Sun enhances OpenEco.org

SANTA CLARA, USA: As part of the company's continued commitment to sustainability, Sun Microsystems Inc. unveiled significant enhancements to OpenEco.org, a global online community that provides free, easy-to-use tools to help members calculate, compare and reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the Net Impact conference at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where Sun will hold its second annual OpenEco Energy Camp on Saturday, November 15.

OpenEco.org now tracks a broad spectrum of emission sources and incorporates carbon accounting practices to provide organizational and individual users with a comprehensive view of their carbon footprint and the ability to report their GHG data using industry-standard metrics. Members can now use OpenEco.org to create a view of their entire carbon footprint from a range of sources, including utilities such as steam, mobile sources and business travel, as well as electricity and natural gas use.

Incorporating standard-approved carbon accounting practices helps ensure that the GHG estimates calculated and tracked on the site are suitable for reporting under widely accepted frameworks such as the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the EPA's Climate Leaders Program. Additionally, OpenEco.org houses energy efficiency resources and provides an online forum where community members can collaborate and compare building energy performance, share proven best practices and encourage sustainable innovation.

“OpenEco.org is our innovate, act and share philosophy in action,” said Dave Douglas, senior vice president, chief sustainability officer at Sun Microsystems. “We continue to look for ways to minimize Sun's impact on the planet and share those findings with the community at large. OpenEco.org is our primary tool for tracking and managing Sun's GHG emissions and is perfect for anyone taking an active role in measuring and reducing their environmental footprint.”

Hub for powerful, free tools and knowledge exchange

Launched in September 2007, OpenEco.org has become a popular hub for users and industry supporters with more than 600 organizations and 2,000 individuals leveraging the community on a regular basis to help them better monitor and manage their GHG emissions. OpenEco.org is ideal for organizations that are committed to sustainability, decreasing energy consumption and tracking progress in reducing their environmental impact. It allows users to build and maintain personalized sustainability dashboards, where they simply select their carbon emissions sources, input energy and other data, and track results.

Organizations such as BC3, Ceres and Natural Logic are just a few of the many supporting OpenEco.org in a cooperative effort to help minimize carbon emissions and building energy use.