A fresh analysis of the world’s
energy management software vendors has named CarbonSystems, a Green Quadrant
leader, as big business struggles to manage spiralling energy costs and risks
to energy security. The latest Verdantix study shows that the four market
leaders — CarbonSystems, CA Technologies, IBM and Verisae – offer strong
energy management functionality, proven integration with a wide range of meters
and controls, deep expertise in energy domains, an impressive customer base,
and meaningful implementation partnerships. Read More

Verdantix reports on Carbon
Systems (6 December 2011):

A fresh analysis of the world’s
energy management software vendors has named CarbonSystems a Green Quadrant
leader as big business struggles to manage spiralling energy costs and risks to
energy security.

Independent analyst firm Verdantix judged
Australian company CarbonSystems as one of four global leading software vendors
based on an independent, fact-based comparative analysis of companies offering
energy management software applications.

Published today, the new
Verdantix report combined benchmark data from 15 live product demonstrations,
responses to a 115 point questionnaire, and interviews with an independent
panel of 15 enterprise customers who have bought or are planning to buy energy
management software.

Verdantix reported that the four
market leaders — CarbonSystems, CA Technologies, IBM and Verisae – offer
strong energy management functionality, proven integration with a wide range of
meters and controls, deep expertise in energy domains, an impressive customer
base, and meaningful implementation partnerships.

However Verdantix noted that many vendors do
not have the product architecture to scale up to a global deployment — just 15
companies were assessed for review from 60 vendor applicants from around the
world.

The trend to manage corporate
energy has seen the rise of energy management software vendors that assist
companies to capture, track and report their energy use. Verdantix analysis
reveals that the US market for carbon and energy management software in 2011
will be $207 million and will grow to $558 million by 2014; the global market
is expected to reach $742 million in size by 2017, according to Pike Research.

Post-2013 Verdantix believes that a handful of
established software suppliers will dominate the enterprise energy management
software market with three firms established as clear leaders by 2016.

Energy software buyers face
complexity

Buyers of energy management
software face a plethora of software vendors, equipment and controls firms,
energy consultants, and services firms, according to Verdantix CEO, David
Metcalfe.

“To help buyers save time and
money in the software selection process, as well as reducing risk in purchase
decisions, Verdantix conducted an independent, fact-based analysis of the 15
enterprise energy management software suppliers with the strongest claim to
support global deployments.

“The report aims to guide
decision makers such as CFOs and VPs for sustainability and energy that are
assessing software vendors that manage and streamline their firm’s energy
supply, consumption and costs,” he said.

CarbonSystems leadership position

“CarbonSystems’ position in the
leaders’ quadrant is based on their strong capability in several important
domains – energy data capture, systems integration, security and audit, and
energy reporting and analysis,” said David Metcalfe.

“CarbonSystems is among a few
providers at the forefront of energy management software market worldwide.
Their proven ability to capture, integrate and manage energy data for large
firms in diverse industries gives them a strong competitive advantage.”

Commenting on the report,
CarbonSystems’ chief executive David Solsky said: “Companies want solutions
that take away the pain and headache caused by the complexity of managing
energy data and that show them where to reduce consumption and save money on
their energy bills. That’s what we do for clients around the world. That’s why
we’re leading in the energy management software market.”

What energy software buyers want

“Most customer panel members said
that a proven ability to deliver value by identifying energy consumption
reduction opportunities was critical,” said David Metcalfe. “Proven integration
with meters and controls across data centres, commercial buildings and
industrial plants was also rated highly.

“Integration across multiple
energy domains is complex because it requires integration with meters, Building
Management Systems, lighting systems within commercial buildings, Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA) in manufacturing facilities and
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units, servers and racks within data
centres.”

About CarbonSystems

CarbonSystems is a global provider
of sustainability software. Its technology helps companies manage their carbon,
energy, environmental and social responsibility performance and operate more
efficiently by driving cost savings in their use of energy, fuel, gas, water,
waste, and other environmental metrics. The company has clients in corporate
property management, education, electricity and gas, government, food services,
fast moving goods distribution, information technology, managed services,
mining, logistics, and professional services. Its core technology was developed
in 2004 to read electricity smart meters.

CarbonSystems has a customer list
that boasts 25 companies with billion dollar plus revenues and more than 110
clients worldwide. The company has strategic partnerships with AGL Energy,
Colliers International, E.ON, and Fellon McCord. Companies with over 45,000
combined locations around the world are using our Enterprise Sustainability
Platform (ESP) to streamline and automate the capture, management and reporting
of their sustainability metrics. CarbonSystems is a privately owned and funded
Australian company with offices in London, New York and Sydney.

