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VantagePoint: Carbon scenario planning tool

VantagePoint - ‘A position that affords a broad overall view or perspective of a situation'.
This piece of software is designed specifically for local and regional authorities to develop climate change mitigation strategies in a rigorous and authoritative manner. The tool has been used in a mix of urban and rural locations.

What does it do?

The tool can be used by the local authority or by Carbon Descent to create a carbon reduction strategy. It can also be used in a workshop setting by members, officers or community groups. A range of scenarios made up of energy generation, behaviour change, infrastructure and policy measures can quickly be generated and compared.

The process is relatively simple and allows you to:

  1. Select a local or regional authority; upload its profile from nationally verified statistics to populate the baseline emissions for year zero. The initial values can then be refined to create
    a more precise picture for your region
  2. Forecast emissions from population growth, rates of demolition, new build and transport statistics
  3. Add to or amend the base technology mix and establish the maximum potential for all carbon reduction measures. You can also apply costs for those technologies, which will vary from location to location
  4. Select a carbon reduction target for 2050 and choose linear or non-linear interim reduction targets and create the first scenario
  5. Analyse a mix of technologies and measures modelled for transport, domestic, commercial and industrial buildings to achieve the targets, tailor this mix of measures and save the scenario
  6. Create a range of further scenarios meeting the same or different targets and compare across number of factors
The Carbon Descent VantagePoint software provides a vision for possible energy mixes for the local authority which underpins the climate change strategy.

What are the benefits?

  • The software is simple to use and local authority officers can design scenarios and then manage progress against these targets.
  • The methodology is rigorous and robust and the model has been tried and tested by over 10 organisations at local and regional level
  • The model identifies the capital cost and other economic implications of any given strategy providing a thorough cost benefit analysis
  • The accompanying cost/benefit analysis enables local authorities to compare the scenarios and select the most appropriate option
  • The tool can be used to help the authority plan for, and report on, National Indicators addressing climate change such as NI186.

VantagePoint 2.5 has just been released and includes the following enhancements:

  • Completely new interface - more intuitive look and feel
  • More logical flow of scenario development
  • Ability to select different baseline years
  • Updated reference data (2006, 2007 baselines and associated consumption figures, fuel prices, etc)
  • Rationalisation of reference data to allow choice of original reference data, own data or updated reference data
  • Import/Export Facility - allowing counties or regional bodies to import individual district or sub-regional scenarios
  • Facility to add measures
  • Export graphs and tables to Excel
  • Context sensitive help
  • Ability to locate database in server location of your choice
  • Ability to create new (geographical) areas ie selecting combinations of local authorities for analysis

 

Please contact us for further information and access to a 14 day demo.
020 7089 6970
software[@]carbondescent.org.uk