Hara helps companies profit from being green

Hara is live with Environmental and Energy Management software offered online as a for-fee service that identifies how efficient and green operations are being with their energy, water, and waste.

"Our vision is to enable a post-carbon economy in which organizations can grow and profit without depleting the earth's resources," said Hara co-founder and chief executive Amit Chatterjee.

"We have the opportunity to write the encyclopedia of environmental efficiency, creating an unprecedented body of knowledge that will influence environmental impact reduction initiatives for years to come."

Economic, energy, climate, and commodity crises have driven companies to rethink the ways in which they do business, according to Chatterjee.

Hara has operated in "stealth mode" for 18 months with venture capital backing from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The Coca-Cola Company and the Northern California city of Palo Alto are among more than a dozen organizations that have been using Hara's service to improve efficiency and manage risks.

"Effective environmental management requires good insight, good analysis and good data," said Bryan Jacob, Coca-Cola director of Energy Management and Climate Protection.

Hara's software application "combines data collection with mitigation planning and initiative tracking in a comprehensive package that enables us to improve energy efficiency and environmental impact," he added.

Companies that factor environmental sustainability into their operations outperform peers by 10 to 15 percent, according to Hara.

Chatterjee equates Hara to a fitness trainer that coaches businesses in how to be more environmentally efficient.

Hara reports that it showed Palo Alto how to save 2.2 million dollars in annual energy costs and cut 400,000 dollars from its waste handling expenses.

Solutions reportedly included shifting to a biodiesel truck fleet, a biomass boiler, and more composting and recycling.

Hara also tracks natural resources back to sources, so companies can avoid "hot spots" where commodity supplies are unreliable or sales fund nefarious activities, according to Chatterjee.

"We indicate how healthy a business is at consuming natural resources," Chatterjee said.

(c) 2009 AFP