Carbon Emissions: The Next Sarbox

Washington, D.C. – A modest crowd of 50 or so gathered Wednesday in Washington, D.C., for a conference on global warming. The event, organized by a fledgling trade association called the Carbon Management Council, contemplated impacts on business as governments seek to check global warming with restrictions on carbon emissions.

The crowd may have been small, but the discussion covered the major–and relatively immediate–implications of climate change.

One of those implications: Given the emerging regulatory response to global warming, all businesses should get their ducks in a row now when it comes to keeping track of their output of carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for climate change.

“The assumption is going to be that, as an organization, you will already have your data in line,” said Jerry Schmits, a conference panelist and director of product marketing for expense-management consultancy Cadence Network. “All this is going to almost act like the next Sarbanes-Oxley.”

Full story at Forbes.com