Los Alamos National Laboratory expands scope to Locus Technologies SaaS contract

Los Alamos National Laboratory adds two new applications to Locus SaaS platform

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 5 May 2015 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the industry leader in cloud-based environmental software, announced today that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has added two new key projects to the Locus EIM Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contract.

LANL is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security (LANS), located in Los Alamos, N.M. LANL conducts multidisciplinary research in national security, outer space, renewable energy, medicine, nanotechnology, and supercomputing. LANL is one of three laboratories in the United States at which the government conducts classified work to care for the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

New work scope areas added to the contract include software applications to support the laboratory’s Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) and support for the Automatic Waste Determination process for safe and proper disposal of hazardous and radiological waste streams.

The original contract between LANL and Locus began in 2011. LANL will continue to use Locus’ SaaS Environmental Information Management software (EIM) to address legacy site compliance and to take a better aggregate view of its operations for environmental stewardship.

Stanford Board of Trustees issues a statement on climate change

In a statement, the Board of Trustees underlines Stanford’s commitment to battling climate change, highlights university initiatives to address it and responds to Fossil Free Stanford’s request to divest from the fossil fuel industry.

The trustees have concluded that Stanford’s endowment will not divest, based on a review of criteria in the university’s Statement on Investment Responsibility and input from the Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing. The trustees also announce a new climate task force that will solicit new ideas from across the Stanford community for addressing climate change.

Find out more about Stanford University’s new climate change policy.

Why visibility on environmental health & safety compliance is still so important (yet another example)

Just this week, a subsidiary of Talus LLC was hit with a $4 million fine, $200,000 in community service payments and three years of probation for EHS violations and violations of the Clean Water Act.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Talos Energy Offshore, LLC, will be required to comply with a Safety and Environmental Compliance Plan.  One of the more surprising findings was the violation of the Clean Water Act.  The company reportedly tampered with the method of collecting the monthly overboard produced water discharge samples to be tested for oil and grease based on its NPDES permit.  They were also fined for other various EHS violations related to offshore operations.

Although good environmental data management and a comprehensive Safety and Environmental Compliance Plan can’t entirely prevent humans from making errors, it can provide the structure and tools to ensure that companies are following environmental requirements.  It also provides visible mechanisms to track compliance and identify corrective actions. The fact that the findings from the U.S. Attorney’s office required the company to follow a Safety and Environmental Compliance Plan strongly suggests they did not have one in place at all.

Cases like this are a good reminder that companies can’t expect to stay in compliance with the myriad of regulations and requirements without a solid environmental plan, and the right tools to make that plan work.

If your organization is ready for a better compliance management system, here is a good place to start:

  • Step 1:  Know and document what rules and regulations you must follow— this is the hard part.
  • Step 2:  Get requirements into a shareable environmental compliance software system. And when you’re offshore, the best solution is in arguably a cloud software system, so that employees and stakeholders in any location can monitor and track real-time performance. And don’t forget to make sure the solution you choose can provide updates and alerts when relevant regulations change.
  • Step 3:  Trust, but verify— have the checks and audits set up and performed regularly, to find issues before the regulatory agencies find them.
  • Step 4:  Log in and view your status, issues, audits, findings and key metrics.

Once you put a well-thought-out plan in action, you will be amazed at how much easier it is to manage your environmental compliance— on or offshore.

Water Lead Contamination—From Rome to Flint

By now, the public health emergency resulting from lead-contaminated water in Flint, Mich., has been made abundantly clear.

The city changed its water source from the Detroit system to the Flint River in April 2014 as a cost-saving measure, exposing its residents to untreated water replete with lead leached from aging pipes. Last September, a local health center found that the proportion of children with elevated lead levels in their blood had nearly doubled since the switch was made. As attention grew around the issue, so too did the public alarm — with good reason. Photos showed Flint residents standing in long lines to collect bottled water and get their children’s blood tested, or standing in court calling for compensation.

And then there were the photos of people holding up samples of the water that had come out of their taps for more than a year. The liquid appears a translucent yellow-brown instead of colorless and clear; if images could emit an odor, these would be foul. But the truly terrifying fact about the water crisis in Flint is invisible. It is the insidious effect of growing up or growing old while unknowingly allowing lead into your bloodstream. According to the World Health Organization, lead creates developmental and behavioral issues in children that are believed to be irreversible.

Water lead poisoning has occurred not just in Flint but all over the country, for decades — and not only from water, but (primarily) from the paint that colors old homes.

On the federal level, there is no comprehensive understanding of the extent to which the population is being exposed to hazardous amounts of lead. Why? Because there is no federal or even state water quality database which public or impacted communities could mine for information. There is a better way. EPA and other agencies responsible for water quality must move into a new century and install a centralized, web-based water quality database where all testing results they collect from various reporting entities should be stored and make accessible in real-time to the general public. That type of transparency is the only way to avoid another Flint. The technology exists but political will may not be there yet.

