Intelligent ESG Carbon Management with eCloudvalley’s Adonis Platform on AWS

By Yenyu Wu, ESG Consultant – eCloudvalley
Samuel Chan, Head of PCCOE – eCloudvalley
Puneet Arora, Sr. Solutions Architect – AWS
Rishi Singla, Sr. Partner Solutions Architects – AWS

eCloudvalley

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives have increasingly become a focal point in the corporate world. Since the United Nations introduced the concept in 2005, ESG has been gaining traction, highlighting the need for a standardized approach to measure and evaluate carbon emission reduction efforts.

A significant development in this arena was the establishment of the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2014 and offers a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In this post, we will cover the significance of the SBTi within the realm of ESG reporting, and we’ll elucidate the critical role SBTi plays in ensuring corporate carbon reduction targets align with globally recognized objectives.

eCloudvalley is an AWS Premier Tier Services Partner and Managed Service Provider (MSP) that developed a unique carbon asset management platform, Adonis, which is intricately designed to integrate with the rigorous standards set by SBTi and ensures companies can work towards tangible, science-backed carbon reduction goals.

Formed in partnership with influential bodies such as CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Science-Based Targets initiative is pivotal in propelling ambitious corporate climate action, assisting businesses and financial institutions in setting science-based GHG emissions reduction targets.

The overarching goal of SBTi is to drive a significant reduction in emissions, aiming to halve them by 2030 and reach net-zero before 2050. This ambitious target aligns with the global objective of mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable business practices.

As of the end of 2022, the impact of SBTi has been remarkable. Over 2,000 companies have had their science-based targets validated by the initiative, and this figure includes a significant proportion of Fortune Global 500 companies.

According to a survey by a globally renowned consulting firm, approximately 75% of companies worldwide feel unprepared to have their ESG data assured and meet new regulatory requirements. This gap highlights a critical challenge: data collection and integration.

While the adoption of ESG practices is on the rise, the journey toward standardized and efficient ESG reporting and target setting is ongoing. The SBTi plays a crucial role in this landscape, providing a structured and science-based framework for companies aspiring to reduce their carbon footprint and enhance their sustainability profiles.

Criteria for a Good Carbon Management Platform

Choosing the right carbon management platform is a critical decision for companies looking to effectively manage their environmental impact.

The variety of carbon software and platforms on the market poses a challenge: how to select the most fitting solution? To address this, we examine five key criteria that define an effective carbon management platform:

Framework vs. Reporting: The Long-Term Sustainability of Carbon Management Platforms
While many carbon reporting tools focus on data input and report generation, a comprehensive carbon management platform emphasizes long-term sustainability. Beyond just producing reports, it facilitates ongoing tracking against science-based goals, such as those outlined by the SBTi.
Adherence to International Standards: GHG Protocol and ISO 14064
The ability to accommodate both standards ensures a holistic approach to carbon reporting and compliance, addressing the common challenge of adhering to standardized report formats in carbon emission reporting.
ERP Integration: Enhancing Carbon Reporting Through System Connectivity
This integration, encompassing enterprise resource planning (ERP), inventory, and human resources data, provides a more complete view for optimizing strategies to achieve carbon emission reduction targets.
Role of Data Lakes: Establishing a Single Source of Truth for Carbon Management
A strong carbon management platform should feature a data lake, consolidating data from various sources, including Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, to provide actionable insights for environmental impact strategies. This single source of truth is vital for tracking carbon emission goals effectively and making data-driven decisions for sustainability.
User Experience and Security: Key Considerations for Carbon Management Platform Adoption
The user experience and security of a carbon management platform are paramount. It must ensure data security while being user-friendly and ideally hosted on a private network to mitigate data breach risks.

ESG Advantages on AWS

Amazon is committed to sustainability and in this section we’ll highlight how Amazon is approaching and creating initiatives to become more sustainable.

In September 2019, Amazon co-founded and was first signatory of The Climate Pledge, which calls on companies to commit to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. Amazon continues to work to reduce emissions across its operations to reach net-zero by 2040, as well as encourage other companies to join in signing the Pledge to accelerate their goals, plans, and programs to address the urgency of climate change.

