Upcoming presentation with ACEC: "Developing a Cleantech Strategy"

I will be conducting an on-line presentation for the ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) this fall; link is here.

This presentation will provide global AEC executives with a better understanding of the specific market segments in sustainability; the emerging trends in technology development and investment, and strategies to consider to drive new revenue growth.

Strategy development examples from other industries such as system integration will be discussed for their applicability into AEC space. Case studies of cleantech strategy development at other global AEC firms will be discussed to facilitate benchmarking. Read more!

Article on 'AEC Bytes' for Green Technology Trends in Buldings / Facilities

I contributed to AEC Bytes, a leading source for AEC technology trends, and edited by Lachmi Khemlani. This article follows up on past articles and blog posts I have written on the transformation of the buildings industry and influence of key market drivers such as BIM and virtual modeling. I incorporate new insights I have gained to provide additional market strategies for both AEC tech firms as well as 'cleantech' firms in the energy efficiency, energy modeling, CSR reporting, health & safety, and lifecycle assessment segments.

Link: http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/2008/issue_39.html Read more!

Trends in Energy Analysis, from the BE 2008 conference

One of the presentations at the Bentley BE 2008 conference I had a chance to view was by Drury Crawley; Team Leader of Commercial Buildings R&D at DOE (Dept. of Energy).

(Side note: his title is WAY long……but he knows it, too….).

He covered trends in energy analysis, high performance buildings, and new business models for sustainability in buildings and facilities. I thought his high – level view of where the buildings / facility industry is going was very interesting, and it re-iterates a number of issues that I have seen in my work. Key themes included:

• Consolidation of the Buildings industry (mergers & acquisitions)
• Worker Health / Productivity / Comfort
• Green House Gas (GHG) inventory and management (note: 39% of carbon emissions come from buildings….)
• Green Buildings
• Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB)
• Energy Services Companies (ESCOs)
• Bioterrorism

Some thoughts on his presentation and viewpoints are below:

Water

Evaluating the impact of buildings on WAGES (Water, Air, Gas, Electric, Steam), Crawley cited figures indicating that buildings (including the electric power required) account for 45% of water use in the US alone. Not including electrical power, domestic use is 100 gpd per capita, and total water use considering the impact of electrical power generation is 140 Billion gallons a day. While most of the industry is currently focusing on driving down energy use and costs in buildings as a first step in achieving sustainability, it is clear that the ‘delta’ for improving water resource conservation is very high, and should also provide a strong market driver for adoption of technologies to maximize conservation and efficiency of water use in buildings.

Building Simulation

Similar to the advent of intelligent modeling driving adoption of green technologies (which I posted on here), Crawley maintains that building simulation allows for earlier decision making in the design – build process, particularly as it relates to energy use and analysis. In regards to technology, he sees the following major drivers: visualization, risk assessment (particularly for insurance), interoperability between systems, toxicity of the built environment, calculating ‘embodied’ energy via life cycle assessments (LCA), and integration of tools for thermal analysis, acoustics, and CFD for examples. It is clear that there is no one toolset to allow owners or consultants to conduct building simulations, and there is still a very strong need for training in simulation methodologies; not just the technology itself.

Another interesting point was that Green buildings and accreditation was driving the use of these simulation methodologies and tools; not higher energy costs.

Websites for more info on DOE’s commercial building R&D:

Buildings.energy.gov

http://www.energyplus.gov/

http://www.highperformancebuildings.gov/

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BE 2008.....every picture tells a story, don't it.....

Group photo of the jurors at the BE 2008 conference....I am casually dressed with the khakis on the left....

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Highlights from the Bentley BE 2008 Conference

This week I had the opportunity to attend the annual BE conference in Baltimore MD, hosted by Bentley Systems; a leading provider of design & construction technology solutions for infrastructure, government, and industry. I was invited to be a judge of sustainability technology submissions in the "BE Awards of Excellence"; Bentley's program to recognize innovative use of their technology in various settings.

Up to this year, categories have included those typically associated with infrastructure solutions: design innovation, project management, visualization, civil works, geospatial, plant design, and water systems, for examples. This year's conference theme was "Sustaining Infrastructure": sessions reflected the emphasis of building sustainability concepts into infrastructure solutions.

