Information processing system

JP2024027174A5Inactive Publication Date: 2025-06-05ZEROBOARD INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024002485
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-01-11
Publication Date
2025-06-05
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

There is a need to understand the status of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain.

Method used

An information processing system that measures and calculates greenhouse gas emissions by integrating emission intensity data from upstream and downstream companies in a supply chain, utilizing an emission intensity acquisition unit, storage unit, and output unit to provide comprehensive emission data.

Benefits of technology

Enables accurate tracking and comparison of greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain, allowing companies to identify and address emission sources effectively.

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Abstract

To allow for grasping the state of greenhouse gas emissions.SOLUTION: An information processing system is provided, comprising: an emission intensity acquisition unit for acquiring an emission intensity for computing greenhouse gas emissions computed at associate companies on at least either of the upstream side and downstream side in a supply chain from systems of the associate companies; an emission intensity storage unit for storing an emission intensity for each of the associate companies; and an output unit for outputting the emission intensity for each of the associate companies.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system. [Background technology]

[0002] Estimation of carbon dioxide emissions has been carried out (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-091900 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a need to understand the greenhouse gas emissions situation throughout the entire supply chain.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and aims to provide a technique that can grasp the greenhouse gas emission situation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an information processing system comprising an emission unit acquisition unit that acquires an emission unit for calculating greenhouse gas emissions calculated in an associated company that is at least one of an upstream and downstream company in a supply chain from the system of the associated company, an emission unit memory unit that stores the emission unit for each associated company, and an output unit that outputs the emission unit for each associated company.

[0007] Other problems and solutions disclosed in this application will be made clear in the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and the drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to grasp the emission status of greenhouse gases. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing device 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a software configuration of the information processing device 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a process flow for displaying an emission intensity unit for each associated company. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a process flow for calculating a PCF. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] <System Overview> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system of this embodiment includes an information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 is communicatively connected to another information processing device 1 via a communication network. In the example of Fig. 1, two information processing devices 1 (1) and (2) are communicatively connected to each other. The communication network is, for example, the Internet, and is constructed by a public telephone line network, a mobile phone line network, a wireless communication path, Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like.

[0011] The information processing device 1 is a computer that outputs greenhouse gas emission status (emission coefficient (emissions unit), activity amount, and emission amount). The amount of greenhouse gas emissions by a company can be calculated by multiplying the activity amount of the company (for example, the number of products produced) by the emission unit for that company. The information processing device 1 can also transmit its own emission unit (which may include activity amount and emission amount) to other information processing devices 1, and can obtain other people's emission unit from the other information processing devices 1. This makes it possible to calculate emissions for the entire supply chain, including its own company.

[0012] In this embodiment, the emission intensity (primary data) calculated by each company is exchanged, so that more realistic emission amounts can be calculated.

[0013] The information processing device 1 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing.

[0014] <Information processing device 1> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the information processing device 1. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used. The information processing device 1 includes a CPU 101, a memory 102, a storage device 103, a communication interface 104, an input device 105, and an output device 106. The storage device 103 is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory that stores various data and programs. The communication interface 104 is an interface for connecting to a communication network, for example, an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, a wireless communication device for wireless communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector or an RS232C connector for serial communication, etc. The input device 105 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, etc. that input data. The output device 106 is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, etc. that output data. Each functional unit of the information processing device 1 described below is realized by the CPU 101 reading a program stored in the storage device 103 into the memory 102 and executing it, and each storage unit of the information processing device 1 is realized as part of the storage area provided by the memory 102 and the storage device 103.

[0015] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 includes an emission intensity storage unit 231, a product information storage unit 232, a used product information storage unit 233, an emission intensity acquisition unit 211, an activity amount acquisition unit 212, an emission amount calculation unit 213, an emission amount output unit 214, a company information acquisition unit 215, an emission intensity calculation unit 216, an emission intensity transmission unit 217, a data ratio output unit 218, and a product-specific emission amount calculation unit 220.

[0016] The emission intensity storage unit 231 stores coefficients (called emission intensity units) for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in association with companies. The emission intensity storage unit 231 can store emission intensity units and primary data ratios in association with company IDs indicating companies and product IDs indicating products (including services; the same applies below) provided by companies. Primary data is data collected by the companies themselves, obtained from direct measurements, or obtained from calculations based on direct measurements in the first information source. The primary data ratio is the proportion of primary data in the data used to calculate the emission intensity units. Note that data other than primary data is secondary data. For example, secondary data is data that has been standardized (statistically processed) from the emissions of multiple companies that provide the same type of product.

[0017] The product information storage unit 232 stores information about products (product information). The product information can include various information about the product, such as the product name, in association with a product ID that indicates the product. The product information storage unit 232 is assumed to have product information registered for all products that the company provides to other companies.

[0018] The used product information storage unit 233 stores information (used product information) about other products (hereinafter referred to as used products) used to provide the product. The used products are, for example, raw materials used to produce the product. The used product information can include a product ID indicating the product, a used product ID indicating the used product, a company ID indicating the company that provides the used product, and the amount of the used product used for one product (usage amount).

