THE PROJECT
Context & Drivers
The Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) is a collaborative research centre that focuses on the evidence base and demonstration of low carbon innovations. Shaping Cloud were asked by the University of Sheffield (one of the founding partners of CLCF) to produce a web based application that would help businesses map out their existing supply chains. The tool would then run an analysis of their chain and present them with a carbon ‘heat-map’ showing them where the most carbon is being used. They would then be given recommendations for reducing their carbon footprint based upon their own research initiatives and real world case studies.
Solution
The solution provided by Shaping Cloud was the Supply Chain Environmental Analysis Tool (SCEnAT). A ground breaking cloud based platform that has been used by the likes of Rolls Royce, Tata Steel, Unilever, Skanska and Sheffield Forgemaster. It has been nominated for several prestigious awards and has been the subject of a Microsoft Case Study into it’s innovative use of the Azure platform.
Technology Stack
Building on top of the Microsoft Windows Azure platform, Shaping Cloud developed two systems using ASP.Net MVC, JavaScript (jQuery and Backbone) and HTML5:
1. System Knowledgebase
System Knowledgebase is a database designed to collate and store information which can later be used for research. The CMS allows researchers the ability to update data, upload findings and case studies and most importantly to share their research.
2. Carbon Calculator
The calculator was developed to enable businesses to locate their ‘carbon hotspots’ by mapping out and visuallising their existing supply chains, using an intuitive web-based user interface.
The system takes the input data and links the information to a similar supply chains which have already had carbon reductions, allowing a business to follow these guidelines to enable them to reduce their own carbon emissions.
