EcoWorld - Editor At Large

Most people are horrified when they see a Hummer roll down the highway. Throwing garbage out of your car window will lead to an incredibly heavy fine. Even toys are designed with the lesson of recycling in mind such as with this octosquid. Almost everyone organizes their trash. Attitudes are definitely changing when it comes to the environment.

Climate change caused by environmental pollutants is no longer a theory, but a reality. Companies are going to extremes to reduce the amount of pollutants released during production. Not only because of changes in perspective, but also due to the more stringent laws that only allow for a minimal amount of pollutants. Keeping track of all the waste is a complicated task, but software does exist to manage all the numbers. Companies that specialize in environmental monitoring software such as ESS are taking off.

Alvin Hayes, communications manager at ESS, could not be happier with the tremendous growth at the company: “For years, environmental health, safety and crisis management has been regarded as a niche industry,” Hayes begins, “customers that were really dedicated to environmental concerns were investing in our software but its popularity was fairly modest. Over the last 2.5 years the interest has grown tremendously.”

ESS was founded 15 years ago in Tempe, Arizona where it began as a small company focusing solely on the measurement of refrigerant emissions. Hayes explains the evolution of ESS: “Five years ago, our company decided to expand and change the business model to include additional measuring and monitoring capabilities. The company acquired three other organizations and created a suite that allows companies to measure and monitor across an enterprise and do it in an efficient manner.” Now, ESS can barely keep up with demand for their software.

Air, water, waste, fugitive emissions, and chemical inventory are just a few of the categories that companies can organize with the system. Companies use the data they already have while the ESS software analyses and organizes this information. “A lot of the hardware that companies have create the original data,” explains Hayes, “that data moves from operational systems into our system where its measured and managed. Then you can track exactly for, say, emissions compliance. You can also track exactly where you are at any given time since the data is provided and reported in real time. You can take a snapshot and see where you are at any level in the company such as the plant level or across the entire enterprise.”

Many companies are going green. This is obvious with the sudden popularity of the software. With ESS software being used in Australia, China and Europe, ESS was right to think that this technology would become a success: “With so much concern about the effects of green house gases on global climate change, companies are taking the initiative to try and reduce their environmental footprint,” says Hayes, “Some companies are doing it as a matter of corporate responsibility, but others are doing it because they understand they are going to be changes whether it’s a cap and trade or other regulatory change.”

When asked how simple the software was Hayes was enthusiastic. “It is very easy to use,” he says, “Customers always remark at how quickly they get up and going. It is really intuitive and gives the user a really easy opportunity to get to the data they are looking for. You don’t need a whole lot of clicks to get to where you are going. [The software also takes into account that many industries are based abroad where different environmental compliance issues exist.] There are so many companies that operate in several jurisdictions and our software has capabilities of loading data in one language while being uploaded in another.” Environmental concerns are definitely shared world wide. Thankfully, becoming green is becoming easier every day with all the options provided by new technologies and software like that at ESS.