My role was to judge submissions in two new categories:"Sustaining Society" and "Sustaining the Environment". Since this was the first year for these categories, the submissions were quite varied in scope, detail, impacts, and type of technology used (Bentley's....). The winners were: CH2M Hill for an innovative design of a fish barrier system for water intake; and a Badlupar based water utility that designed and implemented upgraded water services (both delivery and quality) to local populations, with the additional goal of knowledge transfer to other Indian water agencies as well.

I think this was a very good start for incorporating sustainability metrics into their awards program, as well as integrating sustainability into the conference and company strategy as well. Indeed, CEO Greg Bentley talked at length about Bentley is managing their own carbon footprint, as well as building sustainability metrics & process into their solution strategy.
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BIM and Green building technologies, Part 2 (on TriplePundit.com)

Triplepundit.com published the second installment of a column on leveraging BIM (Building Information Modeling) for adoption of green building technologies. This column provides insights on the effect of the GSA and federal building market, as well as providing insights on growth and exit strategies. Link is here. Read more!

Blog post on TriplePundit.com

I contributed a recent post to TriplePundit; topic is how the major market drivers such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) in the AEC sector are allowing for growth opportunities of green technologies. (click on this blog post title to get to the 3P post).

I will follow up next month on TriplePundit with some strategies for cleantech growth, and incorporate some new insights from tech firms I have been working with. Read more!

Some thoughts on sustainability in the supply chain

As the sustainability technology market develops, it appears that there are a number of segments within (such as CSR reporting, supply chain mgt, etc) that are gaining traction, and may 'drive' general adoption of sustainability within organizations. I find it interesting that there are a number of different tech firms such as Aravo, Stakeware, CSRware, Credit360 and many others, that are coming at sustainability from different business processes. The recent Forrester report on sustainability technology (which I commented on in this post) details the general groups as well, but does not identify supply chain solutions as a specific segment. I think this may be an area that could drive faster adoption, and also be a platform that could integrate with other sustainability processes & metrics as they were developed in an organization.

Initiatives to ‘green’ the supply chain generally follow these key metrics:

• Lower energy use and increase energy efficiency in storage and transportation
• Minimize packaging via improved product design and use of recycleable materials
• Lower carbon footprint and emissions via improved energy (above), use of alternative energy sources (where appropriate)
• Substitution or elimination of toxic materials when possible
• Effecient use of resources; i.e. "embedded water" costs
• Optimize the supply chain as to minimize impacts on stakeholders

The market drivers for greening are:

• Product - specific compliance, such as REACH
• Sustainability reporting
• GHG emission reductions and credits
• Improved risk management (in light of recent supply chain incidents with Mattel, others)
• Cost savings of shippers / suppliers; leading to better value pricing
• Stronger relationships & transparency with key suppliers; strategic value

In discussions with many supply chain management solution providers, it appears that many end user clients are deploying 'green' solutions in the supply chain to achieve better energy efficiency, because it is the most visible and generally the easiest issue to solve with key suppliers and logistics partners. But it remains to be seen whether that issue will continue to drive the growth of this segment. There is a general feeling that any additional 'incidents' with global brands will increase awareness and urgency on the part of corporations to gain complete transparency in their supply chains and manage them beyond just energy efficiency gains. Along those lines, continued regulation enactment similar to REACH and RoHS in the EU will also force companies to align their supply chain (and product management) processes so as to be in compliance with product - centric regulations.

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Use of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) in Sustainability Programs

Recently read a blog post on TriplePundit by ClimateCheck, regarding the development of ISO 14064, which covers the measurement and reduction of GHG emissions.

A comment in the article (link is here) caught my eye:

"One of the challenges is the use of an “approved or standardized” approach to quantifying the carbon credits created by new technologies. There are many approaches being used, ranging from in-house engineering calculations to full life cycle analyses (LCA) and computer models"

It made me think about the 'state of the art' of LCAs...(yes, I know: I may lead a very lonely life)......anyway, I do think that LCAs can be a very powerful tool to identify, measure, and manage GHG emissions, as well as do the same for other important 'sustainability' metrics such as: resource consumption (i.e. water); toxics use and emissions, and of course carbon footprinting.

