Microsoft Introduces New "Environmental" Dashboard to Track Energy Costs in Dynamics AX 2009

Microsoft Corp. is offering users of Dynamics AX 2009 a new toolset, an Environmental Sustainability Dashboard. It is designed to enable midsize businesses to capture data needed to measure key indicators related to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions as part of everyday business processes, as a way to pinpoint ways to cut energy consumption and costs.

"Companies are under a lot of pressure, and we want to help them have a wider view of their businesses," explained Jennifer Pollard, a senior product manager.

A demo of the new toolset is available for viewing. Pollard said most users will probably want to involve their partners in setting up the new toolset so that it easily integrates existing data about energy usage, and takes advantage of other data, such as from utilities, to accurately calculate energy usage.

With the new solution, which is being made available at no cost, companies can collect auditable data on four of the core environmental performance indicators identified by the Global Reporting Initiative for energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, including direct on-premise fuel consumption and the carbon footprint of their power usage with utilities and other vendors. Based on this information, organizations can monitor their carbon footprint and institute business practices that are both environmentally and economically sustainable, minimizing their exposure to fluctuating energy costs, for example.

"Businesses will find new opportunities for cost savings and improving operational performance by getting a fresh perspective on their operations," said Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions. "In many cases, midsize organizations can't retain dedicated consultants to audit their environmental performance. By integrating groundbreaking environmental performance management capabilities with Microsoft Dynamics AX, ...