Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing system properly utilizing emission intensity.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes: an activity amount storage part for storing an activity amount relating to an activity of emitting greenhouse gases; an emission intensity storage part for storing emission intensity for calculating greenhouse gas emissions; a user storage part for storing information for identifying users who can use the emission intensity; an emissions calculation part for calculating emissions by multiplying the activity amount by the emission intensity; a determination part for referring to the user storage part to determine whether or not a user of an output destination can use the emission intensity; and an output part, when the user of the output destination can use the emission intensity, outputting at least one of the activity amount and the emission intensity, and the emissions, and when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission intensity, outputting the emissions, with neither the activity amount nor the emission intensity output.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

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

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There may be usage restrictions on emission coefficients.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of appropriately using emission coefficients.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problems is an information processing system, comprising: an activity amount storage unit that stores the amount of activities related to activities that emit greenhouse gases; an emission factor storage unit that stores emission factors for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gases; a user storage unit that stores information for identifying users who can use the emission factors; an emission amount calculation unit that calculates the emission amount by multiplying the amount of activities by the emission factor; a determination unit that refers to the user storage unit to determine whether the user of the output destination can use the emission factor; and an output unit that, when the user of the output destination can use the emission factor, outputs at least one of the amount of activities and the emission factor and the emission amount, and when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission factor, outputs the emission amount without outputting any of the amount of activities and the emission factor.

[0007] Regarding other problems disclosed in the present application and solutions therefor, they will be clarified by the embodiments of the invention and the drawings.

Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, emission factors can be appropriately utilized.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] <Overview of the System> The following describes an emission management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The emission management system of this embodiment is intended to manage the emission amount of greenhouse gases by an emitting entity such as a company. In the emission management system of this embodiment, the input of the activity amount of the emitting entity or other emitting entities located upstream or downstream in the supply chain of the emitting entity is received, and the emission amount is calculated by multiplying this by the emission factor (emission coefficient).

[0011] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the emission factor is sold by a vendor (hereinafter referred to as a provider) and the use permission of the emission factor is given. The emission management system of this embodiment manages users who have obtained the use permission, and while displaying the calculated emission amount to all users, it does not display the emission factor to users who have not obtained the use permission. Furthermore, the emission management system of this embodiment does not display the activity amount to users who have not obtained the use permission, so that the emission factor cannot be estimated.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of the emission management system of this embodiment. The emission management system of this embodiment is configured to include a management server 2. The management server 2 is communicably connected to the user terminal 1 via the 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.

[0013] The user terminal 1 is a computer operated by a user such as a company that is an emitting entity.The user terminal 1 can be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal computer, or the like. The user can access the management server 2 using the user terminal 1 and perform the calculation of the emission amount.

[0014] The management server 2 is a computer that calculates and manages emissions. 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.

[0015] <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 provided. 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 stores various data and programs, and is, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory. 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 network, a wireless communication device for performing wireless communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector or an RS232C connector for serial communication, or the like. The input device 205 inputs data, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, a microphone, or the like. The output device 206 outputs data, and is, for example, a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like. Note that each functional unit of the management server 2 described below 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 a part of the storage area provided by the memory 202 and the storage device 203.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the management server 2. The management server 2 includes an activity amount storage unit 231, an emission factor storage unit 232, a user storage unit 233, an emission amount storage unit 234, an activity amount acquisition unit 211, an emission factor registration unit 212, an emission amount calculation unit 213, and an output unit 214.

[0017] <Storage Unit> The activity amount storage unit 231 stores the activity amount related to the activities that emit greenhouse gases. The activity amount is, for example, the number of products produced (pieces), the number of purchases (pieces), the weight × distance transported by logistics (ton-kilometers), the amount of fuel consumed (liters), or the amount of money (yen). The activity amount storage unit 231 can store the activity amount in association with the information for identifying the activity amount (activity amount ID), the information for specifying the emission entity (company ID), the information for specifying the activity that emits greenhouse gases (activity specifying information), and the time information. The activity specifying information can be in any format as long as it can specify the activity. For example, when an ID (activity ID) that uniquely identifies the type of activity is set in the data input to the management server 2, the activity ID can be used as the activity specifying information. Also, information including the type of data and the conditions for the values of the items included in the data can be used as the activity specifying information. For example, when the data is financial accounting data, the information for specifying "financial accounting data" and the conditions that the "account item" is "travel expenses" and the abstract includes "taxi" can be used as the activity specifying information. Also, as the activity specifying information, a function or a learning model that inputs data and outputs an activity can be set. The time information is information for specifying the period during which the activity was performed. The time information can be, for example, a date, a year, a fiscal year, etc.

