2023/12/07
Midea Building Technologies Journey to Sustainability at COP28
World leaders have gathered in Dubai for the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) taking place from November 30 to December 12. At an event held at the China Pavilion on December 4, Director of Midea Building Technologies Research Institute Meng Tao delivered a speech themed “Smart Technology Empowering Energy-Efficient Buildings” to demonstrate the innovative strides achieved by Midea Building Technologies in sustainable building development.
COP28 is a global summit dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, addressing climate change, and promoting sustainable development. The conference sets the record for the largest-ever UN climate summit, hosting over 70,000 delegates from 198 countries including nation leaders, negotiators, NGOs, industry players, and business representatives. The event concludes the first global stocktake, an evaluation of climate progress under the Paris Agreement, emphasizing the need for enhanced global cooperation to collectively act against the climate crisis.
GREEN FOR ONE Dual Carbon Strategy Explores Sustainable Practices in Building Technology
Midea Building Technologies has unveiled its “GREEN FOR ONE” dual-carbon strategy, taking a deeper dive into the realm of digitalized and low-carbon architecture. In light of global carbon neutrality goals, the imperative to drive buildings - which are indispensable organic entities in urban landscapes - towards sustainability, low carbon, intelligence, and efficiency, has grown increasingly urgent. As a pioneering force in China’s green building sector and an advocate of the dual-carbon policy, Midea Building Technologies has consistently upheld its mission to “build sustainable and smart spaces”. Leveraging the iBUILDING digital platform, Midea has incorporated heating, ventilation, elevators, and BMS into one comprehensive and intelligent building solution. By facilitating the flow of traffic, information, experience, and energy within buildings, Midea is empowering industries to shape a future with low-carbon and green urban development.
The launch of the “GREEN FOR ONE” dual-carbon strategy this year enables Midea Building Technologies to go beyond offering green and low-carbon products and services that span across the entire building lifecycle, and engage in comprehensive low-carbon industry solutions. Anchored by the robust capabilities of the iBUILDING platform, Midea will support industries tackling the low-carbon industrial transformation, presenting a cutting-edge path towards sustainable and digitized architecture.
Green Design, Green Manufacturing, Green Supply, Green Development
In alignment with the global consensus on climate goals, Midea Building Technologies is dedicated to advancing sustainable development across the entire value chain through green and low-carbon designs, efficient manufacturing, and a clean supply chain. The company is also working to consolidate its ESG reporting.
On the supply side, Midea Building Technologies has established a supply chain management platform that encompasses an extensive information network and product supply chain that ranges from product design and material selection to processing and more. The platform also evaluates the carbon management practices of registered suppliers, reflecting a firm commitment to environmentally-conscious practices.
Midea has incorporated ecological principles into its product design, with green, low-carbon, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient technologies at the core of its approach. The brand’s internationally recognized “global-leading” control technology developed for the magnetic bearing centrifugal chiller can save up to 45% in operating costs compared to traditional products. For every 1000 units, the technology can reduce standard coal consumption by 111,000 tons annually and cut CO2 emissions by 277,000 tons per year. Other practices – including deploying environmentally friendly refrigerants and efficient DC inverter components, delivering PEHF (photovoltaics, energy storage, heating, flexibility) solutions, developing carbon footprint management platforms and virtual power plant operations management platforms – have significantly lowered product carbon emissions across the entire lifecycle.
When it comes to manufacturing, Midea Building Technologies places significant emphasis on clean energy, flexible energy sources, process upgrades, digital management, and the circular economy to propel its emissions reduction initiatives. This year, Midea’s factory in Shunde has been recognized as a state-level “Green Factory”, with several other facilities achieving zero-carbon certifications. In the German market, Midea’s carbon-neutral heat pump product has been certified by the renowned TÜV SÜD, while the pool heat pump has been awarded with the world’s first Recycled Content Verification.
By consistently innovating carbon-free production lines, factories, campuses, and products, Midea Building Technologies has been selected for Guangdong province’s inaugural list of carbon peak and carbon neutrality pilot projects, further solidifying Midea’s contribution toward dual-carbon initiatives.
Strengthening Collaboration and Leading by Example
Reaching a green and low-carbon future requires a collective effort from society. Guided by the philosophy to conserve energy throughout a product’s entire lifecycle, Midea Building Technologies has serviced over 100,000 large-scale projects that span the industrial, commercial, medical, education, transportation, and data center industries. Together, Midea and its partners are committed to realize substantial energy savings and emissions reductions in building construction.
For the Shanghai Citigroup Tower, Midea Building Technologies delivered a high-efficiency chiller plant that achieved an Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) of 6.03 in 2023. In Guangzhou, Midea Building Technologies installed the M-BMS ultra-efficient intelligent environmental control system in the city’s Line 7 extension, successfully addressing the challenges of cooling supply-demand mismatches, control lags and fluctuations to enable peak operation efficiency. The cooling facilities in Beijiao Park station, for example, reached an impressive 6.76 kW·h/kW in EER. Midea’s control algorithm architecture also proved instrumental in offsetting peak demand during summer in Zhejiang province. The solution substantially reduced load by an average of 1585.9kW, constituting 20.6% of the pre-averaged load, significantly improving peak shaving for the power grid.
Energy efficiency in buildings is key to China’s dual-carbon target, and implementing sustainable development strategies is the responsibility of every company. Looking ahead, Midea Building Technologies will continue to develop innovative intelligent building solutions. Collaborating with users worldwide, Midea will construct sustainable spaces that are not only low-carbon but also intelligent, fostering a future driven by digital and green perspectives.