Author: sHq_LoGiNz

December 22, 2025 /3BL/ – Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) today published its 2025 Sustainability Report, which showcases how the company is bringing together technology and manufacturing for a more sustainable tomorrow.

“As both a manufacturer and a trusted partner to industrial companies around the world, Rockwell is uniquely positioned to lead the transformation of operations through innovation and sustainability,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation. “Our technologies help customers reduce energy use, minimize waste, and lower emissions while improving productivity and quality. From smart machines and digital twins to advanced motion control and cybersecurity, our solutions are enabling manufacturers to meet their sustainability goals without compromising performance.”

The report reflects how Rockwell’s sustainability strategy is embedded across the business, from how the company designs and innovates, to how the company sources, manufactures, and delivers solutions to customers. It’s built around three core focus areas: Environment, Social, and Governance.

• Environment: Advancing energy and emissions management, designing products for sustainability, and building a responsible supply chain.
• Social: Creating a culture that empowers our people, prioritizes safety, and invests in the future workforce.
• Governance: Demonstrating integrity in everything Rockwell does—from cybersecurity and product safety to enterprise risk and ethical leadership.

The company drives outcomes that extend across stakeholders:

• Sustainable Customers: Enabling customers to meet their own sustainability goals through scalable, intelligent solutions.
• Sustainable Company: Working relentlessly to make Rockwell’s operations and culture even more safe, efficient, and responsible.
• Sustainable Communities: Investing in the places where employees live and work, creating lasting impact through education, workforce development, and environmental stewardship.

Our actions are grounded in measurable progress:

• Setting science-based targets to help deliver on emissions reductions.
• Investing in adaptation and resilience, climate-proofing supply chains.
• Scaling digital and AI solutions that unlock efficiencies and improve risk visibility.

“These efforts are not about checking boxes. They’re about building a more resilient business and creating long-term value,” said Emmanuel Guilhamon, Vice President, Sustainability, Rockwell Automation. “Sustainability is a growth strategy, and this report is our way of showing how that strategy comes to life.”

Read Rockwell’s 2025 Sustainability Report.

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Federal Express Corporation, one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, has helped inspire environmental awareness among children from care homes in the Greater Tokyo Area. The one-day hiking program offered immersive nature experiences that highlight the importance of sustainability and the preservation of Japan’s natural environment for future generations.

Organized by Mirai no Mori, 13 FedEx volunteers accompanied 28 children on a 4-kilometer hike at Mt. Mitake in western Tokyo. FedEx volunteers served as mentors throughout the day, guiding participants and sharing practical knowledge about protecting the environment. The program gave the children the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, explore a new environment, and simply have fun—experiences that are just as important as the lessons learned.

“We believe in empowering our team members and our communities to help create a healthier and more positive future for the environment,” said Kei Alan Kubota, managing director of FedEx Japan. “Through sustainability initiatives within the communities we serve, we can foster meaningful connections between future generations and nature while promoting environmental stewardship that benefits Japan’s sustainable future. It is a privilege for our team members to contribute to this important environmental project in our community.”

Across Japan, an estimated 23,000 children live in care homes, many of whom face significant challenges as they prepare to transition into adulthood. [1] Mirai no Mori offers these young people transformative experiences through nature-based activities such as trekking, forestry work, and river rafting. The program fosters cognitive, personal and social skills – the key life skills that empower them to navigate life after leaving the care system at age 18.

This initiative is part of the FedEx Cares, the company’s global community program. To learn more about FedEx Cares initiatives, read here.

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

[1] Japan Children and Families Agency

Cascale attended the Fashion Summit Hong Kong event this month at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, exploring one of Asia’s premier fashion conferences and fashion shows.

Cascale attended the Fashion Summit Hong Kong event this month at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, exploring one of Asia’s premier fashion conferences. Each year, the Clothing Industry Training Authority (CITA), Cascale’s affiliate member, organizes the event with more collaborating organizations including The Mills Fabrica and Redress.

CITA’s chairman Roger Chan gave opening remarks, followed by individual expert talks from Chris Woodward, director general trade and investment, British Consulate General Hong Kong; Paul Alger MBE, international business director at UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT); and Liang Pengcheng, vice president of the China National Textile and Apparel Council.

