Obama Speaks on the Fight Against Climate Change

Yesterday, 25 June 2013, President Obama braved the heat and took to the stage at Georgetown University to give a speech on his climate change plan. Addressing his audience, Obama began with a bold statement that brought the real impacts of the subject at hand immediately to the surface. “It was important for me to speak directly to your generation, because the decisions that we make now and in the years ahead will have a profound impact on the world that all of you inherit,” he stated.

The president proceeded by defining the reasons for why this speech was necessary, and why climate change is such an important topic in the United States today. He stated the scientific facts: that the measurement of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has dramatically increased since the 1950’s, and that 12 of the warmest years in recorded history have occurred in the past 15.

Obama further emphasized the evidence by referencing the droughts, floods, storms, and heat waves that the U.S. has recently experienced- all weather events that may not have been caused by global warming, but were directly affected by it. The progress made in recent years, such as the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase in both sun and wind generated electricity was addressed, but ultimately referred to as a ‘good start’.

President Obama stated that he would direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put an end to the excessive carbon pollution from power plants, and create standards for new and existing power plants. Other highlights included Obama’s call to develop a better plan to help us prepare for climate change impacts, and his pledge to seek greater international engagement in regards to climate change.

On par with every other hot political topic, the president’s speech did not come without controversy, and certain parts were hailed by some and criticized by others. However, a few key takeaways are as follows: the severity of the United States climate change situation and the urgency to make this a top priority have been made clear.

This means it is more important than ever for organizations to take full responsibility for their GHG and carbon emissions, and energy consumption. The need to properly track and manage all their operational environmental and compliance information is apparent, and will play a crucial role in the fight to subdue climate change. Locus will continue to work it’s hardest to develop the most comprehensive software available to assist companies with the management of their critical, big data, and provide them with the necessary tools to not only comply with new and anticipated regulations, but also to harvest their data for actionable information to lower operating costs.

Locus to attend and present at NEI’s RETS-REMP Workshop and the EPRI Groundwater Protection Workshop

The RETS-REMP Workshop is a forum to exchange practical experiences and issues related to the Radioactive Effluent Technical Specifications (RETS) and Radiological Environmental Monitoring Programs (REMP) at commercial nuclear power plants.

GRI G4 & the Sustainability Reporting Competitive Advantage

A recent hot topic in the arena of corporate sustainability is the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines that were just released. GRI is a network-based organization that provides all companies from around the world with a comprehensive and voluntary sustainability reporting framework. It’s no surprise this new G4 milestone is receiving such publicity, given how popular sustainability reporting has become today, and the fact that this is the first major overhaul to the GRI guidelines since the G3 version in 2006.

One main difference is that the new guidelines place a strong focus on materiality- more explicitly requiring that organizations reporting efforts be centered on impacts, risks, and opportunities. While this idea is not entirely new, the G3/G3.1 framework did not have this as such a specific and strong focus.

The new GRI framework also attempts to quell the problem of companies feeling overwhelmed by the number of options provided. G4 draws a line between requirements and guidance; so companies understand the differences and do not feel compelled to report on every single metric described. The G4 framework offers many other updates and changes, a few of which include up-to-date disclosures on governance, ethics and integrity, supply chain, anti-corruption and GHG emissions.

While the G4 framework is an important milestone for sustainability reporting, there are various other guidelines being implemented around the world as well; for voluntary, as well as financial and mandatory reporting. It is clear that corporate sustainability has become a much more recognized business approach as of late, and that including it as part of a company’s identity can both ensure environmental responsibility and enforce a positive public image. However, while some organizations fully embrace the benefits of being transparent about their ‘green’ strategy, some others may be just starting to dip their toes into the water, and quite a lot remain stagnant and unwilling, or perhaps ignorant on how to take the plunge.

No matter what category a company falls in, it’s important to remember that employing the help of a sustainability management software application, such as Locus’ ePortal Resource Management Module (RMM), can be a great advantage in reaching your sustainable goals. Having the necessary tools to create powerful reports and track KPIs such as resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and wastewater usage across the enterprise can ensure reporting success. Also, the information you collect and organize during the reporting process will help to lower your operating costs by reducing resource consumption.

Whatever you do, don’t wait much longer- the time to reap the benefits of the sustainability reporting competitive advantage is now.

