Agile secures £400,000 to develop carbon calculator

Bamber Bridge-based Agile Group Systems and Services has secured six-figure funding to create a new carbon calculator which will help manufacturers understand their energy use in greater detail than ever before.

The £400,000 has been granted by Innovate UK, after AGSS was one of only 72 successful applicants from the more than 900 bids.

The calculator will address one of the major challenges in the adoption of green supply chain management, which is a lack of understanding regarding the carbon weight of individual components and parts.

Manufacturers typically can calculate greenhouse gas emissions relating to internal manufacturing/processes with a high degree of confidence but lack understanding of emissions relating to parts and components sourced from wider supply chains.

To address this challenge, AGSS will use the Innovate UK grant to develop a software application that automatically generates the Product Carbon Footprint of manufactured parts. This software will have the capabilities to calculate an organisation’s carbon footprint at multiple levels, including at a part, family of parts, work-centre, factory and supply chain level.

The software will actively assist manufacturers in identifying major emission sources, alongside highlighting alternatives to achieve reductions. It will also help businesses make in-depth comparisons of customer data against benchmark industry standards to help highlight areas of focus. Additionally, it will provide predictive analysis, allowing businesses to forecast carbon output during the quotation/new product introduction stage.

Tom Rootes, innovation director at Agile Group Systems and Services, said: "We are confident that the development of this carbon calculator will be a significant step forward in the efforts to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to the government's race to Net Zero agenda.

"We look forward to sharing more details about the project as it progresses and to working with Innovate UK to make a meaningful impact on decarbonising the UK’s manufacturing supply chain."