Programming highlights included the focus on local textile innovation, circularity, sustainable fashion, and more perspectives unique to the APAC region.

Cascale members – among them Jessica Chan, sustainability implementation director, TAL Apparel Limited and Dr. Joey Chan, market director, Lululemon – spoke in a panel to address the business opportunities and risks on circularity.

Fashion historians also found their draw in a presentation on “The Art of Sustainable Fashion at China’s Qing Imperial Court, 1644 – 1911” by Dr. Daisy Wang, deputy director, Hong Kong Palace Museum. Deeper spotlights on textile art, jewelry, silk, tailoring and more were featured highlights.

Cascale staff were strongly represented at the event. Alexandra Rieger, senior director of manufacturer membership; Nicole Lee-Kauer, manager, Manufacturer Climate Action Program (MCAP); Betty Li, senior manager of member engagement manufacturing; and Howard Kwong, senior manager of public affairs, APAC, were all in attendance.

Additional Cascale members were also in attendance, including Cotton Incorporated, PDS, and Intertek, among others.

In all, the event was an important showcase of regional design and APAC manufacturer involvement.

Storms, fires and floods hit communities every year. When they do, staying connected becomes a lifeline. In just the first half of 2025, the U.S. saw 14 separate billion-dollar disasters — with several more since.

At T-Mobile, keeping people connected in those moments is a responsibility we take personally. Our engineers and emergency teams work around the clock to prepare, innovate and restore service so people can call 911, reach loved ones and receive emergency alerts, including satellite-to-mobile messaging. T-Mobile For Business introduced solutions like T-Priority for first responders and SuperMobile for customers like FOX Weather and CNN to inform communities in real time.

As CNET recently noted, our commitment to public safety has never been stronger, and it guides everything we do.

A Year of Relentless Weather — and Relentless Response

This year brought one major event after another: Winter Storms Blair and Cora, devastating Texas floods, severe Midwest storms, fast-moving California wildfires and, most recently, the terrible floods here in Washington state. Each one put pressure on our network and our teams. And each time, T-Mobile responded quickly and confidently.

We deployed mobile cell sites, generators and drones, while T-Priority gave first responders on our network a dedicated 5G network slice so their calls and data got the highest priority even under the heaviest congestion. In California, where wildfires continue to intensify, T-Satellite with Starlink proved to be essential. When towers were damaged or commercial power failed, we turned on T-Satellite, ahead of launch, so people with compatible phones could still text 911 and loved ones, showing how vital satellite connectivity has become.

The Technology Behind the Response

Strong disaster response doesn’t happen only in the moment. It comes from years of innovation and investment, and from teams who are constantly improving how we support customers and first responders.

Our Self-Organizing Network (SON), powered by advanced AI and automation, continuously monitors and adjusts the network. If a tower goes down, the SON can tilt antennas, reroute traffic and fill temporary coverage gaps so the maximum amount of customers remain connected. During this year’s weather events, it made nearly 5 million network adjustments that kept families and public safety agencies connected.

T-Priority, running on our nationwide 5G Standalone core, gives first responders on our network our highest level of network priority with up to five times the resources of typical users. Agencies like the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department used it during this year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix to keep their communications strong and fans safe.

And when traditional coverage is impacted during severe events, T-Satellite is a game-changer. It has already supported more than a million messages during disasters, including the Texas floods, Los Angeles fires and Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In November, we added T-Mobile Text to 911 via satellite at no extra cost for anyone who signs up with a compatible device, regardless of their primary wireless provider. It’s another step toward making lifesaving communication universal. And as the first-ever satellite-to-cell network to enable authorities to broadcast Wireless Emergency Alerts, we are giving first responders new tools to reach and protect more people, regardless of their wireless provider.

Preparing All Year, Not Just During Crisis

As I mentioned to CNET, our goal is to make sure the network never goes down because if it does, we are letting someone down. With that in mind, our dedication and fast response starts long before a storm appears on radar. This year, we expanded our drone fleet by 50%, adding heavy-lift, search-and-rescue and tethered drones. They map damage, locate people with thermal imaging and LiDAR, deliver gear and even broadcast temporary Standalone 5G across a 2-mile radius. These drones supported Texas Parks & Wildlife during flooding and assisted law enforcement in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.

