Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To enable flexible report generation. [Solution] The information processing system is characterized by comprising an activity amount memory unit that stores the amount of activity for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions, an emission coefficient memory unit that stores emission coefficients for calculating greenhouse gas emissions, a reception unit that receives from a user creating a report designation of items to be included in the report and activities and emission coefficients required to calculate the emissions related to those items, and an emission calculation unit that refers to the activity amount memory unit and the emission coefficient memory unit, and calculates the emissions amount by aggregating the value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the specified activity by the specified emission coefficient for each specified item.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Emissions of carbon dioxide and other substances have been calculated (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-164754 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] With the system of Patent Document 1, it was difficult to create reports that did not conform to existing templates.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and has an object to provide a technique that enables flexible report creation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problem is an information processing system comprising: an activity amount memory unit that stores an activity amount for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; an emission coefficient memory unit that stores an emission coefficient for calculating the greenhouse gas emissions; a reception unit that receives, from a user creating a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activity and the emission coefficient necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items; and an emission calculation unit that refers to the activity amount memory unit and the emission coefficient memory unit, and calculates emissions by aggregating a value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the designated activity by the designated emission coefficient for each designated item.

[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, flexible report generation is possible. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of an information processing system. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a management server 2. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 illustrates an example of the software configuration of a management server 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the management server 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] <System Overview> An information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The items required for a report on greenhouse gases may differ depending on the report destination. In addition, the same amount of activity may be adopted as a calculation target depending on the report. In addition, the emission coefficient to be used may differ depending on the report destination. In the information processing system of this embodiment, a user who creates a report can externally specify which amount of activity is to be calculated by using which emission coefficient and how to calculate the report items of the report, so that the user who creates the report can flexibly create a desired report. Note that the report may be a report on greenhouse gases, and includes information on at least one of the amount of activity, emission coefficient (basic unit), and emission amount of greenhouse gases. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the report is created as an electronic file. The report can be created in a format such as PDF, XML, HTML, or a word processor. The report may be a report specified in laws such as the Energy Conservation Act, the Global Warming Act, and the Fluorocarbons Act, or may be a document created independently by a business operator.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system. The information processing system of this embodiment is configured to include a management server 2. The management server 2 is communicably connected to a user terminal 1 via a communication network 3. The communication network 3 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.

[0012] The user terminal 1 is a computer operated by a user. The user terminal 1 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a personal computer.

[0013] The management server 2 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing.

[0014] <Management Server> FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the management server 2. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used. The management server 2 includes a CPU 201, a memory 202, a storage device 203, a communication interface 204, an input device 205, and an output device 206. The storage device 203 is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory that stores various data and programs. The communication interface 204 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 3, and is, 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 205 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, etc. that input data. The output device 206 is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, etc. that output data. Each functional unit of the management server device 2 described later is realized by the CPU 201 reading a program stored in the storage device 203 into the memory 202 and executing it, and each storage unit of the management server 2 is realized as part of the storage area provided by the memory 202 and the storage device 203.

[0015] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of the management server 2. The management server 2 includes an activity amount storage unit 231, an emission coefficient storage unit 232, a logic storage unit 233, a reception unit 211, an emission amount calculation unit 212, and a report creation unit 213.

[0016] <Storage section> The activity amount storage unit 231 stores information including activity amounts related to activities related to greenhouse gas emissions (hereinafter referred to as activity amount information). The activity amount information may include an activity ID, an activity name, time information, activity amount, and a unit. The activity ID is information that uniquely identifies the activity amount information. The time information is information indicating the time when the activity was performed (information that specifies the period for which the emission amount is to be aggregated), for example, a date or time. The activity name is the name of the activity. The activity name can indicate the type of activity amount. The activity amount is the amount or number of times of the activity (for example, the number of manufactured items, the transport distance, the usage time, etc.). The unit is the unit of the activity amount (for example, pieces, km, hours, yen, etc.).

