Honeywell has introduced software that can give managers the visibility and control needed to help realise carbon neutral buildings.

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 measure progress and optimise their carbon and energy footprints.

Honeywell is working to solve this problem with its Carbon & Energy Management software that enables building owners to track and optimise energy performance against carbon reduction goals, down to a device or asset level.

Carbon & Energy Management is the centrepiece of Honeywell’s Sustainable Buildings portfolio, which is ready to help building owners and operators meet two pressing, yet often conflicting, objectives: reducing the environmental impact of buildings while optimising indoor air quality to support occupant well-being, with the aim of helping them meet carbon neutral goals.

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.

Leveraging the Honeywell Forge enterprise performance management software ‘s artificial intelligence and machine learning 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, analyses and optimises building performance, down to an asset-specific level, measuring critical sustainability KPIs including carbon emissions.

“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 at 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 optimising energy baselines to reduce their carbon impact. “

Impact investors want to know in specific terms what companies’ carbon reduction goals are and what they’re doing to meet them. According to recent market studies, reducing a building’s carbon footprint can potentially increase its commercial value.

Carbon & Energy Management establishes an energy performance baseline using up to a three-year usage history, live meter data and environmental factors to determine which assets are driving energy consumption. The enterprise-level software provides a real-time dashboard of critical sustainability KPIs; aggregates carbon data from energy-related emission sources in a building – gas, electricity and fuel sources; reduces energy consumption using building control capabilities; and reduces carbon footprint without compromising occupant well-being or comfort.

It continuously collects round-the-clock energy use data, logged at 15-minute intervals, and submeters all energy-consuming assets to collect granular consumption information. These data allow Honeywell to help users establish a rigorously derived baseline, provide a roadmap for carbon neutral, and help users execute the roadmap to help meet their carbon neutral goals. Building owners can avoid capital outlays for technology upgrades to meet sustainability reporting demands and reduce the time required to implement technology.

The 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 its customers meet their environment, social and governance goals.