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.

Is your business considering sustainability or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting? What will it be: CERES? GRI? CDP? FRP? A4S? WBCSD? Or IIRC?

Phew. That’s a lot of acronyms for what’s really a simple premise: reporting on sustainability and CSR data to stakeholders and the public at large. The above organizations are all associated with voluntary reporting frameworks that organizations can use to standardize sustainability and CSR reporting. While the frameworks differ in scope, to sort out any potential confusion, here’s a quick rundown of each:

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): Based in the UK, CDP brings together investors and works with large corporations around the world to develop effective carbon reduction strategies and disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data. Less a sustainability/CSR reporting framework than an emissions reporting organization, CDP’s scope is nonetheless broad: it publishes emissions data accounting for more than a quarter of global air emissions associated with human activity.
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES): Founded in 1989 by a group of investors seeking to integrate sustainability into capital markets, CERES itself is not as focused on reporting and disclosure as it is on encouraging sustainability reporting. However, the organization has birthed a reporting framework known as GRI (see below).
Ceres and Tellus Institute Facility Reporting Project (FRP): Another CERES-based reporting framework, FRP is focused squarely on providing a generally accepted framework for facility- and site-specific environmental and social sustainability reporting.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): This CEO-led association of companies pushes business to incorporate sustainable development into all business decisions. WBCSD is primarily concerned with advocacy and policy development, but asks members to report on environmental performance and urges them to “aspire” towards economic and social reporting.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): Formed in 1998 by CERES, GRI has become the standard-bearer on how organizations report on environmental, social and economic performance. Over 1,500 global organizations report in accordance with G3 guidelines (the most recent iteration of the GRI reporting framework).
The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Framework (A4S): Spearheaded by none other than Prince Charles, A4S brings advisory and accounting bodies as well as NGOs together to embed sustainability into decision-making and reporting processes.
International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC): This is the big one. Announced only earlier this month, IIRC is poised to become the everything-to-everyone reporting framework. IIRC is a collaborative project between GRI and A4S and essentially covers all bases: environmental, social, financial, governance—everything! If widely adopted, and if integrated reporting becomes popular enough, IIRC might erase the need for other reporting frameworks.

For the forward-thinking organization, IIRC is probably the best route. However, if you’re just beginning to consider sustainability and CSR reporting and don’t want to worry about stringent framework requirements yet, start by capturing, tracking, and reporting on environmental data and essential sustainability metrics. It’s a simple start that will make the leap to full-fledged reporting easier in the long run.

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.

As announced in an article posted on Quality Magazine's website, a new ISO standard defining the Quality Management System requirements for suppliers to the automotive sector has just recently been published. ISO/TS (Technical Specification) 16949:2009 was jointly developed by the members of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and submitted to The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval and publication. The new document comes in the wake of a review conducted of its predecessor ISO/TS 16949:2002 which was carried out by the IATF and ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 176. No major changes to the standard’s technical requirements have been made; instead the updates mainly consist of improvements to management requirements to reflect the content of quality management systems standard ISO 9001:2008 and an improved consistency with the environmental management system standard ISO 14001:2004.

The 2002 version has been used by major automotive manufacturers to approve the more than 35,000 organizations worldwide that produce and supply parts for the automotive industry. Implementation of ISO/TS 16949:2009 is seen as an opportunity for automotive suppliers to improve quality while reducing costs and the IATF has set a transition period of 120 days from the date of publication (June 15th 2009) to comply with the new requirements. As the article quotes ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele, "With the global nature of the automotive industry quality management systems based on ISO/TS 16949:2009 throughout the supply chain will serve to streamline operations, and thus help organizations cut costs while improving efficiency," commented Steele, "The publication of ISO/TS 16949 will assist the sector, reassure consumers and ensure significant benefits for automotive suppliers amid the challenges facing the industry." As organizations begin to implement the new specifications associated with ISO/TS 16949:2009, improvements should  be seen on an ongoing basis as the new standard is aimed to foster the development of a quality management system that emphasizes continual improvement, specifically focusing on defect prevention and reducing variation and waste in the supply chain. A Web-Based Quality Management System such as the one offered by Intelex Technologies provides the tools, adaptability, power and support needed to comply with and surpass ISO standards, all in a web-based system that is easy to use and implement organization-wide.

