The World Resources Institute has launched an updated version of its online greenhouse gas emissions tool that WRI says can help businesses better understand and benchmark their county-level emissions.
The Climate Analysis Indicators Tool, or CAIT 2.0, is a free portal that provides data on GHG emissions from 185 countries and all 50 US states, plus other climate data. CAIT 2.0 allows users to view, sort, visualize and download data sets for comparative analysis.
It can help firms adjust to different policies and improve longer-term emissions management, WRI spokeman Michael Oko tells Environmental Leader. “CAIT 2.0 can also help identify emission by sector, such as industrial emissions or transportation emissions, which can be helpful for businesses looking to benchmark their greenhouse gas contributions,” Oko says.
WRI is working to develop more business-specific tools for CAIT to inform decision-making at an operational level, Oko says.
WRI launched the original CAIT in December 2003. CAIT 2.0 is more user-friendly, WRI says, allowing users to access the international GHG emissions data set, narrow it down by year, gas or country, for example, and create downloadable data visualizations. Also, each specific data view has a unique URL, making it easier to share links to specific findings.
The updated online tool is still in beta form. WRI says it will soon offer additional data sets. It’s also seeking feedback from users to further develop the site in the coming months.
Late last year, WRI debuted an online tool to help companies evaluate their sustainability efforts. The Sustainability SWOT, or sSWOT, adds sustainability to the traditional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis to help businesses translate environmental risks, like climate change and water scarcity, into opportunities for profit.
Earlier this month, the EPA and the Department of Commerce launched an online tool to help international companies connect with US firms that provide environmental technologies and products.