EIC Green Cases — Bunt Planet: AI for water efficiency and lessons from the EIC GHG Tool
- ›Bunt Planet, a Spanish company, uses an AI platform called BuntBrain to improve water utility operations across the whole water cycle.
- ›The company participated in the EIC Greenhouse Gas Programme and used the EIC GHG Tool to refine its emissions accounting and mitigation planning.
- ›Because Bunt Planet is a software company its direct emissions are low and the GHG work focused attention on energy sourcing and third party servers.
- ›Bunt Planet plans measures such as teleworking and incentives for shared or public transport and has applied for the second EIC badge and a five year commitment letter.
- ›The EIC GHG Tool was praised for its simplicity but the tool is no longer active and some measurement challenges remain for digital service providers.
Bunt Planet, AI and the EIC GHG experience
Bunt Planet is a Spanish company that applies artificial intelligence to water sector challenges. The company participated in the European Innovation Council Greenhouse Gas Programme and used the EIC GHG Tool to assess and refine its greenhouse gas accounting and mitigation planning. The experience reaffirmed that a software-first water technology company can have low direct emissions while still needing clearer management of energy sources, third party server impacts and employee commuting. The company also highlighted practical benefits and limits of a simple GHG calculation tool for small technology firms.
Who is Bunt Planet and what does it do
EIC GHG Programme and the GHG Tool explained
The EIC tool was designed for accessibility and to help innovation projects align with EU objectives on mitigation. Users reported it was simpler than some other calculators. However the European Innovation Council later announced the tool is no longer in active use. EIC says it will continue to support beneficiaries and will announce new activities in the future.
What Bunt Planet gained from the GHG work
| Measure | Implementation status | Expected impact | Notes |
| Switch to greener energy providers | Under evaluation | Lower scope 2 emissions | Requires analysis of local supplier offers and costs |
| Assess energy mix of third party servers | Ongoing | Better scope 3 transparency and potential reduction | Depends on hosting providers ability to share data |
| Teleworking and commute incentives | Planned/partial implementation | Reduced employee commuting emissions | Must balance with potential increase in home energy use |
| Carpooling and public transport incentives | Planned | Reduced commuting emissions | Effectiveness depends on workforce distribution and local transport options |
Technical and measurement issues for software driven water tech
Bunt Planet focuses on operational benefits at utilities such as leak detection and meter data value optimisation. The wider water industry is increasingly adopting digital tools to tackle issues like non revenue water. Large technology vendors and system integrators such as Siemens promote full stack solutions for the water cycle. Industry reports estimate a substantial share of treated drinking water is lost in distribution globally which is why digital leak detection and meter management are high priority areas.
Implications and a cautious read of the claims
Bunt Planet's experience illustrates two points. First, dedicated GHG accounting can be useful even for software companies because it highlights scope 2 and scope 3 issues that are easy to overlook. Second, simple and supported tools lower the activation energy for small innovation companies to engage in mitigation planning. At the same time the modest direct economic returns for Bunt Planet underline that benefits will often be social or reputational for low emission companies.
Some caution is warranted. Simplicity is valuable but can hide methodological choices that affect results. Claims about avoided emissions from customer deployments need transparent methodologies. For server emissions it is important to secure vendor level data and to account for regional electricity grid factors. Finally, teleworking policies should be designed with attention to lifecycle impacts and employee wellbeing.
What this means for EIC beneficiaries and the water sector
Digital solutions such as BuntBrain are an important component of water sector modernisation. They address persistent problems including leaks, ageing infrastructure and inefficient meter management. For EU innovation policy the lesson is that tailored low friction tools and expert support help small innovators adopt climate aligned practices. Policy makers and funders should ensure that tools remain available or are replaced by equally accessible alternatives and that methodologies are transparent so that claims can be audited and scaled.
Note on availability of the EIC GHG Tool. The EIC has indicated the GHG Tool is no longer in use. EIC expects to continue supporting beneficiaries on climate work and will announce new activities in due course. Companies that participated reported value in the process but should plan for longer term measurement approaches that include supplier engagement and formal scope 3 accounting.
Further information
If you are an EIC funded company concerned with emissions you should seek tools that follow the GHG Protocol, ask hosting providers for energy source data, and document commitments and mitigation plans for multi year review. Look for future EIC announcements on climate support and for sector specific resources on digital water efficiency and avoided emissions methodologies.