Webcor Sets New Greenhouse Gas Measurement Requirements for Suppliers

12/03/2009 AECCafe

SAN FRANCISCO - (BUSINESS WIRE) - December 3, 2009

When it comes to estimating their impact on the environment, most companies and organizations
miss 80 percent of their carbon footprint, according to Climate Earth, a turnkey provider of
enterprise carbon accounting solutions.

"It`s more like a carbon toe print," said Chris Erickson, Climate Earth founder and chief executive
officer. "Companies primarily miss emissions that come from supply chains that feed into their
products and services."

Accurately accounting for all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is expected to be an important
topic at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18.

One company that is leading the way in tracking emissions in its supply chain is Webcor Builders,
the largest West Coast commercial building construction company and a leader in the green
building industry.

As a result of its work on Enterprise Carbon Accounting with Climate Earth - which determined
that 99.5 percent of Webcor`s carbon footprint exists in its supply chain - the company now asks
for GHG data in contract bids from its suppliers.

"It`s a part of the technical specifications, along with length, width, height and strength - we want
to know about carbon emissions," said Phil Williams, Webcor Vice President of Technical
Systems and Sustainability. "It`s not a sole criterion for winning a bid, but you can`t compete
without it."

Williams said he hopes that Webcor`s efforts will inspire standards for the construction industry.
The company built the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and is famed for its
environmental leadership. Webcor was the first construction company to report its emissions
related to fuel and electricity use, referred to as Scopes 1 and 2 respectively, to The California
Climate Action Registry (CCAR).

Webcor also recently became the first company in any industry to report comprehensive Scope 3
supply chain GHG emissions to the CCAR. For the construction industry, that includes the
production of materials such as steel, concrete, glass, framing, drywall and carpets.

Market forces will soon compel all industries to follow Webcor`s lead, Erickson said, and
Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) will become a standard business practice. However, rather
than being a burden, ECA will have direct business benefits by helping identify areas of potential
cost savings and new revenue sources.

"The writing is on the wall," Erickson said. "Companies will soon be measured on the
environmental performance of their business, just as they`re measured today on cost and quality.
The age of carbon transparency is here to stay."

Climate Earth`s approach to carbon accounting is unique because it is delivered as a full-service
reporting solution and is developed with customers. Other companies provide software, which
only gives customers tools to do their own analysis. Customers must then hire expert staff, learn
to use the tool and be willing to stand behind their numbers. Furthermore, most software solutions
do
not identify the critical 80 percent of GHG emissions in the supply chain.

Climate Earth uniquely employs the Comprehensive Environmental Data Archive (CEDA),
developed by its chief scientist, Dr. Sanwon Suh, and used by the World Resources Institute and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"CEDA is like a calorie counter for carbon," says Erickson. "It makes it possible to accurately
estimate the impact of supply chain factors in a company`s total carbon footprint and, of course,
it`s 100 percent standards-compliant."

Companies also have to focus on materials other than carbon, such as water, waste and other
sources of pollution, Erickson added. However, carbon accounting can help a business focus on
its total environmental operation and step up efforts to conserve, improve energy efficiency and
recycle.




http://www10.aeccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=767726

<< back