Public sector
Tech brings green clarity to Europeans
28 May 2008
Microsoft has formed an alliance with the European Environment Agency (EEA) to deliver real-time environmental information to more than 500 million Europeans.
The online portal, with the working title of the Global Observatory for Environmental Change, is designed to gather critical information, including European water, soil, air and ozone indicators, into one place. It will provide this information – from the global perspective to the view from the street – at levels of detail previously unseen in environmental monitoring. The Observatory is designed to provide an accessible and understandable resource for governments, policy-makers and citizens to access meaningful data in real time.
The EEA has been working with Microsoft since the summer of 2007. “From the outset we saw that our concepts of environmental sustainability follow those which underpin the Observatory, recognising that responsibility is at once global, organisational and individual,” said Jan Muehlfeit, chairman, Microsoft Europe. “At a business level our commitment to environmental sustainability sees us ensuring that our products are as energy-efficient as possible. But we have broader responsibilities and are constantly seeking ways in which technological innovation can help to address the complexities of environmental sustainability – an ambition that perfectly resonates with the ambitions of the Observatory.”
The Observatory is designed to show environmental information at the global, regional and local level, allowing detailed comparisons of conditions in different parts of the continent and providing graphic illustrations of how particular events affect localities. The Microsoft Virtual Earth platform is being developed to facilitate this advanced geo-spatial capability.
The Observatory also has the potential to be a powerful instrument for positive change. The EEA says that with real-time environmental information at their fingertips, European citizens could apply pressure on governments to act quickly and responsibly when they see and more fully understand the environmental implications of harmful activities. Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the EEA said: “This cooperation does not only mean that we will have instantaneous access to the most up-to-date information on the environment – it will also empower us, citizens, to ask for more from decision-makers.”
Microsoft is helping the EEA to develop technology capabilities that can: handle potentially vast streams of complex information; address uncertainties; quality-assure data; integrate incoming data from traditional and novel sources; and present data in ways that are accessible, understandable and useful.
“No single individual, organisation or enterprise can deliver environmental sustainability,” said Microsoft’s chief environmental strategist, Rob Bernard. “But every individual, organisation and enterprise, working together, can make decisions that can work towards it. The EEA’s observatory puts in place an information resource that delivers detailed, accurate and up-to-date information on the environment, ultimately helping inform the decisions Europeans make. The concept and capabilities of the portal aim to set new standards in environmental reporting and responsibility – a vision that Microsoft is deeply committed to realising.”