[0019] The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 acquires an emission intensity calculated by a company (associated company) that is at least one of the upstream and downstream of the supply chain. The associated company is a company that provides a product of a category defined in Scope 3 of the GHG Protocol. The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 may accept an input of the emission intensity from a user, but in this embodiment, the emission intensity is acquired from another information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 can provide a primary data ratio together with the emission intensity. The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can update the emission intensity storage unit 231 with the acquired emission intensity and primary data ratio. The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can update the emission intensity and primary data ratio corresponding to the company ID indicating the associated company related to the other information processing device 1 that is the source of the emission intensity and the product ID indicating the product purchased from the associated company to the acquired ones. When the emission intensity of the secondary data is registered in the emission intensity storage unit 231, the emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can set the primary data ratio to "0".

[0020] The activity amount acquisition unit 212 acquires an activity amount related to products used by related companies. The activity amount can be the amount of products provided by related companies, such as the number of products, the amount of energy, or the distance traveled by logistics. The activity amount acquisition unit 212 can acquire the activity amount related to the related companies from the information processing device 1 of the related companies. The activity amount acquisition unit 212 may receive an input of the activity amount of the related companies from the user. In addition, the activity amount acquisition unit 212 may access, for example, an accounting system, a sales management system, an inventory management system, or the like, and acquire the number (amount) of products purchased from the related companies as the activity amount.

[0021] The emission calculation unit 213 can calculate the emission amount by reading out the emission intensity unit corresponding to the related company and the product from the emission intensity unit storage unit 231 and multiplying the activity amount of the related company (for example, the usage amount of the product) by the read emission intensity unit. The usage amount related to the calculation of the emission amount may be the activity amount of the related company (such as the number of products purchased) obtained by the activity amount acquisition unit 212 by accessing, for example, an accounting system, a sales management system, an inventory management system, or the like, or may be received by the activity amount acquisition unit 212 from the information processing device 1 of the related company.

[0022] The emission output unit 214 can output the emission amount for each associated company. The emission output unit 214 can output the emission amount for each associated company and product used. The emission output unit 214 can also output the emission intensity for each associated company. The emission output unit 214 can output the emission intensity for a plurality of associated companies that provide the same product in a comparable manner. The emission output unit 214 can output the emission source unit for an associated company that provides a certain product and an associated company that provides a substitute for the product in a comparable manner. The emission output unit 214 may also output the emission intensity for associated companies with which there is no transaction. In other words, the emission intensity can also be output in a comparable manner for associated companies that are other providers of the product used and associated companies that provide substitutes.

[0023] The company information acquisition unit 215 acquires the emission amount and activity amount of the company. The company information acquisition unit 215 can accept, for example, input of the emission amount and the activity amount. The company information acquisition unit 215 may calculate the emission amount by a well-known method. The company information acquisition unit 215 may acquire the activity amount (such as the number of the company's products sold) from, for example, an accounting system, a sales management system, an inventory management system, or the like.

[0024] The emission intensity calculation unit 216 calculates the company's own emission intensity, which is the emission intensity of the company, based on the acquired emission amount of the company and the activity amount of the company.

[0025] The emission intensity transmission unit 217 can transmit the company's emission intensity to other information processing devices 1 (systems of related companies). The emission intensity transmission unit 217 may transmit the company's emission intensity in response to a request from the other information processing devices 1, or may transmit the company's emission intensity periodically or every time the company's emission intensity is calculated.

[0026] The data ratio output unit 218 can output primary data ratios related to emissions related to the company's products. For example, the data ratio output unit 218 can obtain the product IDs and usage amounts used in the company's products from the product usage information storage unit 233, obtain the company IDs indicating the affiliated companies and primary data ratios corresponding to the product IDs from the emission intensity storage unit 231, and calculate and output the primary data ratios related to the company's products based on the primary data ratios of the affiliated companies weighted by the usage amounts and the company's activity amounts.

[0027] The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can also acquire emissions emitted by an associated company that provides a product used in one or more products from the information processing device 1 of the associated company. In this case, the emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can calculate the emission amount for each product by apportioning the emission amount based on a predetermined standard. For multiple products that use the same product, the emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can apportion the emission amount of the product used based on the production volume of the product or the like. The emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can calculate the emission intensity for the product used by the associated company by dividing the emission amount for each product by the usage amount of the product.

[0028] The product-specific emission calculation unit 220 calculates the emission amount related to the product (called PCF (Product Carbon Footprint)). When the emission intensity acquisition unit 211 can acquire the emission intensity, the product-specific emission calculation unit 220 can calculate the first emission amount related to the used product by multiplying the emission intensity by the usage amount of the used product. When the emission intensity acquisition unit 211 cannot acquire the emission intensity and can acquire the emission amount related to all the used products provided to the company, the product-specific emission calculation unit 220 can calculate the second emission amount by apportioning the emission amount according to a predetermined standard. The product-specific emission calculation unit 220 can calculate the total value of the first emission amount by product (emission amount accumulated using the emission intensity) and the second emission amount by product (emission amount calculated by apportioning the emission amount by organization unit), and divide the calculated total value by the activity amount (for example, the production amount of the product) to calculate the PCF.

