14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft both participates and supports a project designed to offer companies worldwide a database for storing corporate climate-change information. Dubbed the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the initiative offers the world’s largest database of primary corporate greenhouse-gas emissions since 2000, and is essentially a hub that centralizes environmental data for various corporations, including Microsoft. The latest update to CDP that went live on February 17th, namely the new Carbon Reporting System, was made possible with Microsoft technology, along with solutions from SAP and Accenture, according to Rob Bernard, Microsoft chief environmental strategist.
“Microsoft’s software technology provided the foundation to make the process of carbon and environmental reporting easier, and worked with the partners to build out this new system from the ground up. The new system is designed to help organizations utilize online analysis tools to drive improved carbon management and facilitate greater levels of analysis,” Bernard explained. “We are pleased to support the CDP’s efforts and are proud that our software has played at least some role in providing greater transparency for companies as they measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies.”
Of course, Microsoft has long advocated that software in particular, and IT in general, are key elements of the challenge that is the process of reducing global carbon emissions. CDP streamlines the way in which corporations can measure their environmental impact, but also set reduction targets and monitor improvements, and of course, report the manner in which they affect the environment. At this point in time, CDP harvests environmental data from no less than 2,500 companies in over 60 markets worldwide.
“Last September the CDP announced it would upgrade its online Carbon Reporting System, turning to leading technology and consulting companies -- Microsoft, SAP, and Accenture. CDP realized that in order to meet the growing needs of its customers and the thousands of organizations that have come to rely on CDP’s information, that a new, improved system would be needed. With an improved questionnaire system, CDP can increase the quality of disclosure globally and drive greater use of corporate climate change information. To accomplish this, CDP and its partners designed and built a new system that is more intuitive and flexible and can scale to meet CDP’s growing needs,” Bernard added.