Ever find the world of global warming a little overwhelming?

Between myriad climate initiatives, myths and misinformation, piles of studies, and countless websites and advocacy groups, it's tough to make sense of it all.

True, there may be a bit of an information overload surrounding climate change. But one new organization is simplifying things. And it's accomplishing this by viewing climate change through the lens of a magic number: 350.

Essentially, according to scientific consensus and a seminal report by Dr. James Hansen—perhaps the world’s most venerated climate change researcher—350 ppm (parts per million) is the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide. So 350.org was launched to make that number a focal point of achievable, realistic action on climate change.

The bad news is we’re above this value currently, with CO₂ at about 390 ppm, which is one of the highest values ever. Actually, we’re pretty much exactly at 390.09 ppm, according to the live data provided by CO2now.org. The worse news is that atmospheric CO₂ has been steadily increasing at an accelerating rate. In 1959 (the first year precise measurements were taken) we sat at a comfortable 316 ppm. In 1988 we cracked 350 ppm. Two years ago we recorded about 387 ppm and though levels have never been higher than they are today, we’re projected to reach 450 ppm by 2035 and a staggering 860 ppm by 2095!

That’s if nothing is done about it, which brings me to the good news: according to 350.org, humankind is actually capable of reversing the trend and scaling back emissions to a viable 350. But the same old narrative applies: we’re in it together, and only coordinated action and advocacy will lead to a reversal of this upward trend.

Business and industry leaders can do their part by tracking and reporting on air emissions, implementing streamlined environmental management systems, and developing progressive policies to curb emissions.

If you have a U.S. government contract and don't track your air emissions, get ready for a wake-up call: The Obama administration is set to kill deals with any

 contractors that don't track their emissions.

This is pretty huge. The federal government relies on well over half a million contractors across the country. According to a Federal Times report, fewer than 400 of those organizations (less than one per cent) report on GHG emissions in any form. 

Though this new requirement is not set to take effect till 2011 or 2012, the feds are already starting to take stock of who is reporting and who is not. Companies that already report (or immediately start to report) GHG emissions will have a much better chance of landing government contracts. Further, if you track your emissions throughout your entire supply chain and across third-party vendors, you will boost your chances of getting the attention of the federal government. 

Daunted? Don't be. Tracking emissions statistics can be a relatively straightforward process. However, if you want to get noticed and increase your chances of landing lucrative contracts, now's the time to start implementing software solutions to track emissions across your entire organization and supply chain. Alternatively, take your commitment to environment responsibility a step further by implementing a complete sustainability management program by tracking sustainability metrics and communicating sustainability performance to stakeholders.

Greener World Media, Inc. (www.greenbiz.com) has published its annual State of Green Business report, which measures the environmental impacts of the green economy. The report provides a recap of 2009's top green stories and looks at 20 measures of environmental performance in the U.S. including carbon transparency, corporate reporting, energy efficiency, GHG commitments, green office space, cleantech investments, toxics in manufacturing, and green power. The 20 topics have been given one of three distinctions: swimming (where companies are making progress), treading (where they're standing still), and sinking (where they're falling behind).

In the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), some thought the slowing economy would have a negative effect on budgets, and therefore, corporate reporting but it seems the opposite holds true. According to the report, "the financial crisis created more pressure from stakeholders, customers and investors for companies to increase transparency and close the non-financial information disclosure gap." While this can be interpreted as somewhat of an achievement, overall, the report finds U.S. companies are at a standstill when it comes to corporate reporting.

Areas where U.S. companies are swimming - clean-energy patents, energy efficiency, green IT and office space, paper use and recycling, and water use.

Although green business may be progressing slowly, it is definitely moving forward. Organizations big and small are taking steps to ensure they are being environmentally responsible, not only in preparation for tougher legislation but also due to the growing consumer interest in corporate sustainability and social responsibility initiatives.

Are you looking for solutions to support your company's environmental initiatives? Learn more about how Intelex can help you with all of your environmental software needs.

To download the State of Green Business 2010 report, visit GreenBiz.com.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently proposed a new GHG emissions program designed to further regulate the amount of greenhouse gas produced in the US. The proposed Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule would require large facilities to obtain operating permits for their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Large facilities are defined as those emitting more than 25,000 tons per year CO2e. According to the EPA these large facilities make up nearly 70% of US GHG emissions. Additionally newly constructed facilities and significantly modified facilities would be required to use the best available control technology to minimize GHG emissions under the proposed rule.

Under Title V, the EPA is proposing an applicability threshold of 25,000 tons per year (tpy) CO2e for existing facilities. Facilities with emissions of less than 25,000 tpy CO2e would not be required to obtain an operating permit.

Under Prevention of Significant Deterioration, a program designed to minimize emissions from new or modified sources, the major stationary source threshold is 25,000 tpy CO2e. This is the threshold used to determine if a new facility or a major modification to an existing facility would require a PSD permit. The significance threshold is set at 10,000 to 25,000 tpy CO2e.  A PSD permit would be required if an existing facility makes modifications that increase emissions inside the range set.

The proposed rule includes the six main greenhouse gases; carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).  If the proposed rule is adopted, the rule would take effect in the spring of 2010. 

*Jonna McConaughy is Intelex's Air Emissions Specialist and is based out of Intelex's satellite location in Pittsburgh PA

The Envinronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its new mandatory GHG reporting program will commence on January 1st 2010 with reports being due in 2011. The new mandatory GHG rule from the EPA brings some changes from the originally proposed rule.   Some of the changes are outlined below.