About Verdantix

Verdantix is the fastest-growing, independent,
analyst firm focused energy, environment and sustainability. Through our global
primary research and deep domain expertise we provide our clients with
strategic advice, revenue generating services, best practice frameworks,
industry connections and competitive advantage.

Source: www.globalcarbonsystems.com and www.verdantix.com

Sustainability Sees the Light at Singapore’s Marina Bay

Asia’s first and only sustainable
light art festival – i Light Marina Bay 2012 – will return next year from 9 March
to 1 April, with the theme “Light Meets Asia”, featuring innovative and
environmentally sustainable light art installations by 30 multi-disciplinary
artists, including Coral Gardens (pictured left) by French-Filipino artist
Olivia d’Aboville. There are messages about sustainability, as well as climate
change and deforestation, in the exhibition of “The Chronicles of Narnia”,
designed by Robin Stapley (pictured at right), which is currently running at
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Asia’s first sustainable light
art festival shines the spotlight on Marina Bay

Singapore, 8 December 2011 – i
Light Marina Bay 2012, the second edition of Asia’s first and only sustainable
light art festival, will return next year from 9 March to 1 April 2012.  Themed “Light Meets Asia”, i Light Marina Bay
2012 will feature innovative and environmentally sustainable light art
installations by 30 multi-disciplinary artists, with a strong focus on works
from Asia.  Organised by the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) in collaboration with Smart Light Singapore, the
2012 Festival builds on the success of last year’s festival.

Mr Mark Goh, Deputy Director of
URA’s Place Management Department, remarked: “We are glad to bring this
festival back to Marina Bay for the second time.  i Light Marina Bay provides a great
opportunity for locals and tourists to come down to appreciate the creative
light art installations and explore our city’s signature waterfront.  i Light Marina Bay also aims to promote the
awareness and use of energy-efficient technology so that we can all play a part
in creating a more sustainable urban environment.

The Festival’s curatorial team is
helmed by Festival Director Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou, and includes two
co-curators: Ms Charmaine Toh, a Singapore visual arts curator; and the team
from local award-winning design studio FARM.
In line with the theme “Light Meets Asia”, the curatorial team has
selected 30 light art installations from almost one hundred submissions.  The list of selected installations features a
strong representation from new, emerging, and well-known artists from countries
across Asia, including Singapore.  See
Annex A for more information about the curatorial team.

“The success of the inaugural
event in 2010 has drawn strong participation from the creative industry in the
upcoming Festival.  We are very heartened
by both the number and quality of submissions this year.  We saw not only a significant increase but
the quality also sets a new benchmark for future Festivals.  This time round, the event will have a
stronger Asian focus featuring more Asian multi-disciplinary artists, many of
whom will be creating light art for the very first time,” said Festival
Director Ms Mary-Anne Kyriakou.

Ten artists and their works were
unveiled at the media conference held at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands
this morning.  Five of the featured
artists were in attendance: Mr Li Hui from China; Ms Olivia d’Aboville from the
Philippines; Mr Takahiro Matsuo from Japan, and Mr Ryf Zaini and Ms Olivia Lee
from Singapore.  See Annex B for details
of the artists and their artworks.

The Festival has also seen strong
support from the Marina Bay community, with Marina Bay Sands coming on board as
the first sponsor.  Mr George
Tanasijevich, President and CEO of Marina Bay Sands, said: “It has been our
privilege to play a key role in the transformation of Marina Bay, Singapore’s
most exciting urban district.  It is
therefore an honour for us to contribute back to the community through this
innovative showcase of artistic talents at Asia’s premier light art festival.  We are happy to give our support to pave the
way for a bolder show at i Light Marina Bay 2012.”

Apart from the visually arresting
and interactive sustainable light art installations, visitors to next year’s i
Light Marina Bay can look forward to a full array of complementary programmes
and activities – including a night picnic and carnival, outdoor performances,
guided light walk tours, educational talks and workshops – all to ensure that
there is something for everyone.

i Light Marina Bay will open nightly
from 7.30pm to 11.00pm from 9 March to 1 April 2012.

