Enviance Blog

New Date and Time: Join us for the GreenBiz State of Green Business Live Webcast

UPDATE! New date and time for GreenBiz's sixth annual State of Green Business Live webcast

Date: Friday, February 15, 2012

Time: 10am/2pm

Sign up: http://info.greenbiz.com/state-green-business-webcast-01.html

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The Results are in from our Annual EUEC Survey!

Now that EUEC 2013 has wrapped, we wanted to share with you some revealing feedback from the show floor.  We surveyed the environmental professionals at the show about how regulation and sustainability issues are affecting their companies and organizations – and wound up with some surprising results.

Here are the key takeaways from our 2013 survey:

• Carbon Tax: This year’s survey showed that two-thirds of respondents do not have a plan in place to manage the financial risk associated with the imposition of a cost on carbon, either through cap and trade or a tax.  In last year’s survey, more than three-fifths of respondents said they thought the imposition of a carbon tax would impact their organization.

• AB 32: Is AB 32—under which California initiated its first carbon credit auction in November 2012—a paper tiger or is it simply too early in its implementation for companies to feel its impact? At EUEC, 72 percent of those surveyed said they thought AB 32 would not have any sort of impact on their organization.

• Regulation Reporting Systems: Nearly half of respondents with emission reporting requirements indicated that they had no actual reporting system in place. Of the group without any reporting system, about one-third reported that they were not currently evaluating any systems to help them meet their reporting requirements.

• Water Management: Two-thirds of respondents said that water management is of equal or greater value to them as managing carbon emissions. This is a big increase from 2012 when more than half of respondents indicated that water management was either of no importance, or less important than carbon emission reporting.

• Election Results: 77 percent of attendees said they believe the results of the presidential election will mean an increase in environmental regulations over the next four years.

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Utilities Expect More Environmental Regulations

Diesel-powered motor vehicles blamed for most of PH's air pollution

The Industry Speaks: What Mattered in 2012, and What’s to Come in 2013

Download Ebook!

2012 is coming to an end, and over the past year there have been many developments in the environmental compliance, energy and sustainability industry. In working with companies that need to track and report their environmental impact, and reduce those impacts in their supply chains, we felt we were in a unique position to distill a complete view of the state of the industry in 2012, and what to expect in 2013.

So we asked you, our trusted colleagues, partners, customers and members of the analyst and media communities, to give us your thoughts and insights on what were the most important aspects of 2012, and also what you see coming in 2013.

We received tremendous feedback, with more than 485 responses from professionals in a variety of verticals, including energy & utilities, manufacturing, and construction & development, to name a few.

We’ve consolidated the responses in our new ebook, which we invite you to take a look at. We’ve got industry numbers, statistics, and illuminating quotes, on the most important trends and issues from 2012 and predictions for 2013.

We hope you enjoy reading the ebook!

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Saving the Earth by cutting carbon kick

Price on Carbon Set in California

By Jon Costantino, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

Six years after the passage of AB 32, the world finally knows what a metric ton of carbon emissions costs in California, when the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) released the results of the November 14, 2012, auction. The price is $10.09
per metric ton for 2013, just nine cents above the regulatory “floor.”  The official results were released via the Board website at noon this Monday.  In addition to the “Auction Settlement Price,” CARB disclosed other aspects of the auction such as how many of the state’s obligated entities signed up to participate and how many metric tons were sold.

The interest in the program was evident as the announcing website slowed down considerably when the clock struck twelve.  Additionally, there were three bids for every 2013 allowance available for purchase. That being said, there were fewer than 75 entities that signed up to participate for the first auction, which is only a small percentage of the over 350 entities representing over 600 facilities in California. 

CARB actually held two separate auctions simultaneously: one for 2013 “vintage” and one for 2015 “vintage.”  They can be thought of as current and future allowances, as the vintage refers to the first year in which you can use the allowance for compliance with the program. The results are summarized below.

Vintage	Allowances Available	Percentage Sold	Settlement Price
2013	23,126,110	100%	$10.09
2015	39,450,000	14.1%	$10.00

The impact of this price has ripple effects throughout the AB 32 and carbon reduction scheme. It is the benchmark on which the many other pieces of the program will be based, including the cost-effectiveness of industrial efficiency projects, an estimate of the future price-per-gallon increase on transportation fuels, the price of carbon offsets and the viability of future offset projects, and much more. 

The AB 32 Cap and Trade auction raised approximately $289 million for California’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions.  How to spend the revenue is already being debated. How this ultimately occurs will be decided in the next few months.

Jon Costantino is a senior advisor for climate change, environmental and clean energy policy, and government with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. His twenty-year professional career includes experience in both the public and private sectors. Twitter:@JonCost

Related articles

The price of carbon? $10.09 per metric ton

California's first cap-and-trade auction sells out, declared 'a success'

California sells out of first pollution permits.