INDUSTRIES INCLUDED
Excluded from reporting are the following industries:

Electronics manufacturing Ethanol production Fluorinated GHG production Food processing Industrial landfills Magnesium production Oil and natural gas systems SF6 from electrical equipment Underground coal mines Wastewater treatment Suppliers of coal

Industries required to report include those facilities emitting more than 25,000 metric tons CO2e per year.  These industries may include fossil fuel and natural gas suppliers, vehicle and engine makers (excluding light duty vehicles/engines), cement manufacturers, paper manufacturers, chemical manufacturers and others.

MONITORING OR BEST AVAILABLE DATA
Best available data may be used for Q1 2010 in lieu of required monitoring. Extensions for use of best available data may be requested within the year 2010 but not beyond this time.

QUALITY ASSURANCE
Calibration requirements for flow meters and monitors were added.  Accuracy to 5% is specified.

REPORT SUBMITTALS
The mandatory rule specifies reports are to be submitted to the EPA. Data collection was not delegated to the states.
The EPA is working to update the consolidated emissions reporting schema (CERS), the data schema used in submittals of Emission Inventories, to include GHG data.  This standardized data format will assist in data exchange between federal, state, and local agencies as well as other GHG registries and protocols.
Reports may be submitted in an XML format via web based system that is currently under construction.

DATA RETENTION
Records must be kept for 3 years under the mandatory rule.  This is down from 5 years in the proposed rule.

END OF REPORTING
Should a facility reduce their GHG emissions under the 25,000 tons CO2e per year limit for 5 consecutive years, they may cease annual GHG reporting to the EPA.  Should a facility reduce their GHG emissions under 15,000 metric tons CO2e per year for 3 consecutive years, they may cease to report GHG emissions.  Should a facility cease GHG emitting activities or shut down completely, reporting is not required.

 *Jonna McConaughy is Intelex's Air Emissions Specialist and is based out of Intelex's satellite location in Pittsburgh PA

As announced in a press release on August 19th 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has recently been established between two of the major players in the Canadian standards and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions industries. Leading Canadian standards-based solutions organization, CSA Standards, and the leading North American GHG registry, The Climate Registry, have come together through the MoU to more closely align the two organizations in regards to supporting a consistent GHG measurement and reporting culture in Canada. The partnership solidifies the collaboration between the two organizations to promote the voluntary reporting of GHG emissions to The Climate Registry as well as the adoption of The Climate Registry’s platform for mandatory reporting among Canadian jurisdictions. The MoU also strives to improve upon and create new training opportunities and capacity building programs related to The Climate Registry as well as for general GHG accounting, verification, reporting and tracking.

With over 340 members, The Climate Registry currently operates the foremost North American voluntary GHG registry holding a unique relationship with the 12 Canadian provinces and territories as well as the 41 states that all sit on their board of directors. The Climate Registry, by setting consistent and transparent standards for calculating, verifying and publicly reporting GHG emissions, plays an active role in supporting mandatory reporting schemes across North America. On the other side, CSA Standards serves industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in North America and the global marketplace and has been working with Canadian jurisdictions to build components that support GHG reporting, regional emissions trading systems, and program performance tracking.

Speaking on the newly established MoU, Suzanne Kiraly, president of CSA Standards commented, “This MoU highlights CSA Standards and The Climate Registry’s mutual purpose and common goal of building standardized methods for measuring and tracking GHG emissions. Continued collaboration between our two organizations will serve to further these efforts and, in turn, benefit various organizations, including government and industries.”  Alex Carr, Canadian Regional Director of The Climate Registry, also sees the benefit that the MoU will bring to both government and industry stating that, “By working together with CSA, we can better support Canadian governments and industry as climate policy continues to evolve and capturing high quality GHG emissions data becomes even more important – both to regulators and to companies wanting to manage their risks, improve energy efficiency, and demonstrate their leadership.” The establishment of this MoU is a positive sign that the standardization of GHG emissions reporting in Canada is moving closer to becoming a reality, ultimately creating a reporting climate where ingenuity and continuous improvement are held as key drivers.

Web-based Environmental Management Systems such as the one offered by Intelex provide a platform to track and report GHG emissions data across an entire organization in real-time, providing a 360 degree view of emissions performance fostering regulatory compliance as well as driving continual improvement.

A recent article published on Business News America's website addresses Intelex Technologies growing presence into the South American market. During an interview with journalist Renzo Dasso, Intelex Account Manager Jason Fitzpatrick explained how an increased awareness surrounding environmental considerations has been a motivating factor for many organizations to begin implementing web-based environmental management systems, despite the current economic climate, "We have done quite well in spite of the global financial crisis. The environment industry is developing rapidly and companies are becoming more aware of these issues, which for us is an advantage."

Visit the Business News America website to read the complete article.

Intelex Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce that Jonna McConaughy has joined the company as Product Manager for all Intelex Greenhouse Gas and Air Compliance Management Systems.  In this position, McConaughy will work collaboratively with the development and design teams to continue strengthening our greenhouse gas and air compliance product offering. McConaughy brings over eight years of experience in systems engineering and implementation of environmental, health, and safety management software with a focus on compliance reporting and emissions inventories. She holds a B.S. in Geosciences from Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

"Jonna's reputation in air emissions inventories and EHS software implementations make her the ideal product manager to continue developing Intelex's air compliance systems and modules," said Mark Jaine, President and CEO at Intelex Technologies Inc. "Jonna's accomplishments in the field of regulatory compliance are extensive. We are very pleased to have Jonna on board as Intelex continues to grow our team and product offering."

In March 2009, Intelex announced the release of its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Tracking & Reporting System, a completely configurable application designed to enable mid-size and enterprise organizations to improve their environmental performance through accurate, real-time carbon footprint tracking and reporting. Using Intelex's GHG Emissions Tracking & Reporting System, users can collect, track, and report their current carbon footprint as well as their progress toward user-defined sustainability targets.