Committed to What Comes Next

T-Mobile’s commitment to the communities we serve is unwavering. We’ll keep strengthening our systems, expanding our network and pushing the boundaries of innovation so people can stay connected when it matters most.

I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made and even more excited about what comes next.

A significant portion of global energy use and industrial emissions stems from heating and cooling operations. The European Environment Agency reports that heating and cooling in the industrial sector are responsible for approximately 20-25% of Europe’s CO2 emissions. These systems have traditionally functioned in isolation for decades, with separate installation and management. This fragmented approach means that useful energy is often wasted, including rejected heat from cooling condensation and excess heat from heating operations. However, there’s an alternative to this inefficient model.

The opportunity

A fresh approach to thermal energy production, recovery and reuse provides a direct route to reducing carbon emissions, improving efficiency, maximizing energy utilization, and decreasing operating expenses across industries. By challenging conventional thinking, integrated thermal management systems allow industrial facilities to capture, redirect and distribute thermal energy throughout their operations. This holistic perspective is essential for industrial decarbonization – lowering emissions, reducing expenses and achieving genuinely carbon-neutral operations.

A law of physics

The first law of thermodynamics states that ‘energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.’ This fundamental principle highlights the opportunity: when we think “thermally”, we see how energy rejected in one place, i.e. by the chiller, can become useful heat at another point in the processes.

Temperature control through cooling and heating is critical in food and beverage production for safeguarding food safety, preserving product quality and prolonging shelf life. Maintaining appropriate temperatures inhibits harmful bacteria and pathogen development, guaranteeing that products are safe to consume. Accurate temperature management also retains the intended texture, taste and nutritional content of food and beverages, ensuring uniform product quality.

Across other industries, heating and cooling support process consistency, material preservation and secure storage. These requirements can be fulfilled much more effectively through a comprehensive approach using an all-electric thermal management system.

Transitioning siloed heating and cooling plants into holistic thermal systems

Energy consumes more energy than any other sector globally, according to a McKinsey report. In 2017, it accounted for 149 million terajoules, with almost 45% of that total attributed to the generation of heat for industrial processes. European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) data show that process heating contributes to much of the 2,388 TWh of final energy industry uses for heating and cooling purposes.

Traditionally, heating has come from boilers burning fossil fuels, while cooling relied on electric chillers. These systems are designed and operated separately, ignoring the thermodynamic link between them. Consider the following:

• Industrial processes often require simultaneous heating and cooling.
• Chillers generate heat as a by-product of the cooling process, which is often rejected into the atmosphere or surrounding environment.
• There are often additional sources of waste energy that can be repurposed by heat pump technology, such as excess heat/cooling of compressed air, decentralized refrigeration systems, and ventilation systems.

A design in which chiller and boiler plants work alongside each other as separate systems is no longer justifiable. Heat pumps make it possible to repurpose waste heat for low and medium-temperature requirements without consuming additional fossil fuel.

Case Study: Organon

Based in Oss, the Netherlands, pharmaceutical manufacturer Organon adopted a thermal management mindset, showing that integrating decentralized heat pumps can improve energy efficiency by replacing central heating boilers.

As part of its sustainability efforts, Organon is gradually installing Trane heat pumps across various buildings. The first project, completed in May 2024, involved installing two water-to-water heat pumps (RTSF 070 G) in a manufacturing facility, providing cooling for compressed air treatment and recovering the heat, which is then distributed to the central heating network.

This initiative conserves 7,700 gigajoules of energy each year, approximately equal to 243,000 cubic meters of gas. Organon intends to implement additional enhancements, such as modifying air handling units to accommodate low-temperature heating, aiming to decrease gas dependency and achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. These developments represent a major philosophical transformation: moving from fuel-dependent heating to electrified, optimized energy systems.

Creating a resource from waste heat

Excess heat isn’t a problem requiring disposal; it’s untapped energy ready to be harnessed. Free energy exists abundantly in our surroundings, and thermal management systems empower us to leverage this resource, creating opportunities to entirely remove fossil fuel dependence for heating purposes. These systems enable industries to reimagine how they view heat, converting what was previously wasted into a useful resource.

