Delegate with Confidence: How PixelEdge Built a Carbon Accounting Tool

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Problem
3. PixelEdge Solution
4. Results
5. Conclusion
6. Contact Us

Introduction

Carbon accounting is a process for tracking how much greenhouse gas your organization is responsible for. A company can be accountable for:

• Scope 1: Emissions made directly by the organization
• Scope 2: Emissions indirectly made by suppliers
• Scope 3: Emissions from the downstream processing of any waste or transportation

It’s complex, and companies must capture this data to improve their carbon footprint, voluntarily or by law.

With programs like Salesforce Net Zero Cloud and SAP carbon management capturing data for energy usage and carbon footprint, carbon accounting software and methods have entered the mainstream.

Problem

Our client was losing business in carbon accounting. Long a leader in their industry, new competitors had entered the space with inexpensive and free tools that did limited carbon accounting. While the initial carbon accounting step wasn’t a big part of our client’s business, it led to additional business in planning, reduction, reporting, and monitoring of carbon goals. The new competition in this initial accounting stage meant losing some of this broader business.

Our client didn’t have the skills or teams to build and maintain a new system. They were great at sustainability problems, not software development. They faced several challenges in reporting the carbon emissions at thousands of locations, each with unique emissions profiles:

• Continuous and Accurate Reporting: Their existing processes struggled with maintaining up-to-date and precise data.
• Cost Efficiency: Reporting processes were not cost-effective.
• Outdated Technology: Their tools lagged behind industry standards.
• Manual Data Handling: Teams used spreadsheets, leading to inefficiencies and errors across departments.
• Competitive Disadvantage: Competitors used advanced tools with higher data integrity, more up-to-date standards, and quality data visualizations, causing our client to lose business.

How could they build modern tools while remaining focused on their core business? And how could their business compete with inexpensive tools?

PixelEdge Solution

Our team at PixelEdge has a full-service team of innovators, developers, user support, and research experts that designed, built, and maintained our client’s software. While we worked, our client was free to focus on its core competencies rather than spend a lot of time discussing, designing, and testing software.

We addressed our client’s challenges with a comprehensive solution, involving our Innovation, Engineering, Experience, and Research teams. Each team has its own focus, and communication between our teams and clients are critical for success.

Corporate Innovation

Engineering

Experience

Research

• Ideation
• Validation
• Business modeling
• Change management

• Solution architects
• Frontend
• Backend
• Data

• Product owners
• Design
• Quality Assurance
• Customer Support

• Financial analysis
• Research analysts
• Data processing

Here’s how the PixelEdge teams collaborated to solve our sustainability client’s carbon accounting challenges.

Continuous and Accurate Reporting

• The Innovation Team identified carbon accounting as a strategic opportunity.
• The Engineering Team developed a modern, centralized system and built a database with reusable templates.
• The Research Team ensured the database was continuously updated with the latest carbon accounting information.

Cost Efficiency

• The Engineering Team streamlined the workflow and integrated PowerBI for custom graphics and reporting.
• The Experience Team worked on wireframing and user feedback to improve the user interface.

Outdated Technology

• The Engineering Team developed a modern, standardized system for carbon accounting.
• The Experience Team designed a user-friendly interface.

Manual Data Handling

• The Engineering and Research Teams created a centralized database with reusable templates and automated data management.

Competitive Disadvantage

• The Innovation and Experience Teams provided advanced data visualizations and a robust reporting system, with better data integrity and updated standards.

Results

Our client was able to delegate to us as partners in their carbon accounting work, so that they could do what they do best. Our ongoing support keeps their software, data, and training fresh while they focus on their clients. The end result is a great collaboration for industry-leading results:

Data and Reporting

• Our client differentiates itself with some of the best research in the industry
• Through quality data visualizations, our client can better attract new customers

Compliance and ROI

• Improved compliance with carbon accounting regulations
• Improved ROI for projects

Usability and Efficiency

• Improved margins due to easier systems and less administrative work
• A streamlined approach that reduces errors and improves communication across teams

Opportunities

• Better data visualizations that stand out against competitors
• Channel for more opportunities in carbon accounting

Conclusion

Our client trusted our teams at PixelEdge to create software that significantly improved thier carbon accounting processes. By modernizing their workflow, centralizing data, and providing advanced data visualizations, our client now manages and reports on carbon emissions more efficiently. This upgrade reduced the administrative workload and enhanced compliance with carbon accounting regulations. The streamlined approach facilitated better team communication, providing a foundation for new opportunities in the carbon accounting sector. Our client kept its competitive edge and maintained their leadership in carbon reduction consulting.