an odd location given the noise and air quality issues. Adding public and corporate centers to existing suburbs makes sense, and could eliminate some of the highway traffic going to downtown. Companies might find it much more cost effective to rent a few hours at a Telepresence center in the suburbs for meetings rather than providing additional office space downtown and requiring employees to drive in every day. In the future the carbon reductions alone could make utilizing satellite locations economical.

In addition to getting people connected, smart and sustainable business connects devices to each other, such as collecting data from water meters, traffic cameras, and medical equipment. IP-enabling devices will create billions of dollars in opportunities for sustainable business service providers. Menon said “Completely new things will be created if everything is connected to everything.”

It is much easier to make buildings, equipment and roads smart and sustainable if you’re starting from scratch rather than upgrading the built environment, and that means developing nations. Africa, India, Indonesia and the Middle East are key targets for Cisco, which is taking a global view with its technology development rather than launching things in the U.S. first.

Rethinking the way cities and suburbs are built and how municipal services interact with the public is a radical idea for most corporate leaders as well as the public. While the energy and building industries aren’t used to innovating at the rate of IT and communications companies, government leaders and politicians will be even tougher to convince. It will take at least a generation before the smart and sustainable attitude takes hold, so rather than an immediate expansion, it will be sustained growth for years to come.

Appearing courtesy of Matter Network.

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