About Urban Redevelopment
Authority (URA)

The Urban Redevelopment Authority
(URA) is Singapore’s national land use planning and conservation agency. URA’s
mission is “to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play in”. We
strive to create a vibrant and sustainable city of distinction by planning and
facilitating Singapore’s physical development in partnership with the
community. As the main land sales agent for the state, our multifaceted engagement
strategy includes the sale of state land to attract and channel private capital
investment to develop sites for meeting our land use needs. As the place
manager for Marina Bay, we promote exciting activities within Marina Bay in
collaboration with other government agencies and private stakeholders. To
create an exciting cityscape, URA also actively promotes architecture and urban
design excellence. For more information, please visit us at www.ura.gov.sg.

About Smart Light Singapore

Smart Light Singapore (SLS) was
established in 2010 as a not-for-profit entity to develop urban lighting
festivals that would set new international standards for energy efficiency and
provide family-friendly, outdoor celebrations by illuminating public spaces
through art sculptures and other smart light activities.

Through these events and
activities, SLS aims to increase awareness in the reduction of energy usage,
engage public and professional participation in best practices in lighting
design, promote dark city skies and improve on energy-efficient lighting
performances.

A feature of the press conference
launch of I Light Marina Bay was the only one of the selected 30 works on
display – Coral Gardens by French-Filipino artist Olivia d’Aboville.

She graduated with honours from
Duperré, a prestigious Textile Design school in Paris in 2009 and Olivia
D’Aboville specialised in tapestry and textile structures. She rapidly adapted
the techniques to create her own woven forms. She has been exploring sculpting
with textile techniques since then and had her first solo exhibition Chasm of
Fantasies at the Ayala Museum in Manila, the Philippines, in 2010. She was
nominated and shortlisted for the Ateneo Art Awards 2011.

From plastic spoons to pins and
water bottles, d’Aboville is fascinated by ordinary mass-produced objects.
These objects, due to our society and our lifestyle, are inevitably destroying
our environment and polluting our seas. She manipulates materials at hand to
create new work, recycling them to generate objects which are completely
different. For every interesting element which inspires her, d’Aboville asks
herself what she can do this it: can it be cut, bent, heated, stretched, or
accumulated to create a new form?

D’Aboville is very sensitive to
light, fluidity and movement and finds endless inspiration from the ocean. She
is fascinated by the mystery, beauty and creatures of the underwater world and
tries to raise awareness about the importance of preserving marine biodiversity
through her work. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, hotels and
festivals in France, Hong Kong, Manila and the United States. It ranges from
textile jewellery to sculptures, lighting design and installation art.

Concept

Coral reefs form some of the most
diverse and productive ecosystems on earth. They occupy less than a tenth of 1%
of the ocean surface, yet provide as home for 25% of all marine species.
However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems which are dying. They are under
threat from climate change, ocean acidification, blast fishing, over-use of
reef resources, urban and agricultural runoff and water pollution.

Coral Garden is an installation
of a multitude of coral-like sculptures made of transparent cocktail stirrers
and an acrylic base. The composition of the sculptures resembles a coral reef
which viewers will be drawn to and can interact with, as fish do with actual
reefs.

Source: www.ilightmarinabay.sg

Note from the Editor: We must declare our interest! Sustain Ability
Showcase Asia (SASA) has been appointed the Sustainability Consultants for i Light
Marina Bay 2012, working with Pico, the event management company, as well as
the URA,  the Festival Director Mary-Anne
Kyriakou and Smart Light Singapore.

Kimberly Spykerman in Straits
Times (3 December 2011):

There are messages about sustainability,
climate change and deforestation in the exhibition of The Chronicles of Narnia,
designed by Robin Stapley (pictured at right), which is currently running at
Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

Feel the icy chill of the White
Witch’s throne, the weight of a heavy suit of armour and watch how a catapult
is used to launch a huge boulder in a battle.

Visitors can get up close and
personal with these interactive elements when The Chronicles Of Narnia
exhibition opens at the Marina Bay Sands skating rink today.

The show features more than 100
costumes, props and set pieces from the three Narnia films, based on C.S.
Lewis’ books, which trace the adventures of four children after they enter the
magical world of Narnia through a wardrobe.

Fans of the films who walk
through the doors of the ‘wardrobe’ at the show will find many familiar items.
These include the elaborate dress and headgear worn by the White Witch, played
by Tilda Swinton; the battlegear and weapons used by the characters; and the
life-sized petrified animals found in the courtyard of the White Witch’s
palace.

Even the homes of the beavers and
Mr Tumnus the faun, featured in the first film The Lion, The Witch And The
Wardrobe (2005), have been recreated, and contain original film props such as
silverware, furniture and even an arrest warrant.