As of November 2023, Amazon has over 470 renewable energy projects. As the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy globally, Amazon has renewable energy projects across 26 countries, including 221 wind and solar farms and 258 rooftop solar projects, representing more than 26 gigawatt of renewable energy capacity.

When working with large amounts of data, AWS specifically has ways to help you optimize your cloud workloads for sustainability. The AWS Well-Architected Framework helps cloud architects build secure, high-performing, resilient, and efficient infrastructure for a variety of applications and workloads.

The framework’s sustainability pillar provides design principles, operational guidance, best-practices, potential trade-offs, and improvement plans you can use to meet sustainability targets for your AWS workloads.

Figure 1 – AWS Well-Architected Framework.

The AWS Customer Carbon Footprint Tool can help you understand the carbon footprint of workloads running on AWS, and support your reporting. Multiple charts are included to help you track emerging trends in your footprint, plan future deployment strategies, and include as part of your broader sustainability reporting initiatives.

Based on industrial customers demands, AWS has identified six priority use cases:

Carbon accounting
ESG reporting
Sustainable IT
Energy optimization
Sustainable buildings
Value chain transparency

To cater these above use cases, the AWS Solutions Library is available for guidance for builders to quickly get started.

Adonis: Reliable Science-Based Carbon Management Platform

The quest for an effective carbon management platform that meets the multi-faceted demands of modern businesses culminates in Adonis, which distinguishes itself as a comprehensive, science-based carbon management platform.

Adonis is a carbon management platform and strategic partner for businesses navigating the complexities of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Its features are thoughtfully designed to address the key challenges companies face in their carbon management journey, making it a valuable tool for any organization committed to making a positive environmental impact.

Here are some features of Adonis that are crucial for ESG commitments and performance:

Out-of-the-box SBTi-based carbon emission tracking.
Compliance with ISO 14064 reporting standards.
Seamless integration with ERP systems like SAPESG.
Scalable carbon management data lake and advanced analytics.
Enterprise-grade security with easy deployment.

Figure 2 – Adonis platform building blocks.

The Adonis platform is designed in accordance with best practices for three-tier web application architecture, leveraging AWS to ensure high availability, security, and performance.

Utilizing Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances within an auto scaling group guarantees service availability and scalability. Amazon Aurora is the solution for database uses and is configured across multiple AWS Availability Zones (AZs) to enhance both security and availability.

Amazon CloudFront is employed as the content delivery network (CDN), which accelerates content delivery and reduces the load on web servers, ensuring the platform can efficiently manage large volumes of data and high user traffic.

Customer Success: Kallex

The effectiveness of the Adonis platform is exemplified through its successful deployment at Kallex, a prominent player in the chemical manufacturing industry.

Initially, Kallex faced challenges with understanding and managing its carbon inventory, a crucial aspect of its commitment to sustainability. With Adonis, Kallex was able to navigate these challenges efficiently. Within just three months of implementation, Kallex achieved ISO 14064-compliant results, a testament to the platform’s robust compliance and reporting capabilities.

The collaboration between Adonis and Kallex extended beyond mere tool implementation. Kallex benefited from comprehensive training sessions provided by Adonis, covering vital topics like sustainability trends, ISO frameworks, audit considerations, and strategic carbon reduction targets.

The direct benefits were clear: a 50% reduction in time spent on carbon inventory processes and significant labor cost savings. More importantly, the extended benefits included more efficient planning and execution of carbon reduction targets, a key aspect of Kallex’s carbon management strategy.

Conclusion

Adonis from eCloudvalley stands out as a beacon in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) platform space, demonstrating how technology can be federatively employed to advance sustainability goals. For companies like Kallex and many others, Adonis has been a game-changer, providing the tools and insights needed to make substantial progress in their carbon management journey.

Adonis is a carbon management solution that aligns with scientific principles, offers comprehensive reporting and compliance capabilities, and integrates seamlessly with existing business systems. Contact eCloudvalley to learn how Adonis can transform your company’s approach to carbon management.

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