[0017] The emission coefficient storage unit 232 stores information including an emission coefficient for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (hereinafter, referred to as emission coefficient information). The emission coefficient information may include an emission coefficient ID, a coefficient group ID, activity specification information, a gas type, an emission coefficient, and a unit. The emission coefficient ID is information for uniquely identifying the emission coefficient information. The coefficient group ID is information for specifying a group to which the emission coefficient belongs. For example, when the emission coefficient is primary data, the group of the emission coefficient is information for specifying a company that calculated the emission coefficient, and when the emission coefficient is secondary data, it can be information indicating an entity that performed the aggregation, a version, etc. (for example, the 2023 version of the emission coefficient formulated by the Ministry of the Environment, etc.). The activity specification information is information for specifying an activity to which the emission coefficient is related. The activity specification information may be an activity ID of the activity amount information or an activity name. The gas type is the type of greenhouse gas to be calculated (for example, CO2, CH4, N2O, etc.). In this embodiment, CO2 is assumed. The units are those of the emission factor (e.g., tCO / kg).

[0018] The logic storage unit 233 stores information including logic for calculating the emission amount (hereinafter, referred to as logic information). The logic information may include a logic ID, a report item, and logic. The logic may include logic for calculating an activity amount (hereinafter, referred to as calculated activity amount) to be multiplied by an emission coefficient based on an activity amount corresponding to one or more activities. For example, the logic may be a logic for totaling the activity amounts excluding those activities whose activity names include a specific character string, and calculating the calculated activity amount to be used for calculating the emission amount for a specific item (multiplying by an emission coefficient). For example, the logic may be a logic for multiplying the activity amount for a specific item by a predetermined ratio to obtain the calculated activity amount. For example, a logic may be set in which 60% of the gasoline cost is used for downstream transportation items and 40% is used for upstream transportation items.

[0019] <Functional section> The reception unit 211 receives, from a user who creates a report, designation of items to be included in the report, and activities and emission coefficients required to calculate the emission amounts related to the items. The designation of an activity can be performed using activity specification information. The designation of an emission coefficient can be performed using activity specification information and a coefficient group ID.

[0020] When the receiving unit 211 cannot search for activity specifying information (second activity specifying information) included in the activity amount information that matches the received activity specifying information (first activity specifying information) from the activity amount storage unit 231, the receiving unit 211 can perform an identification process between the received first activity specifying information and the second activity specifying information. The identification process can be performed, for example, by searching for the first and second activity specifying information whose similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The identification process may also be performed by machine learning. For example, a learning model is created by machine learning using two pieces of activity specifying information and information indicating whether they correspond to each other as training data, and the receiving unit 211 can estimate the corresponding second activity specifying information by applying the received first activity specifying information to the learning model.

[0021] When the receiving unit 211 cannot search for activity specifying information (third activity specifying information) included in the emission coefficient information that matches the received activity specifying information (first activity specifying information) from the emission coefficient storage unit 232, the receiving unit 211 can perform an identification process between the received first activity specifying information and the third activity specifying information. The identification process can be performed in the same manner as the above-mentioned activity amount information. For example, the receiving unit 211 may search for the first and third activity specifying information whose similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, or may apply the received first activity specifying information to the above-mentioned learning model to estimate the corresponding third activity specifying information.

[0022] The emission calculation unit 212 calculates the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. For each item of the specified report, the emission calculation unit 212 reads out the amount of activity corresponding to the specified activity from the activity amount storage unit 231, reads out the specified emission coefficient from the emission coefficient storage unit 232, calculates the emission amount by multiplying the read out amount of activity by the read out emission coefficient, and calculates the emission amount for each item by tallying up the calculated emission amount.

[0023] The report creation unit 213 creates report data. The report creation unit 213 can create report data in which the emission amount for each item calculated by the emission amount calculation unit 212 is entered for each item included in the report (items accepted by the acceptance unit 211). The report data can be data in any format, such as a PDF file, a word processor file, or an HTML file. The acceptance unit 211 can also accept the report format from the user, and the report creation unit 213 can create report data in the accepted format. The report creation unit 213 provides the created report data to the user terminal 1.

[0024] The reception unit 211 can receive from a user an input of logic for calculating the amount of emissions related to an item. The logic can be received for each item. The logic can include information for identifying an activity required to calculate the amount of emissions related to an item. The logic can also be configured to calculate the amount of emissions based on the amount of activity related to a plurality of activities. The logic can include information for calculating the amount of activity used in the calculation based on the amount of activity related to the activity. For example, the amount of activity related to a specific activity can be multiplied by a predetermined ratio for the item and used to calculate the amount of emissions. For example, in the case where a certain ratio of the activity amount of the transportation cost is allocated to upstream transportation and the remainder is allocated to downstream transportation, a logic can be set to multiply the amount of activity by the certain ratio for the calculation of the amount of emissions related to the item of upstream transportation. The emission calculation unit 212 can calculate the amount of emissions according to the logic for each item.

