More than $46 million in venture capital was invested in enterprise carbon accounting (ECA) startup companies in 2009, while software giants Computer Associates and Microsoft entered the market and EnerNOC, IHS and SAP made acquisitions, according to a new report from Groom Energy Solutions.
The number of organizations using ECA software is expected to increase five fold by 2011, partly driven by companies that have not traditionally invested in environmental software.
Eight companies were named 2010 ECA Emerging Leaders in the report: Enablon, Enviance, Hara, IHS, Johnson Controls, PE International, ProcessMAP and SAP. Groom Energy says both Enablon and Hara are newcomers to the list, while the others were named 2009 ECA Emerging Leaders
The research report, "2010 Enterprise Carbon Accounting: An Analysis of Corporate-Level Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Reporting and a Review of GHG Software Products," finds that more businesses are now disclosing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), which increased significantly in 2009. Researchers predict that ECA software purchases will increase 600 percent by 2011.
The driving factors behind growth in the ECA market include increased pressure from customers and investors for companies to create a "greener" public image, cost and energy savings from sustainability investments and supply chain initiatives, such as the Walmart Supplier Sustainability Assessment Program, says Groom Energy.
Another key finding shows that market consolidation is expected in the emerging ECA market in the next two years.
The 2010 report identifies a total of 60 vendors and profiles 20 of them in four category types: environmental health and safety vendors (EHS), new products from large firms, startup companies, and energy management firms.
Another recent report shows that the carbon management software and services market exceeded $380 million in 2009 and is expected to achieve a heady 40 percent compounded annual growth rate through 2017, according to Pike Research.
The software market for carbon management was estimated at $132 million in 2009.