LCAs have been around for quite a while; I developed (rudimentary) tools for environmental management problems in the 80s and 90s; focusing on chemical disposal / recycling challenges. Product Stewardship and 'Responsible Care' were the primary drivers of this market at this time; both programs were developed by the chemical industry in response to potential strict regulations in the aftermath of catastrophic environmental incidents (Bhopal, West Virginia chemical releases). But these programs did not really look at impacts in production; they focused more on the impacts after the sale.

Currently, qualitative LCAs are in use ("LCA Lite" is a term a peer of mine in the manufacturing consulting industry has used). These are quite useful for strategic planning, prioritization and ranking of initiatives and programs, and communications / marketing purposes, but may not add value for decision making on supply chain optimization and 'greening', or similar decisions in green product development in PLM efforts.

I think the standards organizations such as ISO and the Voluntary Carbon Standard are taking a lead in the development of rigorous methodologies, as well as definition of metrics that may be accepted by industries.

This is a market sector that I think both technology companies and service providers may have significant success in the next few years; tech companies in the CSR and supply chain mgt sectors are well positioned to incorporate LCA functionality (and data sets); and 'white space' development and industry - specific customization will be required to get LCAs to the point of being widely accepted tools for sustainability decision making.
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When Compliance is not enough...

Recent industrial accidents have been in the news: an International Paper plant explosion in Mississippi, and in February, another explosion at the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth GA (link).

When thinking about 'sustainability', it would seem that governmental compliance needs to be adhered to, first and foremost. Compliance in most cases is performed as result of required regulations by EPA, OSHA, and state government groups, for these two cases. But what happens when a facility (or warehouse or distributor) is in compliance, but an accident of this magnitude still occurs?

As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this week in their article "Dust Cloud Settles Over Industries", there was a significant dust problem at the Imperial Sugar plant, and questions were raised by outside experts as well as those in OSHA as to how effective cleaning procedures were. In this case, the plant had been cited for numerous violations in the past, but as one inspector put it, they probably did not know the severity of their own dust problems:

"They don't see it, they don't clean it, because they don't realize the hazard is there," says John Vorderbrueggen, lead investigator for the blast at the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, a federal agency that probes chemical accidents. "I wouldn't call it negligence. I'm sure any company, if they had an awareness that a hazard existed, they would take corrective action. So it's really an ignorance issue." (Wall St. Journal)

OSHA regulations may not have been sufficient, according to a member of their own safety board:

"OSHA has a 'gotcha' approach," says Stephen Selk, investigations manager for the safety board. "They look hard and creatively to identify sometimes arcane interpretations of rules that were broken. We're suggesting to OSHA that they don't offer clear guidance. They don't tell industry the things to do to prevent a disaster like this." (Wall St. Journal)

And this is where I started thinking about 'sustainability' versus compliance.

******

It remains to be seen whether Imperial Sugar and International Paper were in compliance with relevant environmental health & safety regulations. But assuming that they were, they still have incurred very high costs (financial, loss of human lives, diminished brand) as a result of these accidents. Could the implementation of a risk management or sustainability program avoided these accidents?

I think the issue here is that instead of just meeting compliance, or even adhering to a sustainability program, there is a need to monitor and optimize the processes and associated metrics of any compliance, risk management, and even sustainability program. You might be in 'compliance' with a governmental or NGO regulation, or even in compliance with your own sustainability program, but if your processes are faulty, or if you are not measuring the correct metrics, or you don't have a standard to measure the metrics.....then compliance is all for naught.

We have seen this type of problem in the supply chain, with the crisis that Mattel went through recently when it was discovered that toys were being produced by second and third tier suppliers with hazardous metals. Mattel did not have a process that was applicable for evaluating and managing this risk; they essentially had zero transparency into that part of their supply chain. Their financial 'hit' was close to $40MM, along with massive disruption of their supply chain.