Although the concept of heat pumps is over one hundred years old, the heat pump has evolved through continuous advances in thermodynamic design, low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and compressor and control technologies. Today, heat pumps are more viable, efficient, and reliable, providing a clean alternative to fossil-fuel manufacturing processes requiring low to medium temperatures.

Heat pumps such as the Trane® RTSF HT can elevate recovered energy to temperatures reaching 110°C, meeting diverse process requirements that extend beyond space heating, storage heating, or preheating domestic hot water. Completely electrified thermal systems provide both heated and chilled water for temperature control processes and can capture and redirect energy while producing zero on-site carbon or NOx emissions.

Systems that provide heating and cooling simultaneously operate three to four times more efficiently than conventional approaches, delivering substantial cost savings. Contemporary heat pumps can produce three to four kilowatts of usable energy for every kilowatt consumed, reaching average efficiency ratios of 300-400%, which is over three times more efficient than traditional boilers.

The benefits go beyond performance: by combining cooling and heating systems, facilities reduce upfront investments, save space, and cut operating costs. This is the systems approach in action.

Changing mindsets, breaking through obstacles

Considering the process-intensive character of industrial operations, gaining comprehensive control over a facility’s thermal management systems can rapidly decrease energy use, carbon output, and operating costs. Although conventional doubts and hesitation about industrial heat pump applications remain, the advantages significantly surpass the challenges. Typical concerns regarding technical complexity, investment requirements, or facility constraints frequently stem from outdated perspectives based on isolated system approaches.

• Initial Costs: While the initial costs for integrated technologies and renewable energy systems can be higher, they are offset by long-term savings. All-inclusive (heating/cooling) thermal management systems often have returns of only 2-3 years due to greater energy efficiency and operational savings.
   
• Complexity: Designing a net-zero facility does require careful planning and coordination among architects, engineers, and contractors, but the core infrastructure and technologies exist. The focus should be on converting to thermal systems plants and gaining market acceptance.
   
• Site Constraints: Around 80% of current projects are retrofits, not new construction – proof that existing facilities can adopt this model.

Converting from stand-alone to integrated systems doesn’t mean reinventing the plant. It means rethinking how energy flows through it.

Case study: Saint Jean

A well-known French pasta manufacturer, Saint Jean, needed a temporary cooling capacity of 150kW to cover the additional summertime load in one of their facilities. What started as a typical project transformed the manager’s mindset, which considered heating and cooling in separate silos.

During the facility assessment intended to analyze the plant’s cooling requirements, aware of Saint Jean’s commitment to enhancing operational energy efficiency, Trane engineers suggested heat pumps rather than recommending an extra chiller for the short-term cooling demand. This solution would not only provide the necessary additional cooling capacity but also entirely eliminate the plant’s 300kW fossil fuel-powered boiler heating system – delivering substantial energy savings as a result.

Installation of two Trane City™ RTSF heat pumps, connected with the plant’s existing chillers, allowed to harness and boost the waste heat generated during cooling process.

The result was a 68% reduction in heating costs and a major drop in emissions.

Project summary:

• Cooling Capacity: 150kW
• Heating Capacity: 300kW (replacing fossil-fuel powered boilers)
• Cold Water Temperatures: -8°C to -4°C
• Hot Water Temperatures: up to 60°C
• Features: Integrated with existing chillers to reuse waste heat.

Envisioning the future: from equipment to strategy

Transforming the approach to heating and cooling system management is essential for achieving energy efficiency and sustainability goals. Thermal management has evolved beyond simply selecting appropriate boilers or chillers. It now represents a strategic collaboration focused on energy optimization, carbon reduction and operational stability.

As European manufacturers seek innovative approaches to achieve net-zero targets, the argument for integrated thermal systems becomes increasingly compelling. However, the most significant challenge is conceptual: transitioning from fragmented system models to viewing energy as fluid, recoverable and self-sufficient.

Reconceiving heating and cooling as components of a unified thermal system represents more than a technical evolution; it’s a leadership transformation. By replacing siloed approaches with holistic system perspectives, industrial operators can minimize energy waste, lower emissions, and safeguard their operations for the future. This transformation is already in motion. Now is the time to expand it.