Carbon Analysis Tool Helps Clean Northeast U.S. Climate

June 9, 2006

Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] A recent project from The World Resources Institute (WRI) has enabled adoption of renewable energy and purchase of green tags to create savings for the dozen Fortune 500 companies that participated in the Climate Northeast Project, as well as considerably reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Northeast. Through this WRI partnership, companies participating in the project are charged to devise winning strategies to thrive in a carbon-constrained future.

WRI, which bills itself as an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives, released the Carbon Value Analysis Tool (CVAT), the Microsoft Excel-based analysis program that has been tested by several Fortune 500 companies to help their corporate energy managers assess the value of emissions reductions and make informed decisions on financing new projects.

Project energy managers can factor in the price of carbon when evaluating GHG reduction projects by comparing the emissions and financial impacts for a full range of energy-efficient and renewable energy projects. Designed for multinational corporations with GHG reduction targets as well as facilities that operate under carbon-limiting government mandates, the tool is also suitable for use in Europe.

Case studies released by the WRI's Climate Northeast Project demonstrate how corporate energy managers have improved their financial and environmental performance by examining such energy management and procurement. For example, Johnson & Johnson generated energy using gas from a neighboring landfill, saving an estimated 16 million pounds of carbon dioxide. This both contributed to the company's GHG reduction target and shielded it from volatile natural-gas prices.

Citigroup likewise increased its procurement of zero-emitting green power in competitive markets to 10 percent of its total consumption, and kept its costs down by working closely with its energy services company. Other corporate partners in the Climate Northeast Project include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Con Edison, Eastman Kodak, General Electric, Northeast Utilities, Pfizer, Staples, and United Technologies Corporation.