[0025] <Operation> FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the management server 2. As shown in FIG.

[0026] The management server 2 receives report items and designation of logic for each item from a user who wishes to create a report (S301). The designation of logic includes designation of activity and designation of emission coefficient. It is also possible to include designation of time information (any period such as month or year).

[0027] The management server 2 calculates the emission amount for each item according to the logic (S302). When only the activity and emission coefficient are specified in the logic, the activity amount corresponding to the specified activity is read from the activity amount storage unit 231, the specified emission coefficient is read from the emission coefficient storage unit 232, and the read activity amount and emission coefficient are multiplied to calculate the emission amount.

[0028] The activity may be specified by the activity ID or the activity name. If the activity amount information that matches the specified activity name is not registered in the activity amount storage unit 231, the activity amount information that matches the specified activity name can be searched for using a learning model that has been trained by machine learning using two names indicating the same activity as training data. In this case, machine learning can be performed using not only the two activity names but also the user's attributes (such as the industry, company name, and business development area) as training data, and the user's attributes, the specified activity name, and the activity name of the activity amount information can be provided to the learning model to determine whether they indicate the same activity.

[0029] When the emission coefficient is specified by the coefficient group ID, the emission coefficient information corresponding to the coefficient group ID and the activity can be read out from the emission coefficient storage unit 232. Here too, when the specified activity does not match the activity specification information of the emission coefficient information, it is determined whether the specified activity and the activity specification information of the emission coefficient indicate the same activity using the learning model as described above, and among the emission coefficient information indicating the same activity, one that includes the coefficient group ID can be specified as the emission coefficient to be used for calculating the emission amount. Furthermore, when time information is specified in the logic, it is possible to narrow down the activity amount information that corresponds to (matches or includes) the time information. Furthermore, when the logic includes a counting method, it is possible to count the calculated emission amount according to the counting method. When the counting method is not included and the emission amount is calculated by multiplying multiple activity amounts by the emission coefficient, the calculated emission amount can be summed up to be the emission amount to be included in the report.

[0030] The management server 2 creates report data in which the calculated emission amount is entered for each item (S303). The report data may be written in HTML, for example, or may be created as a word processor file, PDF file, or the like.

[0031] The management server 2 transmits the report data to the user terminal 1 of the user who wishes to create a report (S304).

[0032] As described above, according to the information processing system of the present embodiment, a greenhouse gas report can be easily created in the format desired by the user.

[0033] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and is not for limiting the interpretation of the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from its gist, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

[0034] <Data collection from external sources> For example, the management server 2 may be provided with an activity amount acquisition unit that automatically acquires the activity amount from an external data source. The activity amount acquisition unit can acquire, for example, the number of sales, the number of purchases, the inventory number, the journal data, etc. as the activity amount from an external computer such as a sales management system or an accounting system. The activity amount acquisition unit can also collect the activity amount from sensors or IoT devices in real time and store it in the activity amount storage unit 231.

[0035] Further, the management server 2 may be provided with an emission factor acquisition unit that automatically acquires the emission factor from an external data source. The emission factor acquisition unit can acquire, for example, the emission factor (primary data) calculated by the operator from the operator's computer. The emission factor acquisition unit can acquire, for example, the emission factor (secondary data) from a computer (such as an API, etc.) of an organization, a local government, a country, etc. that provides secondary data of the emission factor. The emission factor acquisition unit may also acquire the emission factor periodically and update the emission factor storage unit 232.

[0036] <AI prediction> Furthermore, the management server 2 can predict future activity amounts, emission coefficients, and / or emissions using machine learning based on past data. For example, the management server 2 can create a prediction model using machine learning with the past activity amounts, emission coefficients, and / or emissions as training data, and infer predicted values ​​of the activity amounts, emission coefficients, and / or emissions by specifying future dates, periods, and the like for the created prediction model.

[0037] <Dashboard> The management server 2 may also display the emissions data as a visual dashboard to aid in intuitive analysis. For example, the management server 2 may display emissions by activity, time period, type of greenhouse gas, etc. in a graph on the dashboard. Users may also slice and dice the data on the dashboard to perform detailed analysis.

