Microsoft has adopted software provider CarbonSystems’ cloud-based Environmental Sustainability Platform as its global standard for managing its energy efficiency and environmental performance reporting.
The software giant will implement ESP across its global operations, which comprise over 600 facilities in 110 countries. The product will automate energy and sustainability data collection to support Carbon Disclosure Project reporting and cut the time and cost of managing corporate environmental information, CarbonSystems says.
ESP allows up-to-date, auditable business and compliance reports via dashboards summarizing energy, emissions and other environmental data from real estate and data centers. The product can also verify the impacts, return on investment and payback from efficiency initiatives, the company says.
CarbonSystems says ESP cuts the time and cost of managing corporate environmental information by automating the capture and tracking of energy, water and other environmental data from utilities and third party suppliers, while informing decisions on efficiency projects through benchmarking, forecasting and marginal abatement cost analysis tools.
Analyst firm Verdantix says Microsoft’s decision to adopt a single software platform for its global sustainability performance is in line with a trend to standardize the capture and management of environmental and energy data. And the collaboration with Microsoft will drive enhancements to the ESP software platform, CarbonSystems’ chief executive David Solsky says.
Microsoft chose ESP largely for its cloud-based operation, CarbonSystems says.
In a Verdantix study in December, CarbonSystems was named – along with CA Technologies, IBM and Verisae – as a leading provider of enterprise-scale energy management software.
Green Quadrant Energy Management Software 2011 said that the four market leaders offer strong energy management functionality, proven integration with a wide range of meters and controls, deep expertise in one or two energy domains and an “impressive” customer base.