[0018] The emission factor storage unit 232 stores information including emission factors for calculating greenhouse gas emissions (hereinafter referred to as emission factor information). Emission factors include primary data (data collected by the emitting entity itself, obtained from direct measurements, or obtained from calculations based on direct measurements at the original information source) and secondary data (data other than primary data, for example, data standardized (statistically processed) from the emissions of multiple companies providing the same type of product). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the emission factor is secondary data sold by a provider. The emission factor information may include activity-specific information and emission factors, associated with information for identifying the emission factor (factor ID), information for identifying the provider that provides the emission factor (provider ID), information for identifying the set of emission factors (factor name), and the version of the set of emission factors. The provider ID may be, for example, the name of the emission factor sold by the provider. The version can be, for example, a year. There may be multiple sets of activity-specific information and emission factors corresponding to a set of one provider ID, factor name, and version.

[0019] The user storage unit 233 stores information for identifying users who can use the emission factors. The user storage unit 233 stores, for example, information for identifying the user (user ID), associated with the company ID identifying the emitting entity to which the user belongs, the provider ID indicating the provider, the version of the emission factors provided by the provider, and a usage permission flag indicating whether the user is permitted to use the emission factors.

[0020] The emission amount storage unit 234 stores information on the calculated greenhouse gas emission amount (hereinafter referred to as emission amount information). The emission amount information can include the enterprise ID, information for specifying the time when the activity was carried out (time information), scope, category, activity amount ID and unit ID indicating the activity amount and emission factor used in the calculation of the emission amount, and the emission amount. The time information can be set to any period such as, for example, year, year, month and year, date, date and time range. The scope and category can be the scope and category registered in the classification storage unit 232 described above.

[0021] <Functional unit> The activity amount acquisition unit 211 acquires the activity amount. The activity amount acquisition unit 211 can receive the activity amount from, for example, the user terminal 1. The activity amount can use items included in, for example, data exported from an ERP system or the like (export data) or data obtained by converting the export data. These data can be, for example, CSV data, JSON data, or XML data. For example, in CSV data, assuming that it is known which item is the data of which activity, the activity can be specified by what value is in which item of the CSV data in the activity specification information. Also, in JSON data, XML data, etc., the set data can be tagged or set as an attribute to indicate what kind of item it is.

[0022] The emission factor registration unit 212 registers the emission factor related to the activity in the emission factor storage unit 232. The emission factor registration unit 212 can receive the emission factor from, for example, the user terminal 1. The emission factor registration unit 212 can, for example, access a provider's computer (not shown) to obtain the version and emission factor and register them in the emission factor storage unit 232.

[0023] The emission calculation unit 213 calculates the emissions by multiplying the activity amount by the emission factor per unit. The emission calculation unit 213 can aggregate the emissions for each scope and category. For the process of aggregating the emissions for each scope and category, for example, by setting the corresponding scope and category for each activity, the scope and category corresponding to the activity amount can be identified and aggregated. The emission calculation unit 213 can create emission information including the calculated emissions, the activity amount ID indicating the activity amount used in the calculation of the emissions, and the factor ID indicating the emission factor per unit used in the calculation of the emissions, and register it in the emission storage unit 234.

[0024] The output unit 214 outputs the calculated emissions. The output unit 214 can refer to the user storage unit 233 to determine whether the user at the output destination (for example, the user who accesses from the user terminal 1 and is currently logged in to the management server 2) can use the emission factor per unit used in the calculation of the emissions. When the user can use the emission factor per unit, the output unit 214 can output at least one of the activity amount and the emission factor per unit used in the calculation of the emissions in association with the emissions.

[0025] When the user cannot use the emission factor per unit, the output unit 214 does not output either the activity amount or the emission factor per unit used in the calculation of the emissions. When the user at the output destination cannot use the emission factor per unit, the output unit 214 may output the activity amount and the emission factor per unit after masking them.

[0026] <Operation> FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the emission calculation process.

[0027] The management server 2 displays the version of the emission unit available for the user (S301). For example, the management server 2 can read the unit name and version corresponding to the user ID indicating the user logged in to the management server 2 from the user terminal 1 from the usage user storage unit 233, and transmit screen data for displaying the read unit name and version to the user terminal 1. At this time, the management server 2 can also transmit a list of activity amounts to the user terminal 1.

