New software targets GHG emissions

Planet Metrics can measure transport emissions.

Newly-launched carbon information management company Planet Metrics says its software can help companies strike a balance between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and economic growth.

Backed by a $2.3 million Series A funding round from angel investors and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Burlingame-based Planet Metrics  Nov. 11 announced its launch, along with news that it will provide a carbon analysis for the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) annual trade show in January.

Using peer-reviewed data to provide carbon models of businesses’ value chains, from product production to facilities management to disposal, Planet Metrics says it aims to show companies where GHG emissions occur and how to reduce them.

“Companies don’t understand where carbon resides,” Planet Metrics co-founder and CEO Andrew Leventhal says. Planet Metrics uses existing GHG  inventories and lifecycle assessment data to create a carbon model for a company within about 30 days. After identifying potential areas for improvement, Planet Metrics then integrates company-specific data for a more in-depth analysis. Given information about the carbon impacts of its supply and distribution chain, a company can then make decisions about where and how to make improvements, Leventhal says.

Planet Metrics says it is primarily focusing on large companies looking to employ sustainability strategies, but for the electronics show—which is the largest annual tradeshow in North America—the company is crafting emissions models assessing the impacts of transportation, hotel room stays and electricity, among other aspects of the tradeshow.

CEA says it plans to use the information from Planet Metrics to purchase carbon offsets and plan for ways to reduce future GHG emissions.