The emerging US market for carbon reporting software is set to grow seven fold over the next two years as more and more firms begin measuring and reporting on their carbon emissions.
That is the prediction of a new report from analysts firm Groom Energy Research, which found that despite the gloomy economic climate venture capital investment in Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) firms topped $46m last year.
The study also noted that the number of companies offering carbon software solutions grew from 40 to 60 over the course of the year, with software giants Microsoft and Computer Associates amongst those to launch carbon reporting software applications for the first time.
The report predicted that while consolidation amongst carbon software companies was now expected, the size of the market was set to grow exponentially as more firms embrace carbon reporting standards and large purchasers such as Wal-Mart increase pressure on their suppliers to provide environmental data.
"In light of the economic climate, sales growth for ECA software shows the importance of this emerging category," said Paul Baier, report author and vice president of consulting services for Groom Energy. "From politicians like Al Gore and Condoleezza Rice getting involved with startups, to Microsoft, CA, and SAP, entering the market, our prediction that 2009 would be the year of enterprise carbon accounting came to fruition."
He added that all the evidence suggested that the market will enjoy " explosive growth" over the next two years.
In related news, carbon software specialist Carbonetworks launched a new web-based product designed to help US Federal Agencies comply with Executive Order 13514 , which was introduced last year by President Obama and requires all federal bodies to set a range of environmental targets, including goals for cutting carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency.
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