For the first time, this year EDR was asked to provide our parent company (the U.K.'s Daily Mail and General Trust) with information about the business that would be used to help determine what DMGT's global carbon footprint is. The information we provided was done so in survey form and included details on things such as paper usage, annual airplane flights and average drive time to work. The survey was developed by ICF and, presumably, ICF will then compile the survey results from all DMGT companies in order to arrive at a consolidated carbon footprint for the entire organization. While the type of information we were asked to provide in the first year is rather general, I have to think it will become much more specific and granular in future years. As a result, it seems this may be a great business opportunity for environmental firms doing property condition assessments.

This is occuring at a time when the line between "environment" and "energy" is blurring. In order to quantify an organization's carbon footprint accurately, one needs to assemble property specific information about a property's physical characteristics as they relate to energy consumption. This includes details about the properties windows, heating and cooling systems, insulation and more. To me, the PCA process appears to be the perfect place to collect, organize and update this type of data. Already, several PCA firms are beginning to offer carbon footprinting services as an add-on to the basic PCA.

The end game will be to know whether or not the organization is in a position where it may need to buy credits to become carbon neutral or can sell credits to others. While the development of carbon trading markets in the U.S. is still a few years away, it is coming. For proof, just look at the recent developments in California and several northeast states that are leading the way towards carbon neutrality.