Author: sHq_LoGiNz

To achieve net-zero carbon by 2050, Saint-Gobain North America must reach key milestones by 2030. In our latest episode of Journey to 2030, Saint-Gobain is showing how circular economy practices can be successful! 

When it comes to finding ways to recycle gypsum we are always looking for bolder practices to eliminate landfill waste and reduce our emissions. Discover the ways in which our plants across North America are sourcing and reusing this useful material in the production of wallboard.

About Journey to 2030

With approximately 37% of CO₂ emissions coming from the built environment, we have a responsibility as the leader of light and sustainable construction to move towards net-zero carbon by 2050. But before we can get there, Saint-Gobain has milestones we’re trying to achieve by 2030. 

Join us on our Journey to 2030 and watch the entire video series on YouTube.

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The Group, celebrating its 360th anniversary in 2025, remains more committed than ever to its purpose “MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME”.

€46.6 billion in sales in 2024
More than 161,000 employees, locations in 80 countries
Committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 

This article is authored by Jose La Loggia, Group President, EMEA, Trane Technologies.

As the climate continues to change, and risks to human health and well-being continue to grow, one critical area demands our attention: the use of energy recovery technology in our cities to decarbonize buildings and transport.

Buildings represent more than 30%¹ of all emissions, with transport responsible for another 20%². That’s more than half of the world’s emissions that Trane Technologies can help address.

To reduce emissions and decarbonize our cities, we must revolutionize energy used in buildings and transport. Any heat released into the environment can be considered wasted, and since it takes energy to produce heat, wasted heat is wasted energy. By preventing and recovering waste heat, we are helping decarbonize buildings, industry and transport systems – transforming them from energy sinks into energy sources.

By focusing on the generated power that’s being wasted, what we call demand-side management, we can have a significant impact on addressing energy waste and reducing energy demand.

Energy recovery: a game changer for the built environment

Historically, buildings have relied on fossil fuels and natural gas for their heating and cooling needs. Most buildings have also typically used separate heating and cooling systems that operate independently, causing higher emissions – especially during cooling processes that generate heat, which is typically wasted and released into the atmosphere.

But our vision for the buildings of tomorrow is clear: a future in which renewable energy production, the heating and cooling of buildings and energy storage operate in unison to create highly energy-efficient buildings. Such buildings generate enough energy to run their own facilities without drawing from the grid, re-purposing what would otherwise be wasted while driving significant energy efficiencies. If decarbonized buildings became the norm, we could breathe cleaner air and live in smarter, healthier and more resilient cities that are less reliant on fossil fuels.

The concept of thermal management for temperature control is central to this vision. Energy recovery technology like heat pumps can capture naturally-generated heat as a byproduct, instead of rejecting it into the atmosphere, and repurpose it for another use, such as comfort heating and hot sanitary water. This “free heating” approach translates into substantial cost savings compared to conventional boiler systems. By using heat pumps, building owners and city planners can also integrate heating and cooling systems and draw from another untapped free source of energy: waste heat.

In fact, heat pumps can re-purpose wasted heat to address other heating demands at a building or city level. A prime example of an innovative thermal management system is Trane Technologies’ project in the Dutch city of Aalsmeer. Excess heat from a data center is repurposed to provide hot water to a local school and gymnasium. This project saved Aalsmeer 400 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually – equivalent to the emissions generated from 48 homes. Adopting a simultaneous heating and cooling thermal management system, which can heat and cool at the same time, not only reduces reliance on fossil fuels, but it is also much more efficient.

Driving down carbon emissions in transportation

New industry standards for emissions reduction and efficiency are being set for commercial transportation. Trane Technologies specializes in transport refrigeration, to ensure the safety of foods and medicines – in a sustainable way. The Thermo King AxlePower energy recovery system, for example, harvests energy when a trailer rolls or brakes, capturing and storing the power in a high-voltage battery that powers the refrigeration unit. Such high-performance, hybrid or fully electric systems can make significant CO2 savings.

During a trial on Woolworths’ long-haul N1 route in South Africa, the vehicle’s battery operated for a distance of 15,000 kilometers to cool the load and only engaged the diesel engine 3% of the time. On the route between Johannesburg and Cape Town, carbon emissions dropped by 27 tons.

Challenging the current mindset around decarbonization

By now, it should be clear that obstacles to creating decarbonized cities are not technological. So, what is? One common misconception is that sustainable solutions are prohibitively expensive. In reality, the energy efficiency and CO2 reductions achieved through these technologies often result in short payback periods, sometimes within just two to three years.

Another myth is that these systems are complex and only applicable to new building construction. This is far from the truth. Almost 75% of existing building stock in the European Union has a poor energy performance that can be considerably improved with smart heating and cooling solutions³ . When we replace cooling-only machines with those capable of simultaneous heating and cooling, the incremental cost is more manageable. And for fleet owners looking to switch to electric solutions, next-generation energy recovery systems (e.g. Thermo King AxlePower) are also more efficient, less reliant on recharging stations and fossil fuels.

Financing, often perceived as a barrier, is also readily available. The key is to finance the future, not outdated systems.

The future is now: time for action

The path to decarbonizing our cities lies in these sustainable, thermal management and energy recovery solutions. As we move forward, policymakers, industry leaders, and communities must work together to embrace this vision.

Decarbonizing our cities is within reach, and the benefits for our planet and future generations are immeasurable.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Financial Times.

Article Sources (3)

• [1] IEA, “Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2023: Buildings,” 2023.
• [2] IEA, “Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2023: Transport,” 2023. 
• [3] European Commission Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2024 and data collected by Trane Technologies.

