Letter from Australia, Carbon Emissions Management

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18th Oct 2008

The Software Leaders

At the forefront of enterprise EHS software. BY PETER KERMODE, 18 October 2008

Australian firms and businesses are facing a regulatory and compliance nightmare as the Federal Government races to introduce an emissions trading scheme to combat climate change, with few companies currently geared to properly measure, record and manage their emissions.

The government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) outlined in the recent Green Paper has an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) at its core, which will affect more than 700 companies based on carbon emissions of over 25,000 tonnes a year. These companies will be required to establish systems and processes to accurately track and report their carbon emissions footprint, or risk public naming and heavy fines.

Yet the Carbon Disclosure Project Report 2007 found only 10% of Australian companies are able to provide a comprehensive emissions profile that had been externally verified. The looming problem has seen listed companies in sectors most at risk such as energy and manufacturing, scrambling to find custom solutions to their greenhouse gas management.

For some companies that already have systems in place to capture, track and manage Environment , Health and Safety (EHS) data, the solution has been found in extending and adapting their existing systems to integrate carbon emissions information.

Leading EHS and Risk management software provider, CINTELLATE , has already implemented and extended their carbon emission module at two major listed firms to enable clients to meet the new strict emissions reporting regime.

CINTELLATE's CEO, Angela McQuillan, says with the advent of National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act 2007, many of CINTELLATE's existing customers are asking CINTELLATE to help them better manage their carbon emissions data.

"Most companies, even those in high emission industries, have until now tracked their emissions in an unsophisticated, even ad hoc manner such as individual employees using complex excel spreadsheets", she says.

"With a proper auditing process to be implemented, this is demonstrably insufficient and will lead to companies playing catch up compared with companies that are better prepared and have a solution already installed."

"A properly designed system, that can be implemented across an entire company and its various departments will soon be the standard for ASX-listed companies."

Ms McQuillan says companies that move quickly to install proper carbon emission management systems will be able to use this lead over competitors to their advantage as the regulatory landscape tightens and when Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is introduced in the near future.

"What you need is a solution that is very flexible - a solution that can evolve with the company's unique requirements," she says.

"When emissions trading commences, there is a direct link to a company's published financial results. If you don't meet your targets, it hits your bottom-line because you may have to buy credits. If you meet your targets, you may have income from the sale of surplus credits-it is real money. If you have to go out and buy credits and particularly if your competitor is selling surplus credits as they have been more efficient than you, it's going to really hurt."

For more information on CINTELLATE's Carbon Emissions Solution, email: nger@cintellate.com

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