On 9th February Microsoft launched the Dynamics AX Environmental Dashboard. The dashboard enables mid-sized organizations to track their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (out of the box) in an effort to help identify opportunities to cut costs and lessen their environmental impact from within their existing ERP solution. It allows companies to seamlessly capture and measure key environmental indicators as part of their everyday business processes.
The key features include:
| Feature |
Description |
| Shared data |
- Increase visibility and improve collaboration across your organization with the ability to publish Environmental Sustainability Dashboard reports to any employee's Role Centre using Microsoft® SharePoint® Web parts.
- Motivate employees to act by increasing awareness of your organization's environmental impact, their role in reduction efforts, and how they can help.
- Access the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard using Enterprise Portal in Microsoft Dynamics AX.*
|
|
Custom configurations and
reporting
|
- Customize the dashboard to include information relevant to your organization, such as specific vendors, energy conservation programs, or conservation goals.
- Track direct and indirect energy consumption by month; identify specific contributing factors; and view the energy costs of each, such as electricity and fuel oil or heating costs.
|
| Greenhouse gas inventory |
- Create and track your own greenhouse gas inventory to understand your environmental impact and how that might affect your business in a carbon market.
- Capture data consistently over time that is auditable, and reduce your risk of exposure to potential regulations, taxation, or increases in energy costs.
- View the carbon dioxide equivalent of your emissions-the dashboard automatically
calculates the carbon dioxide conversions and presents the information in an easy-to-read graph.
|
|
Tracking of Environmental
Performance Indicators
|
Automatically track the four core GRI Environmental Performance Indicators for energy
consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, including:
- EN3-Direct energy consumption that is generated onsite, such as heat and power.
- EN4-Indirect energy consumption that is generated from another location, such as a utility.
- EN16-Your total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, which combines EN3 and EN4 and converts them into carbon dioxide equivalents.
- EN17-Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions, such as those generated
from business travel, employee commuting, and waste disposal.
|
|
Integration with Microsoft
SQL Server® Reporting
Services
|
- Capture environmental sustainability data in everyday business processes by viewing data immediately and tracking it over time using the dashboard, which is powered by SQL Server Reporting Services.
- View detailed, integrated data, such as the quantity of energy purchased from a vendor, the associated costs, and the dates of the service period
|
With the Business Ready Enhancement Plan for Microsoft Dynamics, the dashboard is available at no additional charge to customers using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 (only).
There is a good demo HERE.
I mentioned that out of the box you get two metrics (energy & greenhouse gases) however a Dynamics Developer can add in other metrics they typically need to measure, such as waste, water, hazardouse substances etc.
For more info, checkout: http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/environment.mspx
