In recent years, thousands of companies have voluntarily pledged to meet sustainability targets, but many of them likely lack the knowledge and the tools to properly measure progress and how to optimize their carbon and energy footprints. Honeywell is working to help solve this problem with its new Carbon & Energy Management, a carbon energy management software, that enables building owners to track and optimize energy performance against carbon reduction goals, down to a device or asset level.
Developed by Honeywell engineers in India, Carbon & Energy Management is the centerpiece of the company’s new Sustainable Buildings solutions portfolio, which is ready now to help building owners and operators meet two pressing, yet often conflicting, objectives: reducing the environmental impact of buildings while optimizing indoor air quality to support occupant well-being, with the aim of helping them to meet carbon-neutral goals.
“The buildings industry has long worked to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon impact, but it is imperative to make meaningful change in the near term – and that means building owners need better data about their operations,” said Manish Sharma, vice president and general manager of Sustainable Buildings, Honeywell. “Given the increased awareness of and investment in sustainability, it’s critical for a company to know – and to clearly communicate to stakeholders – how its facilities are optimizing energy baselines to reduce their carbon impact. We’re helping customers create new metrics for success and removing the complexity of carbon management while balancing healthier spaces with our ready now solutions.”
“As a country, India has committed to emissions reduction goals. Since buildings account for a third of electricity consumption and significant levels of greenhouse gas emissions in India, our Carbon & Energy Management software offers building owners a ready now solution to help the country move towards its sustainability goals,” said Ashish Modi, president, Honeywell Building Technologies, Asia.
Commercial Buildings Responsible for Carbon Emissions
Companies face increasing pressure today – from stakeholders as well as regulatory agencies – to curb energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions and create more sustainable, healthier facilities. There’s an urgent reason for this: commercial buildings currently account for almost a third of global energy consumption and 37% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. While 28% of those emissions are related to building operations – or the energy used to heat, cool and power the building – many building owners likely don’t have device or asset level insight into energy consumption or carbon impact.
How the software works?
Leveraging the Honeywell Forge enterprise performance management software solution’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms, Carbon & Energy Management autonomously identifies and implements energy conservation measures to help drive efficiency, resiliency and accountability throughout a real estate portfolio. It continuously investigates, analyzes and optimizes building performance, down to an asset-specific level, measuring critical sustainability KPIs including carbon emissions.
‘Impact investors’ want to know in specific terms what companies’ carbon reduction goals are and what they’re doing to meet them.[ii] According to recent market studies, reducing a building’s carbon footprint can potentially increase its commercial value.
Honeywell Carbon & Energy Management software continuously collects 24/7 energy use data, logged at 15-minute intervals, and submeters all energy-consuming assets to collect granular consumption information. This data allows Honeywell to help customers establish a rigorously derived baseline, using up to a three-year usage history, live meter data and environmental factors to determine which assets are driving energy consumption.
Besides providing a real-time dashboard of critical sustainability KPIs, this enterprise-level software aggregates carbon data from energy-related emission sources in a building – gas, electricity and fuel sources; reduces energy consumption using advanced building control capabilities; and reduces carbon footprint without compromising occupant well-being or comfort. Importantly, it provides a roadmap for carbon neutral, and helps customers to execute the roadmap to help meet their carbon neutral goals. It also allows building owners to avoid capital outlays for technology upgrades to meet sustainability reporting demands and minimize the time required to implement solutions.
Honeywell’s broader Sustainable Buildings portfolio can help meet energy efficiency goals, improve occupant well-being and change the way occupants experience a building. The portfolio aligns with Honeywell’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in its facilities and operations by 2035, building on a track record of sharply reducing its greenhouse gas footprint as well as its decades-long history of innovation to help customers meet their environment, social and governance goals.