The recent EU Omnibus package may propose to ease the reporting burden for companies in the EU, but many headlines have in fact triggered uncertainty and alarm.

If we can cut through the noise, proactive business leaders can not only prepare for these changes but seize the opportunity to drive strategic business value and even transformation.

My key takeaways for business:

• Large companies still have to report, while SMEs can gain an advantage through voluntary reporting
• Streamlined and integrated data management remains key for compliance and business value creation
• Get ahead by starting today

Sustainability regulations have been on a rollercoaster ride lately. To address concerns about the administrative burden, harmonization, and competitiveness, EU lawmakers have undertaken critical reviews of key policies, most notably the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

Initial reactions to the Omnibus package ranged from celebratory to cautionary, with some media outlets pointing out “costly confusion” and even “catastrophic changes.” The slightest changes to any regulatory framework can spark confusion, but there is no need to panic. While still subject to final approval, the Omnibus package should provide companies extra time to prepare and reduced metrics to track.

Despite these proposed changes, business leaders should ensure their data management systems are equipped to handle the required sustainability metrics. Systems and processes for data management need to be instituted, KPIs identified, stakeholders managed — all of which takes time. As a rule of thumb, auditors recommend two years of preparation time before a reporting deadline hits. From automated collection and reporting to insights that drive measurable business value, an integrated data system has the potential to make sustainability data so much more than a mere component of compliance.

What are the changes in the Omnibus?

The Omnibus adjusts compliance thresholds, shifts reporting timelines, and removes the burden of CSRD reporting for small and midsize enterprises. Proposed changes include:

• Companies not yet required to report on FY 2024 will have a two-year delay (until 2028) before they must report with the CSRD
• Companies must have 1,000 employees and €50 million net turnover, or €25 million balance sheet to meet CSRD reporting threshold
• Limited assurance requirements are implemented in place of reasonable assurance
• Sector-specific reporting mandates have been eliminated
• Value chain data is only required from suppliers that also meet the reporting threshold
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) due diligence intervals increased from each year to every five years

All proposed changes are still subject to final approval.

What remains untouched in the Omnibus proposals?

Large European companies — those that were required to report with the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) — are still required to report with the CSRD this year for FY 2024, and are required to continue reporting despite the proposal. The pool of companies required to report will still expand, but now with a two-year delay and the timeline for non-EU parent companies has not changed. Companies with a two-year delay will still need to start preparing at least 12 months ahead of their new reporting deadlines.

Supply chain emissions, double materiality assessments, KPI identifying and tracking, and transition planning are all still fundamental to the CSRD. Supply chain data insights are still requirements of the CSDDD and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

The metrics on which companies are required to report are likely to be reduced and simplified, but regulatory compliance still remains a data challenge that requires integrated solutions. For companies that are no longer required to report, voluntary reporting can prove beneficial if data insights are deployed strategically. With the right solutions, sustainability data can unlock valuable insights to improve business performance.

How can sustainability data improve business performance?

With all the new compliance measures businesses have to navigate, it can be easy to get reporting tunnel vision and lose sight of the wider goal: sustainable business outcomes and value creation for the business.

Rigorous sustainability reporting should drive operational efficiency. Combined with a wealth of sustainability data, supply chain scrutiny and systems analysis lay the groundwork for deriving strategic business value. For example, sustainability data supports effective risk management through visibility into risks and their strategic and financial impacts, lowers costs by creating efficiency gains, and provides the insights needed to take action.

Collecting and managing data to comply with sustainability regulations requires data management software. The bare bones solution is the helpful, yet error-prone, Excel spreadsheet, while at the opposite end of the data management spectrum is the ERP-centric system.

The spreadsheet might manage to painstakingly serve the compliance function, but it lacks the ability to provide real-time insights that align sustainability goals with financial goals. What’s worse is that after data is collected and reported, it lives — and dies — on the spreadsheet, offering no added value, and certainly driving no business transformation.

In contrast, by using an ERP-centric system, data needed to comply with sustainability regulations can be pulled, aggregated, and integrated into business systems like finance, procurement, and HR. In fact, an ERP-centric system can provide access to as much as 85 percent of the quantitative data required for CSRD compliance.

ERP systems are the catalyst for strategic business transformation and streamlined regulatory compliance. ERP combined with SAP Sustainability solutions can provide access to sustainability data that permeates all business functions. Business leaders obtain the necessary insights to reduce carbon and material usage, accelerate CSRD compliance, and accurately measure the financial and sustainability impact of their decisions.

Get ahead by starting today

To stay ahead of current and upcoming regulations, streamlined and integrated management of data from operations and supply chain is essential. An ERP-centric approach can drive both sustainability and financial performance, with compliance being just the tip of the iceberg for ERP-centric sustainability data benefits.

Even with CSRD timelines extended for some companies, forward-thinking businesses have much to gain by continuing CSRD-aligned sustainability reporting now. This delay offers an opportunity to develop a strategic, technology-enabled approach to sustainability reporting that drives long-term business value.

Take action now and leverage SAP Sustainability solutions to transform your data management and sustainability reporting, ensuring your business not only complies but thrives in the evolving regulatory landscape. To learn even more about the Omnibus changes and how an ERP-centric system can benefit your business, read SAP’s latest white paper on mastering CSRD.

How to master the EU CSRD with SAP Sustainability solutions: New insights from the Omnibus proposal Read the White Paper here

^{Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer at SAP.}