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With more than 40 per cent of global carbon emissions attributed to buildings, energy management specialist Schneider Electric believes digital buildings hold the key toward achieving net-zero.
Earlier this month, Scheider Electric hosted its Innovation Summit event in Sydney at which company Vice President Louise Monger spoke about the future and urgency of green buildings.
With buildings making up a large proportion of global emissions, Ms Monger said plans toward infrastructure needed to be adjusted now “if we have any hope of reaching our 2050 target for net zero.”
She spoke about how some of the nation’s largest industries, notably retail, healthcare and real estate, could use building infrastructure to improve their carbon footprint into the future.
“The switch to more sustainably efficient buildings won’t happen overnight, but it has started. It’s a dramatic change that will take many years to fully implement,” Ms Monger said.
“However, it is a crucial step to take, particularly for businesses actively trying to achieve their own emissions goals.”
Ms Monger said as a result of rising global energy costs, due to a combination of domestic and international factors, consumer focus had shifted to prioritise sustainability over functionality.
The summit saw a number of industry leaders and partners endorse the adoption of more intelligent sustainability solutions moving forward.
The sectors facing change
At the summit, Ms Monger spoke about how the real estate industry had transformed its focus from smart buildings to smart portfolios.
The real estate sector looks to a more systematic approach whereby portfolios of buildings are managed and optimised as a whole, as opposed to individual buildings that are digitally connected.
Building owners will work with the managers and also the occupants to manage energy use, occupant comfort, and maintenance needs.
By managing buildings as a portfolio, owners are able to identify and address inefficiencies across multiple properties, leading to greater overall energy savings and reduced carbon emissions.
For retail, Ms Monger said there existed a great opportunity for outlets such as petrol stations and supermarkets to better understand their environmental footprint and energy usage through the use of digitalisation.
“Given the size of Australia and how far and widespread our retail is, retailers need to begin thinking [about] how they can manage and control their assets remotely. Utilising Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices has the power to drive efficiency across geographically dispersed portfolios,” Ms Monger said.
“Inflation is driving the need for greater operational efficiency, and sustainability targets are creating the requirement for sustainability reporting, so the investment in this technology is becoming not just viable but an absolute necessity in Australia.”
For healthcare, Ms Monger believes substituting gas for electric means is the answer for hospitals.
She said that all-electric hospitals supported by integrated digital systems would be the biggest enabler to help the industry in the race to net zero.
“We are already seeing a huge shift to sustainability across the healthcare industry, so much so that it is catching up to real estate and other areas that have been on this journey for a considerably longer period of time,” she said.
She warned that over the next two years, it was critical for healthcare facilities to begin to develop strategies for electrification and digitalisation.
As healthcare facilities develop strategies for electrification and digitalisation, Ms Monger said that enhanced technology measures would improve the patient experience as well as staff productivity and sustainability.
However, Ms Monger urged that further action is required now.
“It’s complex, but the time to start envisioning a generation without dirty power is now,” she said.
