By Hank Monaco, Vice President of Marketing, Johnson Controls

I had the honor of moderating the fourth installment of the Johnson Controls Smart Ready Panel series, where panelists Clay Nesler from Johnson Controls, Dana Schneider from Empire State Realty Trust and Ray Czajkowski from The Albanese Organization shared their expertise on how smart building technologies can forward environmental stewardship. The panelists discussed how building owners and managers can create smart ready buildings that reach efficiency goals while navigating complex and everchanging regulations.

Today’s building owners and managers are more aware of their environmental impact than ever. They want their facilities to be more efficient, more sustainable and more cost-effective. What many don’t realize is that the most effective strategy to achieve this efficiency utopia is by implementing smart technology. Smart ready building solutions like building automation systems (BAS) and technology integrations create spaces that are naturally more efficient. It’s no wonder they are being heralded as the future of building management, but many businesses and organizations simply don’t know where to start.

The panel kicked off with a discussion around data and its role in efficiency. Dana Schneider shared how accurate and reliable data is often very challenging to collect, especially across an entire portfolio. The industry is moving towards collecting and leveraging energy, water, waste and indoor air quality data to create an optimized environment for building occupants. When building systems like HVAC, lighting and life safety are connected through a single building automation system (BAS), data collection is effortlessly automated for real time decisions. By analyzing the building’s generated data, such as equipment performance, energy usage or occupancy flow, we can identify potential opportunities for more efficient operation.

The panelists agreed that improving systems efficiency is critical, especially as new regulations are consistently introduced. In our panel location of New York, the Climate Mobilization Act passed in April 2019, placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for buildings. Building owners are tasked with achieving a 40 percent reduction in emissions within 10 years, and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. In order to remain compliant, a whopping 75% of buildings in New York City will need to be retrofitted by 2030. These regulations force building owners to not only be more efficient, but more innovative as well. Making these updates allows them to simultaneously become more resourceful and leads to streamlined operations. As many more cities pass similar laws, how its building owners take on this challenge will be hugely indicative of the industry’s sustainability future.

Staying compliant can feel overwhelming, but by investing in intelligent technology solutions, efficiency is absolutely a reachable goal. By performing system assessments, you can identify the gaps in your ecosystem that are preventing your building from being Smart Ready. During the panel, Clay Nesler shared a ten-step criteria for organizations to consider when striving to become smart ready. By factoring in variables like reliability to cybersecurity, building owners and managers can streamline their processes for optimized efficiency and sustainability.

While the panel touched on a wide variety of topics, one thing was clear: efficiency must be a major guidepost for building owners and managers. For both compliancy’s sake and for the cost savings, energy efficiency is set to take the industry by storm. By investing in smart ready solutions now, you can position yourself and your building to be leaders in the efficiency revolution.