Flint may have in recent months become synonymous with lead contamination in America, but it is by no means the only — or the most extreme — example of how the toxic element can make its way into our bodies.

Some historians argue that the lead poisoning contributed to the decline of the Roman empire. A team of archaeologists and scientists has recently discovered just how contaminated Roman tap water was. The team dredged sediment downstream from Rome in the harbor basin at Portus, a maritime port of imperial Rome, and from a channel connecting the port to the Tiber River. The researchers compared the lead isotopes in their sediment samples with those found in preserved Roman piping to create a historical record of lead pollution flowing from the Roman capital. Tap water from ancient Rome likely contained up to 100 times more lead than local spring water.

How come that 2000 years later we have still not learned the lesson?

Locus has been awarded by the Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) for a tenth year running!

Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) Recognizes Firms for Growth and Innovation in 2015

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA–(Marketwired – February 02, 2016) — Locus Technologies announced today that Environmental Business Journal (EBJ), a business research publication which provides high value strategic business intelligence to the environmental industry, granted the company the 2015 award for Information Technology in the environmental and sustainability industry for the tenth year running.

Locus was recognized for continuing its strategic shift to configurable Multitenant pure Software as a Service (SaaS) EHS solutions and welcoming new, high profile customers. In 2015 Locus scored record revenue from Cloud software with annual growth over 20 percent. Locus also achieved a record renewal rate of 99 percent and signed up new customers including Shell Oil Company, Philips 66, Ameresco, California Dairies, Cemex, Frito-Lay, Genentech, Lockheed Martin, PPG Industries, United Airlines and US Pipe & Foundry. Locus also became the largest provider of SaaS environmental software to the commercial nuclear industry; currently over 50 percent of U.S. nuclear generating capacity uses Locus’ flagship product. Locus’ configurable Locus Platform gained momentum in 2015 with new implementations in the manufacturing, agricultural and energy sectors, including a major contract with Sempra Energy for greenhouse gas management and reporting.

“Locus continues to influence the industry with its forward-thinking product set, pure SaaS architecture, and eye for customer needs,” said Grant Ferrier, president of Environmental Business International Inc. (EBI), publisher of Environmental Business Journal.

“We are very proud and honored to receive the prestigious EBJ Information Technology award in environmental business for a tenth time. We feel it is a testament to our unwavering commitment and dedication to accomplish this level of recognition, especially now as we lead the market by providing robust solutions for the emerging space of cloud and mobile-based environmental information management,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus Technologies.

The 2015 EBJ awards will be presented at a special ceremony at the Environmental Industry Summit XIV in San Diego, Calif. on March 9-11, 2016. The Environmental Industry Summit is an annual three-day executive retreat hosted by EBI Inc.

Senate Passes Overhaul of TSCA – Chemical Safety Rules

The Senate voted last December to approve a sweeping bipartisan chemical safety bill after years of work and months of tense negotiations.

The primary law overseeing the safety of chemical products—the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—was passed in 1976 and provides the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authority to review and regulate chemicals in commerce. TSCA was designed to ensure that products are safe for intended use. While the law created a robust system of regulations, over time, confidence in EPA’s regulation of chemicals has eroded.

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, named after the late New Jersey senator, updates the 1976 TSCA to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broad new powers to study and regulate harmful chemicals like asbestos, while restricting states’ individual abilities to make their own rules. Lautenberg had made chemical reform his top priority before his death in 2013.

The bill would eventually require testing for every chemical currently in commerce, and any new chemicals. The EPA decisions about chemicals would have to be made solely on the basis of the impact on health and the environment, not the compliance costs.

But the legislation also has significant provisions that the chemical industry asked for, such as restrictions on what states can do on their own, which the industry said is essential for certainty and to avoid a patchwork of rules.

The House passed its own chemical reform bill in June 2015. The Senate sponsors said they plan to work with the House toward a compromise measure.

Key Points of the Bill

Some of the highlights, as outlined in a summary of the Senate bill, are:

  • Arequirement that the EPA review the safety of all chemicals in commerce;
  • New chemicals must pass a safety check before they can be sold on the market;
  • An explicit requirement to protect populations whose exposures, age or other conditions make them vulnerable to chemicals;
  • New authority for the EPA to require companies to test new and existing chemicals for safety; and
  • EPA can retain enacted state regulations and laws for chemicals, but temporarily stop new regulations while the agency is assessing a chemical’s risks.

Other provisions include minimizing animal testing, the establishment of a federal sustainable chemistry program, interim storage by mercury generators and a prohibition on the export of certain mercury compounds.