[0028] The management server 2 accepts from the user the specification of the activity amount and the emission unit to be used (S302). The emission unit may be configured to accept the specification of the unit name and version transmitted in step S301, or may be configured to accept the specification of the activity identification information and the emission unit corresponding to the unit name and version transmitted in step S301 (for example, it can be specified by the unit ID). Note that the management server 2 can be configured not to accept emission units different from the unit name and version transmitted in step S301.

[0029] The management server 2 multiplies the specified activity amount by the emission unit to calculate the emission amount (S303), creates emission amount information including the activity amount, the emission unit, and the emission amount, and registers it in the emission amount storage unit 234 (S304).

[0030] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the flow of the emission amount output process.

[0031] The management server 2 reads the emission amount information stored in the emission amount storage unit 234, and outputs the emission amount included in the read emission amount information (S321). For example, the management server 2 can obtain the company ID corresponding to the user ID indicating the user logged in to the management server 2 from the user terminal 1, and read the emission amount information corresponding to the obtained company ID from the emission amount storage unit 234. The management server 2 may accept the specification of time information from the user and narrow down the emission amount information corresponding to the specified time information.

[0032] The management server 2 identifies the unit name and version corresponding to the unit ID included in the emission amount information containing the output emission amount from the emission unit storage unit 232 (S322). The management server 2 reads out the usability flag corresponding to the user ID indicating the user, the identified unit name, and the version from the user usability storage unit 233, and determines whether the user can use the emission unit based on the read usability flag (S323).

[0033] When the user can use the emission unit (S323: YES), the management server 2 outputs the corresponding emission unit and activity amount together with the emission amount (S324).

[0034] When the user cannot use the emission unit (S323: NO), the management server 2 outputs a masked output for the corresponding emission unit and activity amount (S324). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the output of the emission amount. In the example of FIG. 6, it is assumed that there are usage restrictions related to sales for the emission unit related to coal consumption. When the emission unit can be used, as shown in the upper figure of FIG. 6, the activity amount and the emission unit are displayed together with the emission amount. However, when the user is not permitted to use the emission unit related to coal consumption, as shown in the lower figure of FIG. 6, a masked output is performed for both the activity amount and the emission unit. As a result, a user who has not been granted permission cannot confirm the emission unit on the screen, nor can they calculate the emission unit from the emission amount inversely.

[0035] As described above, according to the emission amount management system of the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately use the emission units for which usage permission is set.

[0036] <Second Embodiment> In the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the usability of the emission unit is set for each user, but the number of simultaneous usages can also be set for each company.

[0037] In the second embodiment, the management server 2 may further include an online number specifying unit 215 and an organization information storage unit 235.

[0038] The user usage storage unit 233 stores organization specifying information for specifying the organization to which the user belongs and the available number of simultaneous users.

[0039] The organization information storage unit 235 stores a company ID for specifying the organization to which each user belongs.

[0040] The online number specifying unit 215 specifies the online number, which is the number of users belonging to the same organization who are accessing the emission amount management system. The online number specifying unit 215 can count the number of people corresponding to a specific company ID among the users logged in to the management server 2.

[0041] The output unit 214 refers to the organization information storage unit 235 to specify the organization (company ID) to which the destination user belongs, and when the available number corresponding to the company ID is equal to or greater than the online number, it can determine that the emission factor can be used.

[0042] 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 and interpreting 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.

