A concept for comprehensive IT support for environmental and energy management in SMEs

Environmental and energy management (EnvM and EM, respectively) are important aspects in the everyday running of companies. However, there is no single software tool that completely supports companies throughout the entire management process. The aim of the QuiXel project is to develop an integrated data and information platform for evolving and collaborative EnvM and EM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The platform will provide comprehensive software support for the complete management process and will simplify tasks such as planning goals and targets, data structuring, data acquisition, data analysis, report generation, and documentation. In addition, the platform will provide an integrated manual providing instructions and guidelines for the best practice of EnvM/EM in accordance with the ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 norms. The requirements for such a platform are presented in this paper, along with an overview of the system concept.