Less Is More in Sustainable Intelligent Buildings: Carbon Reduction and Elimination
April 26, 2021
Part 2 of 4 in our series on the ways that smart building technology creates sustainable environments.
As many companies look towards creating a more sustainable future, reducing carbon will play a large role in reaching their goals. With pressure from the public and numerous institutions to go carbon neutral, companies must find ways to decrease their carbon emissions with the ultimate goal of attaining net-zero carbon emissions.
Operational Carbon - How Smart Technologies can help you Reduce Impact
Buildings are one of the largest producers of carbon emissions in the world. In fact, carbon emitted during the operation of a building for heating, cooling and lighting (collectively known as “operational carbon”) poses an environmental risk, contributing to 40% of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
While it can be difficult to find ways to reduce and even eliminate the use of carbon in buildings, that’s exactly where smart building technology can help.
Buildings can reduce their carbon emissions, and even achieve zero-carbon certifications, through energy consumption tracking and analysis – all of which is made possible by smart building technology. And by analyzing how to optimize energy use throughout a building, owners can then determine the best course of action to reduce emissions and lower carbon use. In short, this enables businesses to create sustainable environments through, data-driven decisions about their carbon emissions.
Your Building Creates Tons of Carbon before the Building is Built
The processes required to create building materials are also a large culprit in the generation of carbon emissions (also known as “embodied carbon”). In 2018, the building and construction industry made up 40% of the world’s process-related carbon dioxide emissions, with 11% coming from the manufacturing of building materials.
However, many smart building solutions, including those from future-focused cabling and connectivity providers, are implementing carbon-neutral practices to become more sustainable with their own operations, as well as to support their clients’ sustainability initiatives through lower embodied carbon products.
That’s why choosing carbon-conscious partners for smart building implementation can contribute to lower carbon emissions (both operational and embodied), as well as help organizations reach their carbon neutrality goals.
Partners in the Business of Sustainability
Not only is it good for the environment to achieve reduced or zero carbon building standards, but it can also benefit businesses, too. There are many incentive and rebate programs currently available that apply to companies working to reduce their carbon use, become carbon neutral or even become carbon negative.
One such initiative is the Zero Carbon Program from Superior Essex, in which they will offset 150% of carbon emissions generated in the manufacturing of cable products. This incentivizes businesses to reduce carbon emissions while simultaneously saving these organizations money and making it easier for them to achieve green-building certifications by offsetting other products’ carbon impacts as well. In essence, by offering this program, Superior Essex is making their customers into their partners in sustainability.
As this example shows, selecting smart building partners whose own building and manufacturing practices are sustainable, focused and aligned on carbon reduction helps companies achieve their own carbon-neutral goals. And by implementing smart building technology to reduce carbon emissions throughout the lifecycle of a building, companies can reap the benefits of contributing to a healthier environment – all while simultaneously creating more sustainable and profitable business operations.