[0043] <Disclosed matter> Note that the present disclosure also includes the following configurations. [Item 1] An activity amount storage unit that stores the activity amount related to the activity of emitting greenhouse gases, An emission factor storage unit that stores an emission factor for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gas, A user usage storage unit that stores information for specifying a user who can use the emission factor, An emission amount calculation unit that calculates the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount by the emission factor, A determination unit that refers to the user memory unit for use and determines whether the user at the output destination can use the discharge unit; When the user at the output destination can use the discharge unit, at least one of the activity amount and the discharge unit and the discharge amount are output, and when the user at the output destination cannot use the discharge unit, the discharge amount is output without outputting either the activity amount or the discharge unit; an output unit; An information processing system, characterized by comprising the above. [Item 2] When the user at the output destination cannot use the discharge unit, the output unit outputs the activity amount and the discharge unit in a masked manner; The information processing system according to Item 1, characterized by the above. [Item 3] The user memory unit for use stores organization identification information for identifying the organization to which the user belongs and the number of available uses that can be used simultaneously, An organization information storage unit that stores the organization identification information for identifying the organization to which each user belongs; An online number identification unit that identifies the number of online users who are users belonging to the organization accessing the information processing system; Comprising; The output unit refers to the organization information storage unit to identify the organization to which the user at the output destination belongs, and determines that the discharge unit can be used when the number of available uses corresponding to the organization is equal to or greater than the number of online users; The information processing system according to Item 1, characterized by the above. [Item 4] The discharge unit storage unit stores the discharge unit for each activity in association with set identification information for identifying a set of the discharge units; The user memory unit for use stores the set identification information in association with information for identifying the users who can use the discharge units included in the set specified by the set identification information; The discharge amount calculation unit receives a designation of the set identification information from an input user different from the user of the output destination, refers to the used user storage unit, determines whether the input user can use the discharge unit corresponding to the designated set identification information, and if it is usable, reads out the discharge unit corresponding to the set and the activity related to the activity amount specified by the designated set identification information from the discharge unit storage unit, and multiplies the read discharge unit by the activity amount to calculate the discharge amount. The information processing system according to item 1, characterized by the above. [Item 5] A step of storing an activity amount related to an activity that emits greenhouse gases; A step of storing a discharge unit for calculating the discharge amount of the greenhouse gas; A step of storing in a used user storage unit information for identifying a user who can use the discharge unit; A step of calculating the discharge amount by multiplying the activity amount by the discharge unit; A step of referring to the used user storage unit and determining whether the user of the output destination can use the discharge unit; When the user of the output destination can use the discharge unit, output at least one of the activity amount and the discharge unit and the discharge amount, and when the user of the output destination cannot use the discharge unit, output the discharge amount without outputting any of the activity amount and the discharge unit. An information processing method characterized in that a computer executes the above. [Item 6] A step of storing an activity amount related to an activity that emits greenhouse gases; A step of storing a discharge unit for calculating the discharge amount of the greenhouse gas; A step of storing in a used user storage unit information for identifying a user who can use the discharge unit; A step of calculating the discharge amount by multiplying the activity amount by the discharge unit; A step of determining whether the user at the output destination can use the discharge unit by referring to the used user storage unit; When the user at the output destination can use the discharge unit, output at least one of the activity amount and the discharge unit and the discharge amount, and when the user at the output destination cannot use the discharge unit, output the discharge amount without outputting any of the activity amount and the discharge unit; A program for causing a computer to execute.

Explanation of symbols

[0044] 1 User terminal 2 Management server

Claims

1. An activity amount storage unit that stores an activity amount related to activities that emit greenhouse gases, An emission factor storage unit that stores an emission factor for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gas, An emission amount calculation unit that calculates the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount by the emission factor, An output unit that outputs at least one of the activity amount and the emission factor and the emission amount when the user of the output destination can use the emission factor, and outputs the emission amount without outputting either the activity amount or the emission factor when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission factor, An information processing system characterized by comprising the above.

2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the output unit masks and outputs the activity amount and the emission factor when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission factor, An information processing system characterized by the above.

3. The information processing system according to claim 1, A user storage unit that stores organization identification information for identifying an organization and the number of available users, A determination unit that refers to the user storage unit and determines whether the user of the output destination can use the emission factor, An organization information storage unit that stores the organization identification information for identifying the organization to which the user belongs for each user, An online number identification unit that refers to the organization information storage unit to identify the organization to which the user accessing the information processing system belongs, and identifies the online number, which is the number of users accessing the information processing system belonging to the identified organization, comprising, when the number of available users corresponding to the organization is equal to or greater than the online number, the determination unit determines that the user can use the emission factor, An information processing system characterized by the above.

4. A step of storing an activity amount related to activities that emit greenhouse gases, A step of storing an emission factor for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gas, A step of calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount by the emission factor, A step of outputting at least one of the activity amount and the emission factor and the emission amount when the user of the output destination can use the emission factor, and outputting the emission amount without outputting either the activity amount or the emission factor when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission factor, An information processing method characterized in that a computer executes it.

5. A step of storing an activity amount related to an activity that emits greenhouse gases; A step of storing an emission factor for calculating the emission amount of the greenhouse gas; A step of calculating the emission amount by multiplying the activity amount by the emission factor; When the user of the output destination can use the emission factor, output at least one of the activity amount and the emission factor and the emission amount, and when the user of the output destination cannot use the emission factor, output the emission amount without outputting any of the activity amount and the emission factor; A program for causing a computer to execute it.

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