These events provide ample evidence that key to any program is the accuracy of data and consistent processes to measure it; selection of appropriate metrics and ones that can be measured; and a validation process to constantly review and amend, in light of business changes, technology advances, etc. 'Sustainability' in its most basic form is then a result.
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What should I write about? (see the widget 'Skribit' to the right...)

Was checking out this new widget called 'Skribit'; it allows readers of blogs to make suggestions to the blogger on topics they would like to see covered, and also allows them to vote on other reader suggestions. Looks like a cool tool, so I thought I would upload and see if there are any responses...

For whatever it is worth: my blog currently gets about 25 users a day, with about 30 associated pageviews. It looks like most of the readers are in the US, with a smaller number in the UK, France, India, China, and Australia. Common key words to find the site: "scott boutwell" (duh), "BIM", "sustainability technology", "environmental growth trends", "AEC trends", and "building information modeling".

As I describe (somewhat) in the heading, I blog primarily on the market sectors of AEC, environmental, cleantech, and sustainability (recognizing that those terms are fairly broad in their own right). Within these sectors, I focus on external market drivers and associated company or industry initiatives; new strategies for growth; and the enabling technologies that facilitate that growth. I try to incorporate insights and anecdotes I have received from my technology clients, engineering and consulting partners, thought leaders, and people who make pithy statements....and generally aim to make posts enjoyable to read...key word: "aim"...

So, given this update on my blog and review of my blogging goals, it would be interesting to see if any readers have specific requests for blog posts. I can't promise that I will blog on them, but will certainly review and consider. Thanks.
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Who are the buyers (and users) of Sustainability Solutions?

Have had conversations with leading CSR and Sustainability technology companies in the past month or so; focusing on how this market is going to evolve, what are the technology needs, and how to sell complex solutions in an emerging space. What results in this post are some insights from specific tech firms coming at 'sustainablity' from differing business process and requrements.

That leads to the question: who is buying (and using) sustainability solutions? The answer is probably dependant upon what type of sustainability solution is being sold, as much as in how the term 'sustainability' is defined.

Credit360 is a European company with offices here in the US, and providing sustainability reporting solutions to clients such as Ford Motor Company. Christina O’Connell is the director of US sales, and had some interesting perspectives on selling these types of solutions. She mentioned that "sustainability teams are not comprised of technical staff, but have more brand management and PR teams involved". For their clients, many are using solutions to report on sustainability protocols such as GRI, but will also modify those protocols according to company - specific criteria as well.

Bill Best is CEO of Proquis, an UK based risk management technlogy firm. Given their offering in corporate governance and risk, many buyers and users are at a corporate level, and report into the chief counsel or CFO. Many of their clients are pursuing sustainability, but view it as part of a larger risk management strategy. Bill mentioned that their clients are "executives who want to see everything"; assuming a dashboard or similar portal, with the ability to drill down on issues.

From an environmental management system perspective, the usual buyers have been corporate EHS officers. With the need of managing greenhouse house gases (GHG), these EMS systems take on added importance. Users in this case may include those in the CFOs office, as well as the aforementioned EHS officers. Larry Goldenhersh, CEO of Enviance, an EMS technology firm, said that many of their clients have established a role of "Chief Risk Officer", who will oversee GHG emission monitoring and control. An interesting comment: "Many companies are going back to compliance in order to get it right", meaning that sustainability is important, but not at the expense of compliance.

There are other buyers of sustainability solutions in the supply chain and PLM (product lifecycle management space) that represent a more product - centric group of users; that will covered in an upcoming post.

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Sustainability and Bisphenol A (BPA)

Viewing the recent statement by the National Toxicology Program regarding potential health risks associated with BPA , and the controversy regarding BPA in a variety of consumer products, such as water bottles, made me think of these questions:

If Nalgene and Playtex had corporate sustainbility programs in place, could this issue have been avoided (or mitigated)? and,

If they do have CSR programs, do they need to amend them to 'anticipate' (if possible) and manage potential health and resouce management risks?

It does not appear that Nalgene is using sustainability management tools. I am assuming that they have an environmental management system in place (EMS), but an EMS will not necessarily help in brand management, as well as product stewardship, which is where the problems lie.

