Energy Stealth Startup C3 Lands $26 Million & Condoleeza Rice

TechCrunch reported today that stealth startup, C3, has raised $26 million dollars and now has Condoleeza Rice on their advisory board. C3 will be focused on Energy and Emissions Management - mostly likely in the business of providing corporations with carbon cap-and-trade management systems. The company is founded by Thomas Siebel, who sold his last company Siebel Systems to Oracle for $5.7 billion. Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham is also on board. What's so interesting about C3 and Energy and Emissions Management systems?

Providing systems to track and manage carbon emissions will be critical to reduce global warming and making sure corporations are aligned with governmental goals. According to a recent New York Times article, Emission Disclosure as a Business Virtue, "scientists estimate that industry and energy providers produce nearly 45 percent of the heat-trapping emissions that contribute to global warming."

If governments continue to put pressure on companies to clean up their act, then there will be a huge demand for these types of services and markets. Last September, The Obama administration announced that it'll be moving forward with new rules to regulate carbon emissions. By authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency to move forward, rules could come into affect as soon as 2011. Timing of C3 will be impeccable and may provide a platform for corporations to buy and sell carbon credits in the form of financial securities.

Beyond compliance, the same New York Times article suggests that corporations are beginning to understand that tracking their emissions is good for business either way. Boing for instance, is beginning to take part in the Carbon Disclosure Project - a nonprofit located in London that enables companies to track emissions and make sure they're keeping pace with others in their respective industries. The Carbon Disclosure Project then generates industry segmented snapshots to monitor activity, progress, and understand the aggregated data. Ultimately, they hope that companies can learn from one another in this global experiment. European Union countries already regulate emissions through various cap and trade programs.

It's about time that the US catches up. Let's keep an eye on C3, Condoleeza Rice, and Energy & Emissions Management. I wonder if C3 will also play into Obama administration's Open Directive Mandate. Google certainly thinks that open source will be the future of business.