Locus Software Automates Discharge Monitoring Reporting

Locus Technologies has expanded its Environmental Information Management (EIM) software to automate the generation of discharge monitoring reports (DMR), which can help companies realize immediate cost and time savings, Locus says.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 20 May 2013—In response to industry and customer demands to streamline Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) reporting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and information management software, has expanded its award-winning Environmental Information Management (EIM) software to automate the generation of DMR reports.

Locus’ EIM DMR solves the problem of expensive, labor-intensive manual report generation by completely automating the process. The NPDES requires that permit holders report self-monitored pollution results with a DMR. These reports are often due monthly and collecting and reporting information such as analytical chemistry of pollutants, flow velocity, total maximum daily load, and other parameters make generating DMRs a time-consuming process. For companies that have to report on 100 or 1,000 facilities, manually producing a DMR also becomes a major operational expense.

Thanks to Locus’ new software offering, once arranged in EIM, companies can generate DMRs within minutes in the approved formats, using validated data. Companies can set up EIM for all permitted facilities and realize immediate cost and time savings during each reporting period. Relevant data are directly uploaded to the system, reviewed and validated, then reported in the proper formats.

“NPDES DMR reporting and other water-quality management issues represent a potentially huge area of risk and cost for businesses. Automating generation, quality control, and submittal of DMRs should be part of the environmental strategy of any organization, just like reducing one’s water or energy usage already is,” said Mr. Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus. “Leaders who establish water-quality transparency for their companies before others do, and who formulate specific and measurable targets with respect to water footprint reduction, can turn this into a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Locus software can help them carve out those increased operational efficiencies.”

Locus’ SaaS EIM enables companies to manage and organize all their water-quality data on a larger and more comprehensive scale using cloud-based computing and storage, replacing spreadsheets and the local, homegrown databases typically used to generate DMRs. Locus’ innovative enterprise software model also employs mashups—applications that integrate data or functionality from multiple sources or technologies—offering the potential to completely revolutionize the way a corporation manages its water data.

Over the last 15 years, Locus has focused on water-quality issues; the company has built a world-class team of experts with deep domain knowledge in the field. Locus’ EIM is successfully deployed at thousands of sites worldwide and contains organized water quality information at hundreds of thousands of locations. The DMR software complements Locus’ existing suite of cloud-based software.

ABOUT LOCUS TECHNOLOGIES
Locus provides business with the power to be green on-demand. Locus pioneered cloud computing environmental software suites. Locus’ software enables companies to organize and validate all key environmental information in a single system, which includes analytical data for water, air, soil, greenhouse gases, sustainability, compliance, and environmental content. Locus software is delivered through Cloud Computing (SaaS), so there is no hardware to procure, no large up-front license fee, and no complex set-ups.

For more information, visit http://www.locustec.com or email: info@locustec.com.

Locus Introduces Software to Automate NPDES Discharge Monitoring Reporting

Companies can use Locus’ cloud-based EIM software to streamline their DMR process, reduce costs, and mitigate risk

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 20 May 2013 — In response to industry and customer demands to streamline Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) reporting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and information management software, has expanded its award-winning Environmental Information Management (EIM) software to automate the generation of DMR reports.

Locus’ EIM DMR solves the problem of expensive, labor-intensive manual report generation by completely automating the process. The NPDES requires that permit holders report self-monitored pollution results with a DMR. These reports are often due monthly, and collecting and reporting information such as analytical chemistry of pollutants, flow velocity, total maximum daily load, and other parameters make generating DMRs a time-consuming process. For companies that have to report on 100 or 1,000 facilities, manually producing a DMR also becomes a major operational expense.

Thanks to Locus’ new software offering, once arranged in EIM, companies can generate DMRs within minutes in the approved formats, using validated data. Companies can set up EIM for all permitted facilities and realize immediate cost and time savings during each reporting period. Relevant data are directly uploaded to the system, reviewed and validated, then reported in the proper formats.

“NPDES DMR reporting and other water-quality management issues represent a potentially huge area of risk and cost for businesses. Automating generation, quality control, and submittal of DMRs should be part of the environmental strategy of any organization, just like reducing one’s water or energy usage already is,” said Mr. Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus. “Leaders who establish water-quality transparency for their companies before others do, and who formulate specific and measurable targets with respect to water footprint reduction, can turn this into a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Locus software can help them carve out those increased operational efficiencies.”