The exhibition also houses a
study containing items belonging to the writer of the beloved children’s
series. These include a pipe, a glass mug, a handwritten letter and a copy of
the book Phantastes by Scottish writer George Macdonald, which C.S. Lewis said
‘baptised his imagination’.

The exhibition’s creative
director, Mr Robin Stapley, 47, said: ‘These real elements help the audience to
connect to the writer and give them a sense of the world he lived in. After
all, these books came out of his imagination.’

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE
EXHIBITION

Source: www.marinabaysands.com

Grand Designs for Sustainability at London Olympics

Grand Designs presenter, Kevin
McCloud (pictured left) and five other London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors
paid a special visit to the Olympic Park recently to see the grand designs for
London 2012. The role of the Ambassadors is to help to bring to people’s
attention the importance of sustainability at the Games. Unveiled in February,
the sinuous velodrome (pictured right) was chosen to represent London’s claim
for the “greenest games ever,” because of its sustainability and
efficiency initiatives.

Photo One of the four permanent
venues in the London Olympic Park, the velodrome was one of the last to be
commissioned, and the first to be completed on time and on budget. Unveiled in
February, the sinuous velodrome was chosen to represent London’s claim for the
“greenest games ever,” because of its sustainability and efficiency
initiatives. Inspired by lightweight and streamlined racing bikes, the Hopkins
Architects-designed velodrome will provide a venue for the indoor track cycling
events at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

London 2012 sets the standard for
sustainability

02 Nov 2011

Grand Designs presenter, Kevin
McCloud and five other London 2012 Sustainability Ambassadors paid a special
visit to the Olympic Park recently to see the grand designs for London 2012.

McCloud was joined by campaigner
and author, Eugenie Harvey; author and environmentalist, Saci Lloyd;
entrepreneur and businesswoman, Deborah Meaden; environmentalist and writer,
Jonathon Porritt; and co-founder of the Eden Project, Tim Smitt.

The role of the Ambassadors is to
help to bring to people’s attention the importance of sustainability at the
Games. During the day on the Olympic Park, they visited the new Parklands
running through the heart of the Olympic Park and the lightest Olympic stadium
ever built, meeting members of the team working on the project.

Jonathan Porritt, who chairs the
Sustainability Ambassador’s Group said: ‘The Games provide an important
opportunity to feel proud of what we’ve achieved. London and the UK will be on
show to billions of people during the Games and this is a precious once in a
lifetime opportunity to visibly display our leadership in sustainability
issues.’

Deborah Meaden said: ‘I am
delighted to have been asked to be a London 2012 Sustainability
Ambassador.  It is amazing to see how
sustainability has been embedded at such scale into the building of the venues
and the delivery of the Games.  I am
genuinely excited about what we have achieved and can’t wait to share it with
the world in 2012.’

The London 2012 Organising
Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is the first Games
Organising Committee to be certified to the British Standard 8901:
Specification for a Sustainability Management Systems for Events.

This follows a series of
assessments carried out this summer by independent certification body SGS
United Kingdom who audited all activities delivered by LOCOG including the test
event in Greenwich Park. The following audits will also cover the preparations
for delivery of the Games, management of the Villages, coordination of the
Olympic Torch Relay, opening and closing ceremonies and the delivery of medal
events.

BS 8901 was inspired by the
London 2012 bid and has been developed specifically for the events industry
with a purpose of helping event organisers, venues and suppliers to operate in
a more sustainable manner.

LOCOG Chief Executive, Paul
Deighton said: ‘We set out to achieve new standards of sustainability in the
staging of the Games.  Certification to
BS 8901 is an Olympic and Paralympic first and is a fantastic achievement that
shows how far sustainability is embedded into the heart of our organisation.’

‘We still have more work to do
but we are well on track to achieve some fantastic results and uncover more
opportunities that have not been realised before in an Olympic or Paralympic
context.’

There are eight London 2012
Sustainability Ambassadors: James Cracknell, Eugenie Harvey, Ellie Hopkins, Saci
Lloyd, Deborah Meaden, Kevin McCloud, Jonathon Porritt and Tim Smitt.

As it heads towards its £2bn
budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic
Tier One Partners – adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB.
There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury,
Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier
Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting
Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP,
G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis,
McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan
Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and
Westfield.