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 has released its latest software innovation, the Intelex OpenPass API, a revolutionary application programming interface that will enable its users to sync and report data between multiple business management systems.

The Intelex OpenPass API functions as a conduit for seamlessly feeding data between multiple software programs. This means that Intelex’s environment, quality, and health & safety, and business management Software can now share data with pre-existing business software applications; thereby, saving time and resources while maintaining a degree of accuracy that’s difficult to achieve when data is transmitted manually.

The City of Calgary and St. Gobain are the first Intelex clients to take advantage of the OpenPass API.  The City of Calgary used our OpenPass API to import employee and location data from their pre-existing HR system into their Intelex System. They also used the OpenPass API to export employee injury data (i.e., incident number with date and time stamp) from Intelex’s Master Incidents Module into their HR program.

St. Gobain used the OpenPass API to import training courses, employee lists, and employee workgroup data from Lotus Notes into the Intelex System and Training Management Module. By using the OpenPass API St. Gobain was able to quickly populate their new Intelex System with historical data that will be a key factor in reporting accuracy and trending.

If you think that your organization could use the Intelex OpenPass API to import, export, and sync data between a pre-existing management program and your Intelex System, send an email to client.relations@intelex.com or call 416.599.6009 for more details.

On March 10, 2009 the United States EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) announced a proposal for the first nation-wide system for reporting greenhouse gases.

"The new reporting requirements would apply to suppliers of fossil fuel and industrial chemicals, manufacturers of motor vehicles and engines, as well as large direct emitters of greenhouse gases with emissions greater than a threshold of 25,000 metric tons per year." March 10, 2009 EPA News Release.

Organizations effected by the new regulations would be required to submit their first annual report to the EPA in 2011, with the exception of automobile and engine manufacturers who would submit their first report for model year 2011.

If you’re interested in learning how your organization can begin to track and report greenhouse gases submit a request for more information or ask for a live demo.

With increasing concerns throughout the world regarding pollution, and the consumption of non-renewable resources, reducing the amount of paper usage is at the forefront of many activist campaigns and multi-national corporations’ agendas.

One tree is able to produce 80,500 sheets of paper. That much paper, although huge to the average person, is dwarfed in comparison to what the world requires. An astonishing 786 million trees are needed to meet the world’s paper demand for one year.  Of that, 1/3  is consumed in North America, resulting in 5 million tons of paper waste ending up in landfills every year. The harm in massive dumping of paper and paper products is that they emit methane gas while decomposing, a very potent greenhouse gas. With such drastic numbers, more companies are regarding recycling as an attractive option.

The reality is that corporations use massive amounts of paper in order to track policies, work instructions, and SOP’s.  So aside from recycling, what else can an organization do to cut down on paper consumption and minimize their operating costs? They can work toward creating a paperless business solution. The Intelex Document Control System is a web-based application that enables organizations to streamline the control, routing and revision management of critical documentation and records. The system leverages a database driven engine to facilitate the creation, approval, storage, control, update and distribution of documents, records, lists and inventories. The system is also designed to meet document control standards defined in ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Becoming sustainable, environmentally sound, and reducing operating costs are targets every corporation seeks to achieve. To learn how Intelex can help your organization achieve these goals feel free to visit our website and submit a request for more information.

The number of organizations achieving ISO 14001 certifications around the world continues to grow at a quick pace. The ISO secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland conducts an annual survey of organizations that implement ISO standards. A report detailing the results of the survey is published annually. The most recent report shows a sixteen percent increase in ISO 14001 certifications from the year before. The countries with the most certificates are Japan, China, and Spain – with China showing the quickest growth in total certificates. ISO 14001 is the most widely used standard for implementing environmental sustainable practices around the world.

According to the International Organization for Standardization [ISO], ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 are the most well-known and frequently adopted management standards. To date over 100,000,000 million organizations across 161 countries haveachieved these certifications.

_{© 2008 ISO- Used with the permission of ISO Central Secretariat.}

The ISO 9000 standards were designed to regulate quality management while ISO 14001 focuses on environmental management. Both standards aim to drive continual improvement intheir respective areas.