[0029] <Operation> FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the flow of processing for displaying the emission intensity for each associated company.

[0030] The information processing device 1 acquires the emission intensity from the information processing device 1 of the related company (S301). When the information processing device 1 cannot acquire the emission intensity (S302: NO), it acquires the emission amount related to all the used products provided to the company from the related company (S303). When the information processing device 1 can acquire the emission amount (S304: YES), it calculates the emission amount of each used product by dividing the emission amount by a predetermined standard (for example, the production amount of each of the company's products) (S305), and calculates the emission intensity by dividing the emission amount of each product by the usage amount of the used product (S306). On the other hand, when the information processing device 1 cannot acquire the emission amount (S304: NO), it acquires secondary data related to the used product (S307). The information processing device 1 displays the emission intensity of each related company in a comparable manner (S304). This enables the company to grasp the emission intensity of each related company upstream or downstream in the supply chain, and it becomes possible to grasp the related companies that are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[0031] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the flow of a process for calculating a PCF.

[0032] When the information processing device 1 acquires the amount of emissions related to all the products used that are provided to the company from the related companies for each of the products used by the company (S321: YES), it calculates the amount of emissions by product by product by apportioning the amount of emissions by a predetermined standard (for example, the production volume of each of the company's products) (S322). When the amount of emissions is not acquired (S321: NO), it calculates the amount of emissions by product by multiplying the emission source unit cost (primary data or secondary data) by the amount of use (S323). The information processing device 1 can calculate the PCF by summing up the amount of emissions by product (S324) and dividing the total amount of emissions by the activity amount (production volume, sales volume, etc.) related to the product (S325). This makes it possible to calculate the PCF by using any available data, whether it is the amount of emissions calculated using the emission unit calculated by LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) or the like (emissions calculated by the accumulation method) or the amount of emissions calculated by dividing the total company's emissions by the number of products, sales, etc. (emissions calculated by the apportionment method).

[0033] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the above embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

[0034] <Disclosures> The present disclosure also includes the following configurations. [Item 1] an emission intensity acquisition unit that acquires an emission intensity for calculating greenhouse gas emissions calculated in an associated company that is at least one of an upstream company and a downstream company in a supply chain from a system of the associated company; an emission intensity storage unit that stores the emission intensity for each of the associated companies; an output unit that outputs the emission intensity for each of the associated companies; An information processing system comprising: [Item 2] The information processing system according to item 1, A company information acquisition unit that acquires the company's emissions and activity data; an emission intensity calculation unit that calculates the company's own emission intensity, which is the company's emission intensity, based on the company's own emission amount and the activity amount acquired; A transmission unit that transmits the company's emission intensity unit to the system of the related company; An information processing system comprising: [Item 3] The information processing system according to item 1, The emission intensity acquisition unit acquires a primary data ratio related to the emission intensity together with the emission intensity, a data ratio output unit that calculates and outputs a primary data ratio of the company based on the primary data ratio corresponding to each of the related companies; An information processing system comprising: [Item 4] The information processing system according to item 1, the activity amount acquisition unit acquires the activity amount of the associated company from a system of the associated company; An information processing system comprising: [Item 5] The information processing system according to item 1, when the emission unit acquisition unit acquires the greenhouse gas emissions related to the products used for one or more products of the company from the system of the associated company that provides the products used, the emission unit acquisition unit calculates the emission amount by product by apportioning the emission amount based on a predetermined standard, and divides the emission amount by product by the usage amount of the products used to calculate the emission unit corresponding to the associated company and the products used; An information processing system comprising: [Item 6] The information processing system according to item 1, An emission calculation unit is provided for calculating the emission intensity of the company's products, The emission calculation unit is When the emission source unit related to the product used is obtained from the related company's system, the emission source unit is multiplied by the usage amount of the product used to calculate a first emission amount by product; When the amount of greenhouse gas emissions related to the products provided by the related company is obtained from the related company's system, a second amount of emissions by product is calculated by apportioning the amount of greenhouse gas emissions according to a predetermined standard; calculating the amount of emissions related to the products by summing up the first and second amounts of emissions by product and dividing the total by the company's activity volume; An information processing system comprising: [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1. Information processing device

Claims

1. Calculate the greenhouse gas emissions by product by apportioning the greenhouse gas emissions related to multiple products used in the company's products according to a specified standard, Dividing the product-specific emissions by the usage amount of the product used to calculate an emission intensity corresponding to the product used; An information processing system comprising:

2. A step of calculating greenhouse gas emissions by product by apportioning the greenhouse gas emissions related to multiple products used in one's own products according to a predetermined standard; Dividing the product-specific emissions by the usage amount of the product to calculate an emission intensity corresponding to the product used; An information processing method characterized in that the above is executed by a computer.

3. A step of calculating greenhouse gas emissions by product by apportioning the greenhouse gas emissions related to multiple products used in one's own products according to a predetermined standard; Dividing the product-specific emissions by the usage amount of the product to calculate an emission intensity corresponding to the product used; A program for causing a computer to execute the following.