California's first cap-and-trade auction sells out, deemed 'a success'

California Air Resources Board releases cap-and-trade carbon auction results

September Monthly Poll

It's time again for our monthly poll, where we ask your opinion on a wide range of pressing environmental regulation issues. Our goal is to identify what matters most to you and present your unfiltered opinions on a host of hot button topics.

For this month's poll we would like to know your option about a carbon tax, specially in California. Please take a few seconds to complete the poll below and participate!

The Ultimate Guide: Air Emissions Management E-book

 

Download E-book!

Within the ever-changing world of environmental compliance, air emissions management has become a top priority for many organizations. It can be a daunting task to keep track of the latest revisions and nuances, and with constantly evolving standards and regulations, compliance has become a moving target.

To help with this issue, we have curated top educational resources - white papers and webinars - to put together the ultimate air emissions management guide - everything Environmental Health and Safety professionals need to know to successfully manage their organization’s air emissions compliance. 

Each chapter in this e-book will give you access to valuable information to manage: 

• Mandatory and voluntary air emissions regulations 
• Common air emissions mandatory regulations (Title V, NSPS, MACT, etc)
• GHG emissions management regulations 
• Oil & Gas Industry Subpart W regulation 

The e-book also contains useful case studies with real-world examples from Enviance customers who have achieved environmental compliance excellence, including AEP, Fort Carson, Koch Fertilizer and Valero - to name a few.

Download your own copy here.

Introducing Monthly Polls

This month we are introducing our newest blog series, and we're especially excited as it provides us with an opportunity to interact with you; our readers.

Each month we will be asking for your opinion on a wide range of pressing environmental regulation issues. Our goal is to identify what matters most to you and present your unfiltered opinions on a host of hot button topics.

We will publish the results of our polls at the end of every month.

Please take a few seconds to complete the poll below and participate!

3 Questions with... Jamie Johnson, Verde Sustainable Solutions

It’s time again for our 3 Questions series, where we ask industry experts about their organization’s environmental programs, opinions on environmental policy, and how they reduce their own environmental footprint.

This week, we spoke with Jamie Johnson, social entrepreneur at Verde Sustainable Solutions, to get his perspective on the environmental industry. Jamie has a background in environmental consulting, developing sustainability software for the iPad, and teaching. He’s run his own environmental technology company for two years, and before that worked in various capacities in the sustainability field. He holds an MS in Environmental Science Policy from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Biology from Bradley University.  

Q: Do you believe policy will help drive the green economy, or do you think the government should leave it up to private businesses and market demand?
A: Both are essential to tackle the large environmental problems that we have before us. Government has a key role for certain policies, such as high-speed rail infrastructure and stability in energy markets. Ignoring the role that government plays in sustainability is not realistic, especially since the military is the largest consumer of renewable power in the world. 

However, private business will also play key roles in the green economy. My company recently released the Verde iPad app, an inexpensive way for consumers to conduct an energy audit on the iPad. We need innovation like this from millions of companies to increase energy efficiency, renewable power options and transportation options.  We cannot rely on government alone to be the source of innovation, but they must set policies to encourage it.     

Q: Are we doing enough to encourage the use of renewable energy through subsidies and incentives? If not, what more can be done?
A: Government has done enough in the form of subsidies and incentives for renewable energy.  What they have yet to do is increase the price on carbon to level the playing field between traditional and renewable energy.  

Historically, the idea of a carbon tax has been unpopular in our country.  However, with our increasing deficit problem, a carbon tax could bring in valuable revenue to our government and make renewable energy more competitive as opposed to the current tax incentives for alternative energy sources.  I think that after the 2013 elections, we may see some resurgence of interest in a carbon tax and the long-term benefits it would provide for both our economy and environment. 

Q: In your opinion, which industry sector has the greatest opportunity to impact the future of sustainable business?
A: While I am not personally involved in this sector, I think battery storage capabilities will have the greatest opportunity to impact sustainability.  I find this exciting space, not only because of the transportation issue, but also for the impact it will have on smart grid independent energy sources.   

Thanks to Jamie for participating in this week’s 3 Questions series. If you have any additional questions for him, feel free to comment below!

 

 

Mandatory & Voluntary: Why can’t we be friends?

Earlier this week, we had the pleasure of hosting a Webinar in conjunction with CH2M HILL and the GreenBiz Group. The webinar “Mandatory vs. Voluntary: Creating an Environmental Compliance Culture of Value,” featured Nigel Nugent, vice president of worldwide sales at Enviance, and Andrea Gardner, senior technologist of sustainability at CH2M Hill. Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz Group, moderated the discussion.

The webinar brought these experts together to discuss how companies can develop blended environmental compliance strategies that integrate both mandatory and voluntary activities. This approach to mandatory environmental compliance and voluntary sustainability reports may seem contrary to many companies, who tend to separate the two efforts among different departments, but there are many benefits that result from combining these activities.

