HARA SOFTWARE, INC. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20110137574 | Graphical Technique for Visualizing Effects of Environmental Emission Reductions - An emission management system is implemented via a host server that is accessible to a large number of clients (organizations) using a website. Based on data input by a client relating to actual usage of resources, the client's past CO2e emission over time is calculated by the host server and displayed to the client on the website in the form of a wedge chart, with emissions along the y-axis and time along the x-axis. The server software also extrapolates the past emissions to display baseline predicted future emissions, assuming no reduction strategies are implemented. The client also inputs an emission target level and proposes one or more strategies for reducing the baseline level to achieve the target level. The server converts each strategy to a CO2e emission reduction and layers the different reductions between the baseline level and the target so the client can graphically see the effect of each strategy on achieving the target. | 06-09-2011 |
20110119199 | Facility Resource Consumption Estimator - A centralized emission management system is implemented via a server that is accessible to a large number of entities. An entity uploads information about demographic data and resource consumption data of its organizational units, such as facilities, to determine measures of environmental impact, such as CO2e emissions. When resource consumption of a target organizational unit is not available, the entity can request the server to estimate the resource consumption based on private information about comparable organizational units within the entity or public information about comparable organizational units outside of the entity. The server determines the comparable organizational units based on the demographic data. The entity can select a resource consumption item of a comparable organizational unit from which the server determines an estimated resource consumption of the target organizational unit, generates an audit trail of the estimate, and determines a measure of environmental impact from the estimate. Any report listing the estimated resource consumption or the measure of environmental impact clearly designates the value as an estimate. | 05-19-2011 |
20110119115 | System Generated Benchmarks - A centralized emission management system is implemented via a server that is accessible to a large number of entities. The entities upload information relevant to determining a measure of environmental impact. The server calculates benchmarks for a performance metric based on the entities' measures of environmental impact and certain normalization factors. Based on a comparison of the performance metric of an entity against one or more benchmarks, the server may transmit initiatives to the entity for reducing environmental impact and an alert to related subordinate entities to reduce their environmental impact. | 05-19-2011 |
20110119114 | Modeling Tool for Determining an Organization's Supply Chain Emissions Footprint - A CO2e modeling system is implemented via a host server that is remotely accessible by a large number of clients (organizations) and suppliers of goods and services to the clients. The host server accesses a database containing CO2e emission-related data from a large number of suppliers. The client, when determining their indirect CO2e emissions resulting from their supply chain network, then identifies to the host server, via the web, the various suppliers used by the client and the client's amount of usage of the various suppliers. The host server uses its stored conversion factors and other data from the database to calculate the client's indirect CO2e emissions as a result of the client's usage of the particular suppliers. The server may calculate the total CO2e emissions generated by the entire chain of suppliers that are involved with providing a particular product to the client. | 05-19-2011 |
20110119113 | Best Practices for Emission and Energy Management - A centralized emission and energy management system is implemented via a server that is accessible to a client organization. In response to a request to recommend best practices for an organizational unit to reduce environmental impact or energy usage, the system selects relevant best practices based on reduction goals and the organizational unit's particular industry. Based on attribute values for the relevant best practices and the organizational unit, the system filters/ranks the relevant best practices to form recommended best practices. The system may transmit a forecast of energy savings, cost impacts, and environmental impacts over an implementation time period for a draft procedure created from a recommended best practice. The system may generate a request for proposal (RFP) including an approved procedure to a vendor. The system may maintain ratings and feedbacks on the approved procedure and the vendor. The system generally enforces authentication, authorization, and auditing for access to the system. | 05-19-2011 |
20110119112 | Modeling Tool for Reducing Resource Usage or Emissions - A centralized modeling system is implemented via a host server that is accessible to a large number of clients (organizations) using a website. In one example, it is assumed a client wishes to reduce its CO2e emissions by reducing its energy consumption by a certain amount per year. The client then enters a budget, and the server or client identifies a list of all the possible initiatives (specific projects) for electricity reduction. The client enters certain relevant information to customize the initiatives. The server may then automatically calculate, using conversion factors, each initiative's cost and estimated electricity and emissions reduction per year, among other metrics. The software allows the client to repeatedly select any combination of the initiatives and then models the resulting total energy savings and CO2e emission reduction, and any budgeted amount remaining. Based on the modeling, the client then decides on the overall strategy using a combination of the initiatives. | 05-19-2011 |
20110115795 | Concentric Pie Chart Graphic for Simultaneously Conveying Multiple Types of Relationships - A method is described for generating a single graphic chart that illustrates relative quantities associated with different elements and relationships among the different elements. In one example, a processing system receives raw data, such as data for deriving the CO2e emissions per country. Assume a client wants to graphically illustrate both the relative quantities of emissions per country and the relative quantities of emissions per geographical region. The processing system creates an outer pie chart by arranging arc-sections, representing each country, so that the arc-sections associated with each geographic region are adjacent one another. The processing system then generates an inner pie chart, coaxial with the outer pie chart, illustrating the relative quantities of emissions per geographical region, wherein boundaries of each arc-section in the inner pie chart are aligned with boundaries of an associated grouping of related arc-sections in the outer pie chart. | 05-19-2011 |