I was speaking to Kari Birdseye, VP of Sustainability at CSRware (http://www.csrware.com/), a sustainability technology company located in the SF Bay Area, about the BPA issue and what it means to other companies, especially ones in the consumer markets.

Kari thought that "it takes a crisis to look inward and begin the self-evaluation, which would have raised awareness not only related to their environmental practices but in the socially equitable areas as well". Nalgene has marketed its products to a 'green' audience (i.e. water bottles for hikers, runners, etc), so one would assume that they would be especially aware of the opportunities (and challenges) in developing and maintaining their brand.

So, could have this situation been avoided or managed better? Some thoughts:

- Stakeholder Analysis: if a broad group of stakeholders were being polled on critical issues (resource mgt, social equity, materials mgt, emissions mgt), perhaps this issue might have been identified as a potential concern early on, and the company could have evaluated alternative materials and manufacturing processes. This process could provide a 'real time' feedback loop to executives on emerging issues & opportunities

- Product Stewardship: This type of program has been advanced & utilized by the chemical companies; not only to mitigate risks associated with use (or misuse) of their products, but also to provide competitive advantages in commodity markets (i.e. content & services designed to help customers maximize their investment in procuring / buying, using, and ultimately disposing or recycling the product). I am not sure if Nalgene has such a program, but again: it could serve as an additional process for 'anticipating' what problems could occur with product use.
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Forrester releases CSR Tech Vendor review

Had a chance to review the just released Forrester report, and it is a sign of the growing maturity of this market that a research company like Forrester is covering CSR technology as an emerging segment. I have met with a few market research firms in the past 6 months to discuss the cleantech and CSR markets. For the most part, they are just starting with their own due diligence into this space, so they are not up to speed on the market, vendors, key initiatives, and growth strategies. They will most likely address this space coming from their own areas or strength: enterprise software, business analytics, supply chain management, etc.

Forrester broke down CSR technology categories as follows:

• Niche CSR
• GRC (Governance, Regulatory, Compliance)
• EMS (Environmental Management Systems)
• Business Applications (performance mgt, analytics)

No specific mention of technology platforms for sustainability in the greening of the supply chain, though. I think that this need, along with greening of IT / Data Centers and GRI Reporting, are the primary market drivers for buying these technology solutions today. The supply chain management issue (along with PLM) also directs ties into compliance with new toxics regulations such as REACH and RoHS; creating an additional market driver.

They talked to about 30 companies, which may seem like a good number, but still is a relatively small sample, given the breadth of technologies that they are covering (GRC tech companies alone comprise a big group, and there are a significant number of emerging CSR reporting technology firms on the horizon).

I thought the recommendations were rather broad, but recognize that the report is geared towards a technology buyer community who may be just getting up to speed on this segment. Recognizing that this report will most likely be followed in the near future with in-depth vendor analyses and market segment reviews, I think buyers will need corresponding strategies around the type of complimentary services that are required. It is clear that each technology platform arrives at the CSR market with its own strength and focus, but CSR itself is based on the premise of enterprise level and multiple domain business process development. At this stage of the market, significant consulting help will be required to build enterprise level solutions, regardless of the technology platform strengths.

Consulting services such as CSR strategy development, systems integration, domain specific expertise (i.e. environmental, community development, etc) and also 3^rd party validation / assurance are necessary and critical at this early stage of market maturity. Look for an upcoming blog post on this subject…

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Building Effective Alliances for Cleantech start ups

Have been working with a wide range of start ups recently (CSR, water treatment, asset management, AEC design services); developing and validating 'go to market' strategies'. In the initial or early phases of maturation (both for the company and most times, the market segment itself), direct sales by the founders and other 'visionary' staff (both internal as well as advisors / directors) is critical to get early successes: pilot projects, demonstrations, regulatory review & approval (if appropriate) and brand awareness.

But as the start up begins to grow, the markets for the technology solution (that is: the product, team expertise, company vision, and solution roadmap) will require that the solution most likely be integrated into a larger business solution (think of a new roadway; wastewater treatment & distribution system, environmental remediation, etc). This is particularly the case for those cleantech start ups that are targeting industrial clients as well as governmental clients. At this stage, start ups need to build partner 'ecosystems" consisting of complimentary technology and services firms; which requires the development of an alliance & partnership strategy.