First, let’s clarify the differences between mandatory and voluntary compliance. CH2M Hill’s Gardner emphasized that the biggest difference between these is that one that is reactive in nature while the other is proactive. For example, voluntary results are analyzed, and regulatory results are reported. Companies that are going above and beyond regulatory compliance requirements, and have implemented some form of voluntary compliance, are considered to be aspirational—they’re looking toward the future and proactively asking themselves, “What kind of company do we want to become? How can we minimize our environmental impact?” Conversely, regulatory compliance is focused on the here and now. They think in terms of “Where does my company stand from a compliance standpoint, at this very moment?” This line of thinking is much more risk-averse and reactive.

There are many advantages to a blended voluntary and mandatory compliance department, but only if it is implemented appropriately. Many companies set up separate departments for voluntary and mandatory–and prefer the separation. However, there are negative consequences if the disparate groups are not managed and monitored properly. For example, they may pursue projects that require the same company resources and conduct duplicate data collection—wasting both time and money. Isolated data sets collected and stored in each respective department’s database, can reduce effectiveness of planning and decision-making and cause internal confusion as companies struggle to determine which data set is the true accurate representation.

Watch the Webinar Now

These issues illustrate why many companies choose to house these extremely unique approaches to sustainability within the same department. According to Nugent, mandatory compliance teams are strengthened by the inclusion of voluntary sustainability. The likenesses between voluntary sustainability and regulatory compliance offer access to a host of benefits that can help decrease a company’s bottom line. The sharing of critical data, saved resources (by staffing only one team), a single repository for data management (allowing for more efficient data use), and streamlined operational processes all create tremendous value for the organization. Also, it provides a competitive advantage; since voluntary standards can eventually become mandatory, monitoring these early on helps organizations better prepare themselves.

It’s clear that there are many benefits to combining voluntary and mandatory compliance efforts if it’s done in a monitored and controlled fashion. However, it’s up to each individual organization to decide if this kind of strategy is what best suits their goals and needs.

Stay tuned for more webinars with Enviance customers and partners as we move into the waning months of 2011. We have much more in store for you!

Watch the Webinar here.

It's Back to School Week at Enviance! Our 5 hottest Educational Resources!

 

With the start of a new school year upon us, what better time to talk about Education? Throughout the years, we have maintained an ongoing effort to produce educational resources in topics relevant to the Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) community to help disseminate best practices and contribute to Industry growth. We have received a tremendous response from clients, partners and friends that have been relying on our resources to keep up to date with the latest Industry trends.

If you haven’t been an avid reader of our selection of White Papers and don’t know where to start, worry not! We put together a list of our Top 5 White Papers to share with you this week!

Ever wanted to know what your peers and even competitors are reading to keep informed? Follow our links below and learn more about what is helping them effectively and efficiently manage EH&S requirements.

TOP 1 RESOURCE: THE EMISSIONS TRIFECTA: Combining Title V, Air Emissions Inventory and GHG Reporting

The Emissions Trifecta White Paper is our most popular white paper of all time. It discusses how streamlining emissions data (Title V, Air Emissions Inventory and GHG) into one comprehensive, centralized system that has been designed to capture and report the data required for a variety of different regulatory environmental programs saves companies time, money and personnel.

TOP 2 RESOURCE: SUPPLY CHAIN ENVIRONMENTALISM: Using Environmental ERP to Manage Environmental Impact for Competitive Advantage and Profit

This white paper introduces a new approach to managing the supply chain which defines Supply Chain Environmentalism as the enhancement of competitiveness through either cost reduction or product differentiation, or both, achieved by reduction of environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, etc.) in the supply chain.

TOP 3 RESOURCE: THE BIG PICTURE: A Method to Compare Facilities' Environmental Performance

The Method to Compare Facilities Environmental Performance white paper explains how you can compare facilities' environmental performance by using environmental compliance and sustainability data, such as emissions and water in a summary mode to produce "smart scores". 

TOP 4 RESOURCE: The Value of Public Perception: Transforming Environmental Efforts From Compliance-Driven to Risk Management

Many companies fail to understand that their environmental footprint creates risk to their business that's on par with losing their largest customer. The need for the role of environmental management to transform from simply meeting compliance requirements to pervasive risk management has become more evident in recent years.

TOP 5 RESOURCE: CASE STUDY WEBINAR: Streamlining Compliance by Automating Data Collection and Inspections with System Integration and Mobile Technology

Find out how a real company facing real environmental compliance challenges was able to efficiently overcome them by designing and implementing new processes and systems.

In this webinar, you 'll learn how one company went from needing 8 Environmental Managers about 6 days a month to input data to requiring only 4 to 6 hours of review time a month instead of data entry work. See how this company captured environmental field data faster, responded quickly to environmental incidents with workflow processes and saved time and money in personnel and violation fines.