Locus Technologies introduces new calculation engine for GHG emissions inventories

Locus GHG calculation engine eases compliance burdens for GHG tracking

GHG inventories may be the result of mandatory state, regional, or national reporting programs, such as California Air Resource Board (AB32), U.S. EPA Mandatory Reporting Rule, or European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Organizations need a GHG calculation engine that can calculate GHGs automatically and accurately from all emission-producing activities at all of their facilities anywhere in the world. The new Locus calculation engine supports simultaneous calculations using multiple methods so that users can input data once and report to federal, state, and voluntary reporting programs according to each proper protocol.

The requirements and procedures for GHG reporting are varied, complex, and rapidly evolving. To ensure compliance, companies need a calculation engine that can handle complex equations using appropriate emission factors, conversion factors, and calculation methodologies for each reporting program. The right calculation engine can reduce the stress, time, and potential inaccuracies found in home-grown accounting methods.

New GHG calculation engine removes reporting inaccuracies

As a leading accredited GHG verification company in California, Locus observed challenges that many companies experience with GHG inventory calculation, coupled with the gross inadequacy of tools previously available in the market. Informed by the verification of hundreds of inventories, Locus developed the new calculation engine.

When evaluating carbon management software with built-in calculation engines, companies must ensure that users are able to define both the calculation rules and display of calculated data for the purpose of reporting to various regulators. By giving end users the power to view, analyze, and make changes to analytic model data, Locus helps companies emphasize the transparency of the process and ensure that calculations are correct and that the company meets all verification requirements.

Find out more about Locus’ new GHG calculation engine for tracking emissions inventories.

Check out our white paper “How to Select the Best Greenhouse Gas Calculator for Your GHG Inventory”.

Locus Technologies introduces new calculation engine for GHG emissions inventories

The Locus GHG calculation engine is fully integrated with the dynamic Locus Platform and will automate emissions calculations for large enterprises.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 20 November 2015 — Locus Technologies (Locus), the leader in cloud-based environmental compliance and sustainability management software, introduces an all-new calculation engine to its newest platform to redefine how companies organize, manage, and calculate their greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. The Locus Platform offers a highly configurable, user-friendly interface to fully meet individual organizations’ environmental management needs.

With an increased focus on the role that GHG emissions play in climate change, ensuring that companies’ emissions are reported accurately is more important than ever. GHG emissions reports are coming under increased scrutiny from regulators, stakeholders, verifiers, and financial auditors. Choosing the right calculation engine plays a critical part in remaining compliant with these rapidly evolving requirements and regulations.

Locus GHG calculation engine eases compliance burdens for GHG tracking

GHG inventories may be the result of mandatory state, regional, or national reporting programs, such as California Air Resource Board (AB32), U.S. EPA Mandatory Reporting Rule, or European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Organizations need a GHG calculation engine that can calculate GHGs automatically and accurately from all emission-producing activities at all of their facilities anywhere in the world. The new Locus calculation engine supports simultaneous calculations using multiple methods so that users can input data once and report to federal, state, and voluntary reporting programs according to each proper protocol.

“The requirements and procedures for GHG reporting are varied, complex, and rapidly evolving. To ensure compliance, companies need a calculation engine that can handle complex equations using appropriate emission factors, conversion factors, and calculation methodologies for each reporting program. The right calculation engine can reduce the stress, time, and potential inaccuracies found in home-grown accounting methods,” said Neno Duplan, President and CEO of Locus.

New GHG calculation engine removes reporting inaccuracies

As a leading accredited GHG verification company in California, Locus observed challenges that many companies experience with GHG inventory calculation, coupled with the gross inadequacy of tools previously available in the market. Informed by the verification of hundreds of inventories, Locus developed the new calculation engine.

“Besides spreadsheets, many calculation engines are proprietary to software vendors and are not transparent. For GHG calculations to pass audits and meet cap & trade requirements, transparency is absolutely required. Some of these ’black box‘ calculation tools have not been sufficiently stress-tested in the market and are generating errors that cause enterprises to fail their GHG verifications. Locus’ calculation engine addresses these deficiencies and capitalizes on the architecture of the highly scalable Locus platform. All calculations are viewable and traceable through the tool to the original data inputs,” said J. Wesley Hawthorne, Locus’ Senior Vice President of Operations and an accredited GHG verifier.

When evaluating carbon management software with built-in calculation engines, companies must ensure that users are able to define both the calculation rules and display of calculated data for the purpose of reporting to various regulators. By giving end users the power to view, analyze, and make changes to analytic model data, Locus helps companies emphasize the transparency of the process and ensure that calculations are correct and that the company meets all verification requirements.