Some insights are provided here:

Position yourself to allow your partner to lower the cost of their customer acquisition efforts & identify 'up-selling' opportunities
For the larger and global AECs, the real opportunity for growth is to continue to develop their existing accounts and user bases; providing more value to them (such as incorporating energy modeling solutions, or facility management services). Case in point: can your solution allow the AEC firm tap into other technology or operating budgets in the clients' organizations, that the AEC would typically would not be able to access?

Don't be the obnoxious sales guy when representing your company
CEOs of start ups need to focus on the partner's business model; how can they assist in driving more value and solutions of the partner through the partner's channels? (so: don't go in to a discussion with executives at an AEC firm saying: " I would love to get access to your clients so I could sell my stuff to them".......not a good idea)

If you have something special, they will find you...although it may take some time
Most of the global AECs have executives whose roles include responsibilities to constantly survey the cleantech / green landscape: interview companies, and make recommendations on strategic alliances and acquisitions. Chances are, if you are making headway in your market sector and are building brand awareness and a sustainable client base, that the AEC firm already knows about you. Your alliance strategy should take into account how you can leverage these sales channels to build relationships with the AEC practice leaders as well as with the alliance executives at larger complimentary technology companies. In many cases, a great way to begin the development of an alliance is to focus on specific key end - user accounts where both your company and the AEC may provide a joint solution.

If thinking of being acquired, it's better to develop a strong alliance first
Much of the acquisition activity during the IT growth period of the last 10 years has been a result of demonstrated joint customer success, alignment with product strategies, and some synergy between corporate cultures and goals of the start up and acquiring company. I think this trend is quite applicable to cleantech start up growth and maturation. There is no question that building strong relationships within an AEC firm (or larger technology company) allow for increased awareness of the start up company, and allows for constructive M&A dialog at the appropriate time.

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Conducting business development at that conference you have to attend....

I read the HardingCo blog, which provides some great insights on business development and "rainmaking"; especially as they relate to the consulting profession.

I commented recently on a post: 'Getting a Good Seat at a Conference'; the premise being that you need to be choosy and careful when sitting down for lunch, so that you identify the best attendees to spend time with. So, I thought it might be interesting (amusing, perhaps?) to repost my comments here; some of these ideas are fairly basic....but hey; you need to have good 'blocking and tackling'...

- Review the attendee list as soon as you get it, and identify your top targets; pick a realistic number that you can meet during the conference, and develop a strategy to meet all of them

- Research those targets, particularly as it relates to timely (and positive!) events: alliance signing, big client wins, involvement in associations, etc…execs will probably be involved in some if not all of those issues.

- Seek out the conference organizer or director early in the conference and schmooze him or her….get them to point out (or introduce you to) the key speakers and panelists for you before the conference begins, so you can make a beeline for them during the lunch, or hopefully in the halls during networking periods.

- Notice people who seem to be working on presentations in the halls, at tables, or even in the conference sessions themselves. Pay particular attention just before the keynote session, or when the plenary panel convenes; these speakers (and their peers) are often executives and are hard pressed to fit the conference (and prep for their presentations) into their schedules (I have met a number of keynote speakers this way; just before they were going on stage).

And finally….not a lot of people enjoy the rubber chicken dinners at most conferences, so if you are discouraged, head to the hotel’s restaurant or a well known restaurant nearby and take your chances….there will probably be a like-minded conference attendee and potential contact that will welcome a lunch mate….

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Investment Perspectives for the Water Sustainability Market

Have been discussing investment opportunities in the cleantech space with a number of investment groups, particularly in the water sector, which has not received much buzz or press to date. But given critical water demands here in the US (see the recent drought and related policy issues in the southeast) and overseas (need for consistent potable water supplies, as well as for agriculture), it is apparent that this sector within 'cleantech' has significant room to grow.

