The Impact Calculator is a transformative feature within Cozero Act, designed to equip organizations with a tool to effectively navigate their decarbonization journey. This article aims to provide Cozero users with a comprehensive understanding of the Impact Calculator, its purpose, functionality, and how to leverage it to make data-driven decisions for climate action implementation.
What is the Impact Calculator?
The Impact Calculator feature is integrated into Cozero Act, enabling businesses to assess the potential of decarbonization actions, as well as their implications. As the name indicates, the tool will calculate the probable financial and carbon-related impacts of an action on an organization or business unit, using personalized data that the user can input. It is also possible to continue with Cozero’s default values, if no company-specific data is available yet. The Impact Calculator serves as a critical tool for organizations looking to align their environmental performance with financial considerations, offering a seamless connection between the two. This interconnected perspective is essential for organizations when selecting and prioritizing between various climate actions. With the integration of the Impact Calculator, Cozero Act takes a further leap towards converging into an intuitive and easy-to-steer decarbonization decision-making tool.
How to Use the Impact Calculator
Accessing the Tool: Users can find the Impact Calculator feature within the Cozero Act module. Simply enter the Strategy Builder page and click on the blue “Add a climate action” button - you will then be able to select the Impact Calculator.
Selecting Climate Actions: Browse the catalog of pre-defined climate actions, ranging from renewable energy contracts to LED lighting retrofits and beyond. This catalog is continuously updated to reflect the latest in climate action strategies.
Customizing Climate Actions: For each selected action, users can customize parameters such as initial investment, expected lifetime, annual savings/costs, and annual CO2 savings. This customization allows for tailored insights specific to the organization's context.
Analyzing the Results: The Impact Calculator processes the input data to output comprehensive insights on the financial and CO2 reduction impact of the selected climate action. These insights assist in prioritizing actions based on their effectiveness and alignment with the organization's decarbonization goals.
Climate Action Catalog
The Impact Calculator was developed to steadily scale and expand, mirroring our customers’ increasing focus on decarbonization capabilities and resources. For the first set of actions, our Cozero climate experts developed recommended actions in accordance with industry knowledge and user needs.
Switching to LED Lighting Systems: Convert conventional lighting to LEDs to increase energy efficiency and reduce electricity emissions,
LED Lighting Controls: Calculate the potential savings from installing automatic lighting controls, such as occupancy sensors and daylight sensors.
Building Energy Management System (BEMS): Install BEMS to optimize building services like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and reduce associated emissions.
Heat Pump Installation: Explore the efficiency and savings associated with replacing traditional heating systems (boilers) with heat pumps.
Loft Insulation: Insulation is used in walls, roofs, floors, HVAC ducts and pipes to mitigate heat transfer, regulate temperature and reduce buildings’ energy demand.
Solar Panels Installation: Assess the benefits of generating electricity on-site using solar energy to reduce reliance on grid electricity.
Renewable Energy Contracts: Evaluate the impact of switching to electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, or hydro.
Green Vehicle Fleet: Determine the CO2 savings and financial implications of transitioning to electric vehicles within the company fleet.
Substitution of Business Flights (Short- and Long-distance): Overall reducing the number of corporate long- and short-distance flights may result in substantial emissions reductions.
In order to further build out this feature’s potential, the Cozero community is encouraged to actively contribute knowledge and expertise with regards to initiatives’ reduction potential and parameter refinement. If you are interested in building out further actions according to your expertise or needs, please get in touch with your Cozero Climate Success Manager, or send an email to support@cozero.io
Key Considerations
When using the Impact Calculator, it is important to consider the specific context of your organization, including geographic location, industry, and current energy consumption patterns. These factors can significantly influence the effectiveness and financial viability of the proposed climate actions. While the Impact Calculator may steer first-level decision-making and prioritization regarding Climate Action development for target achievement, implementation and budgeting require context-specific business case planning. If you would like to know more about this, feel free to reach out to your Climate Success Manager.
Conclusion
Cozero Act’s Impact Calculator is a tool for companies to leverage company data and external research to determine the practical reduction potential of climate actions. By providing a clear understanding of the financial and environmental impact of various actions, it supports corporate decision-making by prioritizing investments that offer the greatest benefits to one’s sustainability journey. As Cozero continues to enhance the Impact Calculator, users can look forward to an even more robust tool that simplifies the complex nature of climate impact measurement and management.