The Time for Carbon Management is Now!
There has never been a more critical time for businesses to focus on carbon and environmental sustainability issues. Even now, in a time marked by a global economic downturn, accounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) risk is an increasingly relevant cost of doing business. It is the expectation put on businesses by customers, shareholders, and regulators.
Historically, prior to 2009, the U.S. GHG regulatory environment had been defined by fragmented state and regional initiatives. Federal carbon regulations are now on the horizon with US Environmental Protection Agency GHG reporting mandates set to commence in January 2010 and a clear directive by President Obama to the US Congress to pass cap and trade legislation. In 2009 to date, environmental policies impacting the energy sector have been progressed with unprecedented speed and urgency.
March 2009 saw the release of the U.S. EPA's draft mandatory GHG reporting rule which is arguably the most stringent GHG protocols drafted to date. These GHG reporting regulations will cover 85 - 90% of the nation's GHG emissions and will require reporting from approximately 13,000 facilities. Pace anticipates that this proposed rule will be finalized this fall and compliance obligations for U.S. businesses will commence in January 2010. As organizations were beginning to come to terms with the complexity of the EPA GHG reporting requirements, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a landmark bill that has the potential to define carbon and energy regulations for decades to come. "The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009" (a.k.a. The Waxman/Markey Bill) seeks, amongst other provisions, to establish a Federal cap-and-trade on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
These are clear signals that the timeframe wherein companies can maintain an unmanaged carbon position is fast closing and the need to begin incorporating carbon into corporate strategy and energy planning is now. Whether your organization is directly impacted by these regulations or not, carbon compliance costs passed through by power generators and distillate fuel suppliers are a guarantee and will represent a significant variable expense. Without a clear project and energy management strategy, this risk is unmitigated. Businesses that proactively manage their carbon risks before they occur will establish a competitive advantage.
About Pace - Pace is a full-service, energy and carbon management firm with over 30 years of experience. Pace provides full-scale GHG inventory services to a variety of energy consumers, from commercial to heavy industrial companies as well as utilities.
About the Author - Sean Metivier has over 8 years of combined experience related to project management and product management within the environmental consulting and retail energy industries. At Pace he provides consulting and project management support for a variety of Carbon-related engagements. Sean is also the product manager of Pace's robust web-based, enterprise carbon accounting and project tracking service (ecolinkTM) designed to support corporate-wide sustainability, GHG emission management and energy management programs. Sean holds an M.S. in climate change science and a B.S. in environmental biology from Syracuse University.