One investment group that is solely focused on the water sector is XPV Capital in Toronto Canada. I had a chance to talk with Khalil Maalouf, who is a partner, about the market conditions and emerging trends in the water sector. They are focusing solely on investments in water -related ventures, and have a 'book' of 300 or so investment opportunities worldwide in this general sector that they are tracking. Khalil generally described their interest in the following broad categories (I am paraphrasing to a certain degree; my notes in italics):

• Energy Efficiency of treatment & distribution systems
• Security (I am assuming it could be both physical and IT related security)
• Scarcity of Supply (identification of new sources, cost & time effective means of capture)
• Waste minimization (sludge management / recycling)
• Materials substitution (less toxic and less use of chemicals for treatment)

(I think another segment for investment opportunities is Information Technology; those required to find, capture, treat, distribute, recycle & reuse, and optimize systems throughout the water lifecycle)

Following XPV's definitions (and those of others) it would indicate that the market sector fo water sustainability opportunities itself is very broad. So what segments might catalyze interest and growth? I think energy efficiency technology to develop water supplies (includes technology such as desalination) and for water treatment may get traction, especially in arid areas such as the Middle East.

Following a recent post I wrote (link), another area of investment opportunity could be those technologies to allow for assessing, managing, and optimizing water use throughout the lifecycle of a product (consumer, construction, and industrial would be important verticals). This "embedded water" or "water footprinting" concept seems to have caught on in EMEA already; it remains to be seen how soon it follow similar concepts for CSR and sustainability reporting here in the US.

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Executive CSR roles & pay are growing...

A recent article from the UK indicated that corporate CSR roles have grown significantly, along with pay scale; link is here.

This certainly a promising trend; the key is to encourage / empower these CSR executives to be part of the decision making process at a corporate level. MBOs could include:

- Increased profitability from effective material use and workflow (use of lifecycle cost assessment tools to measure and optimize processes)

- Increased positive brand awareness; measured by feedback from focus groups, advisory & customer panels, stakeholder input

- Effective risk management: compliance with governmental and NGO standards; increased ROI on risk mgt expenditures

- Identification and development of new business lines that embrace sustainable principles

I am sure there are others, but if the executives are not involved in critical corporate decisions, then their roles will be relegated to more of the "EHS" roles of the past 20 years, which were non - mission critical...

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Sustainability in the Water Sector

I read an interesting article about water sustainability; link is here. Terminology is also interesting: “Water Footprinting” and “Embedded Water” are phrases that are used; perhaps there is opportunity to brand this issue and break it out from other sustainability topics….

The author talks about impacts on water resources which are not adequately reflected in consumer products. Some examples:

- It takes 8000 liters of water to make pair of leather shoes,

- 2400 liters to make a hamburger, and

- 170 liters to make a pint of beer (Ok, so that one is not as compelling to some of you…)

In particular, the construction industry is identified as a market where there is a need for more enlightenment. This industry already incorporates the use of water saving products & devices; utilizes design & construction methodology to promote and achieve sustainability accreditation (i.e. LEED and BREAM); but is not on the vanguard of understanding the demands of water resources to manufacture supplies, equipment, and fixtures.

As ‘sustainability’ continue to develops in awareness, it would seem that specific areas (water, GHG, health & safety, toxics mgt, etc) will evolve and become well defined areas; thus driving more awareness, research, and development of tools that are specific to those problem sets. Again, lifecycle assessment may serve an important role in identifying and quantifying water resource impacts, so that decision makers and consumers have complete information upon which to make design and construction decisions.

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Invited to be a Judge for Sustainability Awards at the Bentley BE Conference

I recently was invited to be a judge at "BE Conference 2008", sponsored by Bentley Systems. The categories I will be judging are "Sustaining Society" and "Sustaining the Environment". The BE conference typically covers innovative use of technologies in GIS, CAD, visualization, and collaborative project management; in verticals such as water, mining, process manufacturing, transportation, and federal government. This year's conference is focusing on "Best Practices in Sustainable Infrastructure"; the awards session will include submissions from a number of services and end user organizations who have demonstrated innovative technology applications within the broad sector of sustainability.

The conference will be held in Baltimore MD on May 27 - 30 2008; registration link is here. Read more!