Firms keen to track the carbon footprint of their supply chain activities are being offered a free trial of software designed to help them report on suppliers' emissions.

The free 90-day trial is being offered by US supply chain management software specialist Aravo as part of its new alliance with global green consultancy WSP Environmental.

Under the terms of the offer, firms will be able to provide the on-demand software package for five users and deploy it to manage carbon emissions and environmental data from up to 2,000 suppliers. The company said the offer would allow prospective customers to test drive the product with "no financial investment or long-term commitment".

The promotion forms part of a new alliance between Aravo and WSP that will see the two companies work together to offer firms a package of software and services designed to help firms monitor and reduce the environmental impact of their supply chains.

Chris Hazen, WSP Environment & Energy’s managing director of North American Operations, said that the combined software and consultancy package from the two companies would target "large buying organisations that require straightforward, scalable data management to drive carbon reduction and wider sustainability performance programs into their supply chain".

In separate news, research firm IHS announced this week that it is to bolster its presence in the environmental reporting software space through the acquisitions of Dolphin Software and Environmental Software Providers (ESP). IHS said it is to shell out $43.5m for the two firms, which specialise respectively in managing and reporting on chemical information and corporate sustainability strategies.

IHS chairman and chief executive Jerre Stead said that the expansion of the company's software portfolio would help it meet growing customer demand for information on climate change, environmental information management and sustainability reporting, and chemical lifecycle management.