Providing software solutions since 1976
Providing software solutions since 1976
Press Release
Printer-Friendly
Newsroom |
SAS unveils no-cost sustainability management for higher educationNew hosted service supports greenhouse gas modeling, performance reportingCARY, NC (Oct. 06, 2011) – Higher education institutions can now use SAS® Analytics at no cost to calculate and report their energy footprints. With Web-hosted SAS OnDemand for Education: Sustainability Management , US colleges and universities can easily track, manage and communicate sustainability efforts and strategies. "This no-cost offering naturally melds SAS' 35 years of support of higher education with our commitment to green practices," said Armistead Sapp, head of the SAS Education Practice. "When higher education staff spend less time gathering and reporting sustainability data, they focus more on achieving on-campus successes. In addition to being free, the service is hosted – meaning no additional hardware or software administration." SAS OnDemand for Education: Sustainability Management supports greenhouse gas (GHG) modeling and sustainability performance reporting. It enables colleges and universities to gather, store and report sustainability data for frameworks, such as AASHE STARS, or create custom performance indicators to support climate action plans. Schools can aggregate, measure and evaluate Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions, with GHG scopes based on emission source. On-demand access for users to sustainability tracking and reporting is powered by SAS Business Intelligence, SAS Data integration and SAS Analytics. From the single source of sustainability knowledge, higher education institutions can accurately gauge their energy footprints, a capability that is important to a university's student body. "Student-led green movements are a common presence on campuses around the country. Higher education institutions can take a leadership role on an issue that's of great importance to the young people they serve," added Sapp. Bill Davis, Energy Program Coordinator for North Carolina State University (NCSU), uses SAS to analyze GHG inventory and energy consumption, and to simplify reporting. "Different national sustainability reporting systems require different metrics, making it time-consuming to prepare and submit data," said Davis. "With SAS, we can set certification goals, create stretch goals and compare to benchmarks. The advanced analytics let us model scenarios like 'what if we purchase energy credits, create new offsets or decommission a building?''' To analyze GHG inventory, NCSU uploads energy data from central utility plants, building meters, transportation data, and carbon offset data to the online SAS system. Data is processed based on carbon models and fuel factors to calculate a "carbon path" through the university. GHG data is analyzed by building, gross square feet or building type. Continues Davis, "We can predict performance and ROI based on the data. Further analysis lets us anticipate changes and impacts to the GHG inventory, as well as university budget, goals, and mission." In July, IDG's Computerworld Honors Program honored Duke University's Sustainability Office for its work with SAS developing the hosted sustainability solution. The winner in the Innovation category, Duke will use SAS in areas such as sustainability performance reporting and predictive modeling of GHG. For more on SAS OnDemand for Higher Education: Sustainability visit SAS at Booth 447 at next week's AASHE 2011 Conference and Expo. Currently, SAS is prioritizing the opportunity to work with the more than 600 signatories to the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment. More than 3,000 colleges, universities and business schools in 126 countries use SAS software. With education specialists on every continent, SAS serves higher education by delivering software, strategic services and academic programs that spark innovation and expand educational opportunities.
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 50,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world
The Power to Know®
.
|
SAS Sustainability AASHE dashboard 
SAS Sustainability Emissions Modeling |
