Constructing a sustainable work environment

Cisco Canada has just been awarded the CoreNet REmmy Innovative Workplace Award, for facilities of more than 20,000 sq. ft., in an award that rewards innovations in the Canadian real estate sector.  Among the factors that carry most weight for the organizers is the sustainability factor, which already constitutes a need for any innovation project in key sectors such as the one that we are dealing with.

When Cisco had the need to move to a new location, they made the decision to make its facilities a showcase of innovation, and of sustainability that gave its customers an idea of the products and services that the company offers by becoming leaders in environmental social responsibility and work flexibility.

Workers choose how they want to interact with their job, and technology comes into play as a facilitator role for the task. The design changed as the construction progressed in order to accommodate new technologies such as Power Over Ethernet, which allows power supply to be provided via regular LAN infrastructure. The construction team had to show a great deal of flexibility that allowed them to undertake such changes on the original design reflected in the plans. In change, we get a highly efficient system that allows us to have a smart power supply because the devices can be switched on and off using existing protocols, such as SNMP for network management.

Cisco and the CoreNet REmmy Innovative Workplace awards demonstrate once more that the future and innovation walk hand in hand with sustainability and energy efficiency.

Read more about the winning teams on the CoreNet Canada website: http://canada.corenetglobal.org/remmyawards

 

 

Virtual Energy Advisor uses gamification in order to promote energy savings

Energy savings can be achievable through different ways. The new application Virtual Energy Advisor tries to reach it by involving the user in a game-oriented way.  Through cooperation and competition, the application motivates the users in order to achieve the energy efficiency goals.

As if it were a video game, Virtual Energy Advisor uses a system of individual challenges which provides the user with his/her progresses in energy efficiency, it also sets goals and share the achievements to social networks. This application also offers an on line video game-oriented modality, since it allows you to compare individual results of each player with nearby participants. Comparing our energy efficiency results with our friends and neighbors will let us know if our energy efficiency habits are as efficient as we expect.

Medals, badges and points are also present to this gamification: they are one more element to motivate users.

The application has arrived to some pilot regions where the use of this application and energy savings techniques are being promoted. Those regions includes Guipuzkoa and Barcelona, where the application is developed.

Virtual Energy Advisor is based on the concept of gamification, it is proving to be an efficient tool in order to promote the social and responsible behavior towards the environment. The use of games, social networks and the proper analysis of the people behavior are opening new fields that those who encourages energy efficiency will not ignore.

 

For more information.

Energy efficiency in buildings at climate meeting in Paris

More than 190 countries have joined the COP21 in Paris with the aim of achieving a legally binding and universal agreement on climate change so that global warming may stay below the critical level that experts consider to be located at 2 degrees Celsius.

The role that efficient management of energy in buildings plays in the achievement of this objective is fundamental. We must keep in mind that between 60 and 70 per cent of a country’s total consumption of electricity, is carried out in a building’s environment.

For the first time during the talks on the environment being carried out this year in Paris, a day has been reserved to discuss this issue in depth, where special interest is placed on its apparent lack of diffusion in the real estate market. The question that is trying to be answered is: if all the social and economic agents agree that energy efficiency for the management of buildings only brings benefits to all the parties involved, why aren’t more building owners carrying out these measures?

Until now, the achievement of these goals is benefited almost exclusively by the creation of codes, laws, rules and regulations that builders, contractors and certain agencies should follow from a legal point of view.

The great challenge now is to perform a disseminating work of the advantages not only generated by environmental energy efficiency, for the benefit of customers and builders, while maintaining the necessary legal requirements.

STAM attendance to INCONET, GCC2 International Conference

STAM, one of the Energy IN TIME consortium partners, will participate in INCONET, GCC2 International Conference, which will be held from 6^th to 8^th of December, 2015. It is an international conference that will bring together specialists and professionals from the European Union and from the Gulf Cooperating Council with the common objective of exploring and discovering synergies between these such relevant geographic areas. The main focus of the conference will be the use of renewable energies, Smart cities design and health, topics which are considered specially relevant in order to achieve mutual benefits between the present countries from the Gulf and the European Union.

The conference will be held in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Muscat, Oman.

The first day of the conference will be centered in visiting technological parks, business incubators and research institutions, while the other two days will be centered in the presentation of action plans, opportunities of collaboration between the two regions, as well as a research of the main obstacles in this sector.

STAM will have a stand where they will present their current projects, which Energy IN TIME will have a significant presence, by providing informative talks, distributing flyers and preparing general networking activities. As the partner in charge of the exploitation strategy, this can be an excellent opportunity to disseminate the Energy IN TIME progresses to potential stakeholders and general public.

 More info