“We listened to industry users and created a configurable calculation engine that is easy to use, dynamically driven, transparent, provides reproducible calculations, and is easy to verify. This calculation engine, along with the Locus Platform, will improve companies’ data collection, analysis, and most importantly, reporting capabilities,” added Duplan.

Locus will conduct live demonstrations of the Locus Platform and calculation engine at the Locus booth at the National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) 2016 Sustainability Software and Data Management Conference from March 15-16, 2016 in Tampa, FL.

EU introduces more efficient monitoring of drinking water quality

New EU rules to improve the monitoring of drinking water across Europe come into force, improving access to wholesome and clean drinking water in Europe. As a first step following the European Citizens’ Initiative Right2Water, new rules adopted by the European Commission today provide flexibility to Member States as to how drinking water quality is monitored in around 100,000 water supply zones in Europe. This will allow for more focused, risk-based monitoring, while ensuring full protection of public health.

This new monitoring and control system will allow member states to reduce unnecessary analyses and concentrate on controls that really matter. This amendment of the Drinking Water Directive is a response to calls by citizens and the European Parliament to adopt legislation ensuring a better, fair and comprehensive water supply. It allows for an improved implementation of EU rules by Member States as it removes unnecessary burdens. Member States can now decide, on the basis of a risk assessment, which parameter to monitor given that some drinking water supply zones do not pose any risk for finding hazardous substances. They can also choose to increase or reduce the frequency of sampling in water supply zones, as well as to extend the list of substances to monitor in case of public health concerns. Flexibility in the monitoring of parameters and the frequency of sampling is framed by a number of conditions to be met, to ensure protection of citizens’ health. The new rules follow the principle of ‘hazard analysis and critical control point’ (HACCP), already used in food hygiene legislation, and the water safety plan approach laid down in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. Member States have two years to apply the provisions of this new legislation.

In order to effectively manage sampling and monitoring data at over 100,000 water supply zones water utilities and other stakeholders will need access to software like Locus EIM Water to organize complex water quality management information in real time and automate laboratory management programs and reporting. Locus EIM has been in use by numerous water utilities in the United States.

New Environmental Monitoring Technology Keeping the Air We Breathe Under an Unprecedented Level of Scrutiny

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discussed advances in environmental monitoring technologies. Rising calls to create cleaner air and limit climate change are driving a surge in new technology for measuring air emissions and other pollutants — a data revolution that is opening new windows into the micro-mechanics of environmental damage. Data stemming from these new monitoring technologies coupled with advances in data management (Big Data) and Internet of Things (IOT) as discussed in my article “Keeping  the Pulse of the Planet: Using Big Data to Monitor Our Environment” published last year, is creating all new industry and bringing much needed transparency to environmental degradation. Real time monitoring of  radioactive emissions at any point around globe or water quality data are slowly becoming a reality.

According to the article author William Yardley, “the momentum for new monitoring tools is rooted in increasingly stringent regulations, including California’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions, and newly tightened federal standards and programs to monitor drought and soil contamination. A variety of clean-tech companies have arisen to help industries meet the new requirements, but the new tools and data are also being created by academics, tinkerers and concerned citizens — just ask Volkswagen, whose deceptive efforts to skirt emissions-testing standards were discovered with the help of a small university lab in West Virginia.”

“Taking it all into account, the Earth is coming under an unprecedented new level of scrutiny.”

“There are a lot of companies picking up on this, but who is interested in the data — to me, that’s also fascinating,” said Colette Heald, an atmospheric chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We’re in this moment of a huge growth in curiosity — of people trying to understand their environment. That coincides with the technology to do something more.”

The push is not limited to measuring air and emissions. Tools to sample soil, air emissions, produced water, waste management, monitor water quality, test ocean acidity and improve weather forecasting are all on the rise. Drought has prompted new efforts to map groundwater and stream flows and their water quality across the West.

Two of key issues that need to be addressed are validity of data stemming from new instruments and sensors for enforcement purposes and where is all (big) data be stored and how accessible it will be. The first question will be answered as new hand-held data collection instrumentation, sensors, and devices undergo testing and accreditation by governmental agencies. The second issue, a big data, has already been solved by companies like Locus Technologies that has been aggregating massive amounts of environmental monitoring data in its cloud-based EIM (Environmental Information Management) software.

As the article put it: “When the technology is out there and everyone starts using it, the question is, how good is the data? If the data’s not high enough quality, then we’re not going to make regulatory decisions based on that. Where is this data going to reside in 10 years, when all these sensors are out there, and who’s going to [manage] that information? Right now it’s kind of organic so there’s no centralized place where all of this information is going.”

However, the private industry and some Government organizations like Department of Energy (DOE) are already preparing for these new avalanches of data that are hitting their corporate networks and are using Locus cloud to organize and report increased volume of monitoring information stemming from their facilities and other monitoring networks.