Source:  www.london2012.com

Redrawing a Line in the Sand: Reporting Climate Change

Mobilizing a critical mass of
people, communities, and cities to drive demand for clean energy, transport,
and environmentally sustainable consumption is the focus of a campaign launched
last week at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore. “Redraw The Line” is a
public awareness campaign created by The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social
Awareness and Ogilvy & Mather with the support of the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

A Media Leaders Forum on the
subject “ Media and Multi-Sector Partnerships in Achieving Positive Social
Change” , featuring Dr Martin Blake and Ken Hickson, among others, and ably led
by the BBC’s Sharanjit Leyl, was a feature of the day’s events. Jessica Cheam
has the story. Read More

By Jessica Cheam in Straits Times
(9 December 2011):

There is far less coverage of
climate change – an important topic affecting billions of people – than
coverage of conflicts.

Media organisations, especially
in Asia, should devote more resources to reports on environmental issues, says
a senior United Nations official.

In recent days, publications
around the world have given far fewer column centimetres to the UN climate
change talks in Durban, South Africa, than the conflict in Afghanistan, said Mr
Shun-ichi Murata, deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap).

‘It is an important conflict, but
so is climate change, and it has far-reaching consequences for billions of
people,’ he told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the Media Leaders’ Forum
at Marina Bay Sands on Wednesday.

Government leaders from around
the world have converged on Durban to negotiate the issue of reducing global
carbon emissions to combat worsening climate change.

Mr Murata says the media has been
biased in its coverage of the talks – predicting their failure even before
negotiations started. ‘It’s unfair of the media to make such statements even
before the talks begin. There is still the possibility of progress being made,’
he said.

Dr Martin Blake, executive
director of GreenAsia Group, a Singapore-based environmental management
solutions firm, who also spoke at the event, noted that there have been
encouraging trends in Asia. The region has seen an increase in climate change-
and environment-related news in the past few years.

‘In Singapore, we’ve seen
publications dedicating journalists to this agenda and this is very good. But
the media can do more,’ he said. One way is to take a more practical approach
to reporting on the issues, and avoid sensationalism.

He noted that there is a
misguided tendency for the media to focus on ‘bad, apocalyptic-type news’ on
climate change, such as disasters and doomsday scenarios, which can turn
readers off a serious topic.

There are many opportunities to
focus on ‘good news’, such as positive examples of businesses and communities
responding to the climate change challenge, he said.

Escap’s Mr Murata added that
media organisations could play a key role in getting Asian consumers to accept
green products and shift to a more sustainable lifestyle and pattern of
consumption. ‘This is crucial for Asian economies to grow sustainably. They
need to build resilience against volatility of prices for food, energy and
resources,’ he said.

Media reports are also important
in giving a voice to vulnerable and poor communities throughout Asia, who would
otherwise not be heard, he added.

The inaugural Media Leaders’
Forum, which attracted about 100 participants, aimed to discuss the role and
responsibility of media companies in affecting behavioural change on climate
change issues.

It was organised by Media
Alliance, a Singapore-based non-profit organisation, in partnership with the
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development
Bank, among others.

Source: www.eco-business.com

Asia Development Bank reports (7
December 2011):

SINGAPORE – Mobilizing a critical
mass of people, communities, and cities to drive demand for clean energy,
transport, and environmentally sustainable consumption is the focus of a
campaign launched today at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore.

“Redraw The Line” is a public
awareness campaign created by The Asia-Pacific Media Alliance for Social
Awareness (The Media Alliance) and Ogilvy & Mather with the support of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swedish International Development
Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in response to the challenges posed by climate
change.

The campaign draws on the
participation of the media, entertainment, and advertising industries; private
sector sponsors; bilateral and multilateral development agencies; and youth or
university students.

“We are still waiting for an
international commitment that will drive our nations to respond to the climate
challenge as a global community, however, there are agents of change responding
to climate change at every level,” said David McCauley, ADB’s Lead Climate
Change Specialist. “Our goal is to mobilize a critical mass of people,
communities and cities to take action that addresses the main impacts of
climate change.

“Redraw The Line” is an Asian
regional initiative that is emphasizing the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam
during its first year. Other countries may be added over the next five years.

Under the direction of regional
media partners Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and Viacom International Media
Networks, youth teams will produce locally and culturally relevant messages and
communication techniques. These will be based on the main climate change
concerns of their country, as determined by their national climate change
commission and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Selected institutions include
Bangkok University’s International College Media Lab and Assumption
University’s School of Mass Communication in Thailand, along with the Academy
of Journalism and Communication in Viet Nam. A university in the Philippines is
still being selected.

National media companies in the
three target countries are being invited to join the awareness campaign.
Synovate, a market research company, is supplying pre- and post-measurement
support through a climate change market survey on consumer awareness and
attitudes.

Source: www.adb.org