The European Innovation Council (EIC) supported EIC beneficiaries in assessing their company’s carbon footprint through the GHG Tool. Spanish-based company Bunt Planet, which offers the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions in the water sector, was one of the EIC beneficiaries that joined the GHG Tool initiative. Created within the framework of the EIC Greenhouse Gas Programme (GHG) that ran from January 2021 until December 2022, the GHG Tool proposed mitigation measures and practices compatible with EU objectives. We met with Borja Arzac, Key Account Manager at Bunt Planet, to discuss his participation, so keep reading to see what he has to say!
Can you briefly describe your role in Bunt Planet?
I’m a Key Account Manager at the company. I’m in charge of promoting and developing sales, especially in some markets: Oceania, Asia, some European markets, and French-speaking areas.
Could you describe your innovation and its positive contributions?
Bunt Planet has created BuntBrain a software platform integrating several modules to support the digitalisation of water utilities and make better use of this resource, which is water. To elaborate a bit more, BuntBrain has different innovative modules, amongst other functionalities:
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Monitor drinking water networks and pre-locate small leaks.
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Prioritise the pipes to be replaced.
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Maximise the value from the data generated by the water meters and prioritise their replacement from an economic perspective.
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Detect water quality problems.
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Detect and locate events such as blockages and infiltrations in the wastewater network.
The different software that we have developed is meant to provide the water utilities with a set of digital innovative solutions that aim to cover the whole water cycle.
Tell us how participating in the EIC GHG Programme has strategically helped Bunt Planet so far.
At Bunt Planet we are developing software and not manufacturing anything. The company is already quite sustainable in the way our products are developed and delivered. Furthermore, our products aim to reduce physical and commercial water losses and increase efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our clients. However, thanks to this program, we were able to put an eye on the smallest details of our processes and start focusing on the initiatives we could take to even decrease them further.
So, it has helped us focus on searching for new initiatives to reach even a lower level of emissions.
Did the EIC GHG Tool help you increase your awareness of the amount of GHG emissions generated by Bunt Planet? If yes, could you elaborate?
It did. As mentioned, we don’t manufacture anything, nor have assets like cars, and most of our consumption is energy. Therefore, we started searching for greener energy providers and alternatives.
We are also trying to assess the servers that we are working with (via third-party companies); to see what kind of energy they are using to run those same servers. So, it helps us understand the bigger picture not only of our products but also of our activity.
What is the status of your participation (regarding the Badges & CO2 Neutral Label/GHG Tool initiative)?
We applied for the second badge and wish to prepare the commitment letter for the next five years with all the initiatives to decrease emissions.
Did the input received from the GHG experts contribute further towards the green transition journey?
It did. Our emissions are already on the low side, so it’s even more challenging for us. But we managed to redefine the initial plan to bring them further down and the GHG experts have been guiding us.
What measures did you implement or wish to implement?
We wish to reduce the employees' emissions by reducing their commuting emissions by developing teleworking and incentivising carpooling or public transport use.
How did the measures you implemented positively affect your return on investment (economically, environmentally, socially, etc.)?
As we already start from a very low emissions level, the measures have not affected positively our company in economic terms. However, we are proud of the positive influence from the social and environmental points of view.
What are the most interesting elements provided by the GHG tool compared to other similar tools?
Simplicity. I have used another software to calculate the incremental impact and it was very difficult. With the EIC’s GHG Tool, it was much simpler and made us stop using other ones and stick to the GHG one.
Are there any other aspects you wish to highlight?
The support of the GHG team and the simplicity of the entire process/tool.
More information
If you are an EIC-funded company worried about the climate and want to reduce your CO2 emissions, you can still use the EIC GHG Tool by accessing the following link.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.