[0038] <Offset proposal> In addition, the management server 2 can propose greenhouse gas offsets for the calculated emissions. For example, the management server 2 can be provided with a database of environmental values ​​(credits) for offsetting, and can search for and propose to users environmental values ​​that can be sold according to the amount of emissions.

[0039] <User Interface> Furthermore, the management server 2 may provide a user interface that allows logic to be created using a GUI. A list of selectable activities may be displayed on the user interface, allowing the user to select an activity required for calculating emissions for an item. It is also possible to select multiple items. The user interface may also show emission coefficients for each group, allowing the user to specify a group of emission coefficients to be used. The user interface may allow the user to select calculation processes such as apportionment, unit conversion, and multiplication with other activity amounts. The management server 2 can create logic that describes the activity amounts and emission coefficients selected / input on the user interface, and the calculation processes that use these.

[0040] <Disclosures> The present disclosure also includes the following configurations. [Item 1] an activity amount storage unit that stores an activity amount for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; an emission coefficient storage unit that stores an emission coefficient for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions; a reception unit that receives, from a user who creates a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items, and the emission coefficients; an emission calculation unit that refers to the activity amount storage unit and the emission coefficient storage unit, and calculates an emission amount by tallying up a value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the designated activity by the designated emission coefficient for each of the designated items; An information processing system comprising: [Item 2] The information processing system according to item 1, The reception unit receives an input of logic for calculating the emission amount related to the item from the user, the emission calculation unit calculates the emission amount for each of the items according to the logic; An information processing system comprising: [Item 3] Item 2. An information processing system according to the present invention, the logic includes logic for calculating the amount of activity to be multiplied by the emission factor based on the amount of activity corresponding to a particular one or more of the activities; An information processing system comprising: [Item 4] storing an amount of activity for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; storing an emission factor for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions; receiving, from a user creating a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items, and the emission coefficients; calculating an amount of emissions by aggregating values ​​obtained by multiplying the amount of activity corresponding to the designated activity by the designated emission coefficient for each of the designated items; An information processing method characterized by being executed by a computer. [Item 5] storing an amount of activity for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; storing an emission factor for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions; receiving, from a user creating a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items, and the emission coefficients; calculating an amount of emissions by aggregating values ​​obtained by multiplying the amount of activity corresponding to the designated activity by the designated emission coefficient for each of the designated items; A program for causing a computer to execute the following. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 User terminal 2 Management Server

Claims

1. an activity amount storage unit that stores an activity amount for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; an emission coefficient storage unit that stores the emission coefficients in association with a compilation entity and a version of the emission coefficients for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the activities; a reception unit that receives, from a user who creates a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emission amounts related to the items, the aggregation entity of the emission coefficients, and the version; With reference to the activity amount storage unit and the emission coefficient storage unit, an emission calculation unit that calculates emissions by aggregating a value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the specified activity by the emission coefficient corresponding to the specified activity, the specified aggregation entity, and the specified version for each specified item; An information processing system comprising:

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, The reception unit receives an input of logic for calculating the emission amount related to the item from the user, the emission calculation unit calculates the emission amount for each of the items according to the logic; An information processing system comprising:

3. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, the logic includes logic for calculating the amount of activity to be multiplied by the emission factor based on the amount of activity corresponding to a particular one or more of the activities; An information processing system comprising:

4. storing an amount of activity for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; storing the emission coefficient in association with a compilation entity and a version of the emission coefficient for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the activities; A step of accepting designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items, the aggregation entity of the emission coefficient, and the version from a user who creates a report; A step of calculating an emission amount by aggregating a value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the specified activity by the emission factor corresponding to the specified activity, the specified aggregation entity, and the specified version for each specified item; An information processing method characterized by being executed by a computer.

5. storing an amount of activity for each activity related to greenhouse gas emissions; storing the emission coefficient in association with a compilation entity and a version of the emission coefficient for calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the activities; A step of accepting, from a user who creates a report, designation of items to be included in the report, the activities necessary to calculate the emissions related to the items, the aggregation entity of the emission coefficients, and the version; A step of calculating an emission amount by aggregating a value obtained by multiplying the activity amount corresponding to the specified activity by the emission factor corresponding to the specified activity, the specified aggregation entity, and the specified version for each specified item; A program for causing a computer to execute the following.

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