Large businesses should reconsider using spreadsheets and generic business software to manage their carbon emissions data, which will be required to comply with the new carbon reduction legislation becomes enforceable. Independent consultant, Verdantix, has stated that large UK companies will need dedicated carbon emissions management software and should start now with their assessment and adoption of such applications before compliance comes into force.

Verdantix determined, in focus groups of executives responsible for their organisations’ carbon reduction or CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives, that as many as 63% are using programmes like XL to manage their carbon data.

Director of the consultancy, David Metcalfe, “It can’t scale, it’s not auditable and there are issues of version control.”

He suggested that IT departments take a strategic lead by assessing the market for carbon emissions management software so as to be able to recommend to the business a solution that will support the long term commitments needed for carbon reduction.

The UK Carbon Reduction Commitment is a new law that will target the non-energy intensive sectors and requiring thousands of public and private-sector organisations to monitor and publicly report their carbon data.

According to Metcalfe, “It will apply to any company or public body organisation with an energy bill in excess of £500,000 a year.” There are 5,000 such entities that will be monitored by the Carbon Trust, with company data displayed in a league table of high achievers and under performers.

The ranking will partly be based on the availability of some early-action metrics and the collection of three years worth of carbon data. According to reports, only about 200 of the 5,000 organisations have so far qualified on that basis.

Some companies already have ambitious climate change strategies, with Cisco saying publicly that it intends to cut carbon emissions by 25% between 2008 and 2012, and the supermarket chain, Tesco, is working towards the design of its Ecostore which will be 50% more energy efficient that today’s retail unit.