"Metrics for Energy Systems:
                     Sustainable Energy Strategies"

AIChE Spring Annual Meeting
Orlando, Florida
Critical Issues Series: Energy
April 23, 2006 - 3:30pm

Calvin Cobb, Ph.D.   
Chair, AIChE Institute for Sustainability

Future energy developments must be sustainable if the world in to advance its energy supply and demand systems.  Changing historical energy supplies like crude oil and natural gas will require large investments in new technology to achieve economical breakthroughs. 

 As these technologies are brought forward the environment for project development will be significantly different in the future as considerations range far beyond just project economics.  The sustainability view of project economics and financial performance will be linked with environmental performance and societal performance.

AIChE’s Institute for Sustainability is developing a Sustainability Index that will measure corporate performance in sustainable development.  Components of this index measure technology-based performance in key areas:

1. Energy/Green House Gases
   1. Considerations along the Supply Chain 
2. Products and raw materials
   1. Hazardous materials quality; risk.
   2. Life cycle of product
3.  Eco-efficiency of manufacturing (process) of products
4.  Environmental Performance
5. Safety and Health issues
6. R&D and Innovation slated toward Sustainable Development
7. Transparency of measurements and metrics (cross cutting factor)
8. Robustness

Energy metrics will be discussed at the Critical Issues Forum.

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