Locus’ SaaS EIM enables companies to manage and organize all their water-quality data on a larger and more comprehensive scale using cloud-based computing and storage, replacing spreadsheets and the local, homegrown databases typically used to generate DMRs. Locus’ innovative enterprise software model also employs mashups—applications that integrate data or functionality from multiple sources or technologies—offering the potential to completely revolutionize the way a corporation manages its water data.

Over the last 15 years, Locus has focused on water-quality issues; the company has built a world-class team of experts with deep domain knowledge in the field. Locus’ EIM is successfully deployed at thousands of sites worldwide and contains organized water quality information at hundreds of thousands of locations. The DMR software complements Locus’ existing suite of cloud-based software.

Locus Technologies celebrates its 16th Anniversary

On 11 April 1997, what had been a dream of mine for many years finally came to fruition: Locus Technologies officially opened its doors. The company was founded with the mission to use strong scientific principles and domain experience to help customers minimize their environmental liability. Officially starting as a consulting-based company, we soon after began directing our focus toward environmental information management software, as the future need for these tools became more and more apparent.

This realization, which turned out to be ahead of the curve forecasting, led to Locus’ flagship product, EIM, being launched in 1999. This web-based SaaS application for managing analytical data was a first for the environmental industry. Soon after its release EIM was already handling millions of analytical records for hundreds of sites worldwide.

In 2001 ePortal was born; the comprehensive Cloud-based platform built to manage all forms of environmental data, whether it be air, water, energy, compliance, or sustainability information. Since that day ePortal has been continuously evolving and improving, and we at Locus have been building up our domain expertise with each new customer, and each new requirement or goal that our software helps them reach.

From the beginning, the main goal at Locus was to thrive in this industry by successfully adapting to change. I am happy to report that for the past 16 years Locus has consistently accomplished this, and therefore managed to remain an innovator in the field of environmental information management. As the company enters its seventeenth year of operation, I would like to share a few brief highlights of its recent accomplishments.

Locus has received the Environmental Business Journal’s award for Information Technology in the environmental and energy industry for seven years in a row; opened up an office in Asheville, NC specifically for GIS R&D and later turned it into an EIM product management center; became both SOC 1 (SSAE-16) and SOC 2 certified to be able to assure both existing and potential customers that we have the proper controls in place to manage their data securely; and continued to expand our customer base with some of the largest companies in industries such as food, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and the DOE.

Over the last decade many others have grown interested about, and attempted to break into this space; most of which are no longer around. While our products and individual applications have changed, our idea and vision has not. We have stayed the course that earned us contracts with many Fortune 100 companies. We intend to continue on the same path going forward.

Locus’ success has always been made possible thanks to its diversely talented, results-driven team and each member’s commitment to breakthrough environmental technologies. At Locus, our passion is fueled by the challenge of developing the best system available to assist our customers with their information management needs. Even sixteen years after the company’s inception, we are hard at work every day to continuously improve our offerings and help our customers simplify the management of their environmental information.

Locus to Attend and Co-present with Del Monte Foods at the 2013 Food and Beverage Environmental Conference

The annual Food & Beverage Environmental Conference (FBEC) continues to be the premier environmental event for the food industry, bringing together senior environmental managers from food and beverage companies to share their experiences with sustainable practices, environmental compliance and new technologies and approaches.

Fracking’s Role in Reducing CO2 Emissions

There’s no doubt that hydraulic fracking has become a popular term today, but have you heard of cracking? I am referring to the drop in carbon emissions partly made possible by the cheaper fuel source brought forth by fracking. In fact, American CO2 emissions have fallen nearly 13 percent since 2007, which makes President Obama’s promise to cut these emissions by 17 percent between 2005 and 2020 possibly obtainable without enacting a major new legislation like cap-and-trade.

While certain regulations and tax break incentives have helped make this reduction possible, the main driving force is economics. Not only have Americans been encouraged to drive less and purchase vehicles with better fuel economy due to high prices, but power companies have also been making the switch from coal to natural gas, a cleaner and cheaper fuel. These actions have resulted in the drop in CO2 emissions, and it’s doubtful that they will change too severely in the near future. Or to put it simply, market forces have taken care of CO2—for now.

However, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions is a positive, it may come with a high price to pay if water quality around fracking sites is not properly monitored and managed. Many concerns have already arisen about chemicals and methane potentially leaking from wells and contaminating water supplies and air. If we don’t monitor aquifers around fracking sites and end up contaminating them, all gains on reduced emissions could quickly be lost as water treatment is expensive, requires a large amount of energy, and takes a long time, which again translates into more carbon emissions.

It is important for companies to take responsibility for their fracking sites, so that the decrease in CO2 emissions and the protection of our water resources may occur simultaneously. In order to ensure that water quality is preserved, a sufficient amount of monitoring needs to happen at a reasonable frequency. Aquifer and surface water samples must be collected and analyzed for probable contaminants. Locus offers the industry leading water quality management software, EIM, to assist companies that face this challenge. EIM is a Cloud-based data management system that supports all management and workflow processes necessary to better determine water quality, so that cracking may be accomplished safely.

EPA Looks for Improved Drilling Data

According to the Energy Information Administration, production of natural gas from shale formations has increased approximately 30 percent from 2006 to 2012. This increase, due to advancements in drilling technologies, has caught the EPA off guard and left it with limited knowledge about the amount of pollutants entering the groundwater, surface water or air.

This poses an issue because states rely on the EPA’s information when issuing permits or determining if someone breaks a rule, and these decisions are being compromised if they are reliant on non-existent or questionable water quality or air emissions data. This realization is also a bit concerning considering hydraulic fracturing releases chemicals such as methane, the main component of natural gas and also a potent greenhouse gas.

The EPA has agreed it needs to improve its data, and is working with the appropriate parties to ensure the continued expansion of oil and natural gas drilling is done safely and responsibly. This situation shows that being prepared to handle big data like this is vitally important. Locus’ EIM and ePortal software are Cloud-based platforms for effectively managing air emissions, as well as hydrofracking data of any kind, water, groundwater, SPCC, and compliance information. By managing this information in one, easily accessible, web-based platform it is easier to stay on top of essential data collection, and to make sure your data quality is at its best.

The Environmental and Sustainability Big Data Era is Here

Move over ‘social media’ and ‘apps’, there’s a new buzzword in town. And it’s beginning to roll off the tips of the tongues of techies just like ‘green’ does for environmental professionals. They call it ‘big data’.

Big data refers to the massive amount of data compiled over time that becomes difficult to manage and analyze due to its size. When you think about all the environmental and sustainability information that’s being collected nowadays- analytical data, emissions data, geology, water quality, toxic waste data, hazardous materials, health and safety data, exposure data, as well as videos, photos, activity logs, and social media posts – when does it become too much? Because of the enormous quantity of environmental data, we begin the difficult task of looking for useful information, like searching for a needle in a haystack, and we often end up never finding it. We are witnessing a huge data explosion happening in our industry and few companies are ready to deal with the data avalanches heading their way.

Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir, the California start-up working to transform how information is analyzed, has an insightful take on this topic. “Most of ‘big data’ is a fraud, because it is really ‘dumb data,’” he says. “For the most part, we would need something like artificial intelligence to turn the ‘dumb data’ into ‘smart data,’ and the reality is that we are still pretty far from developing that sort of artificial intelligence.”

The unavoidable truth is that all this information can become a problem, and can easily overwhelm those dealing with it- to the point where the information’s value is completely overlooked. However, while technology is far from handling this perfectly, it can still arise to the challenge of placing big data on a sensible diet. By sensible, I mean breaking down the fat into healthier, more digestible chunks. This functionality helps to cure headaches and quells the instinct to immediately sweep big data under the rug. So, how can this much-needed level of sensibility be reached in the environmental and sustainability industry?

Enter: the Cloud. Web-based, user-friendly platforms have the capability to store large amounts of data while also dissecting and organizing it into more manageable and comprehensible bits of information. Locus Cloud was developed specifically as a big data management platform for the environmental and sustainability industry. It gives large corporations dealing with big data the ability to pull essential facts and intelligence out of the depths of information overload and turn it into actionable information that not only helps with compliance and reporting, but also stands to significantly lower the company’s operating cost.

It’s time for today’s environmental, health, safety, and sustainability professionals to capitalize on the benefits that big data present. Stop quivering with intimidation, stand up and look your big data square in the eye, and wring it like a wet towel, squeezing out all the value that you possibly can.