MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 28, 2024--
Schneider Electric, leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, and One Click LCA, the leading sustainability software platform for construction and manufacturing, have today announced a partnership to improve the accuracy of environmental assessments in electrification.
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As buildings are currently responsible for 39 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions, and 50 per cent of today’s buildings will still be in use by 2050, Schneider Electric proposes that the industry should focus on retrofitting existing buildings, which can reduce their lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 83 per cent.
The partnership addresses a persistent challenge in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry: the gaps in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) environmental data. This initiative allows One Click LCA users to access detailed environmental data for Schneider Electric products, enabling more accurate calculations of building environmental impacts. It marks the first time that comprehensive manufacturer MEP environmental data is made accessible at this scale.
"The building industry needs reliable environmental data to make informed decisions," says Sorouch Kheradmand, Global Head of Sustainability – Partners, at Schneider Electric. "By making our MEP product data publicly available through One Click LCA's platform, we aim to set a new standard for transparency in our industry."
"Access to manufacturer MEP product data has been a significant gap in building life-cycle assessments," says Panu Pasanen, CEO & Founder, of One Click LCA. "This first-of-its-kind partnership with Schneider Electric marks an important step toward closing that gap. By integrating detailed electrical products data into our platform, we're enabling AEC companies to perform more precise environmental impact calculations."
The Schneider Electric & One Click LCA collaboration includes:
About One Click LCA
Used in 170+ countries, One Click LCA is the world-leading end-to-end sustainability platform for construction and manufacturing. The AI-powered software decarbonizes and drives sustainability across the construction value chain with scientific, easy-to-use, automated life-cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) to calculate and reduce the environmental impacts of building, infrastructure, and renovation projects and products. The platform also allows assessment of circularity, life-cycle cost, and biodiversity. One Click LCA is used by blue-chip enterprises like Skanska, WSP, Foster+Partners, LafargeHolcim, ArcelorMittal, Arcadis, ARUP, Geberit, and Saint-Gobain, among others. It offers a unique global database with +250,000 LCA datasets; supports +80 standards and certifications, including LEED, BREEAM, GRESB and other national regulations; and seamlessly integrates with +20 of the most widely used BIM software tools, including Autodesk Revit®, Tekla Structures® and Bentley iTwin®. One Click LCA was founded in Helsinki, Finland in 2001, with a team of +200 people on all continents. Learn more at: oneclicklca.com
About Schneider Electric
Schneider’s purpose is to create Impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability. At Schneider, we call this Life Is On.
Our mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency.
We are a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by our deep domain expertise, we provide integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for our customers.
We are a people company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable future for all.
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Schneider Electric advances environmental impact transparency in MEP by sharing product data through One Click LCA (Graphic: Business Wire)
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia is suspending talks on its bid to join the European Union for four years, its prime minister said Thursday, in view of what he described as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc's politicians, an announcement that outraged the opposition and triggered a new wave of protests.
The statement by Irakli Kobakhidze came hours after he was reappointed to the job by members of the governing Georgian Dream party after its disputed victory in last month’s parliamentary election that has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.
The Oct. 26 election was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit, and declared a boycott of parliament.
European election observers said the balloting took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.
The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that the country meets its recommendations but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.
In Thursday’s statement, Kobakhidze said that while the country will pursue its bid to join the EU, “it will not put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”
“Additionally, we are rejecting any budgetary grants from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he added.
Hundreds of protesters poured into the streets following Kobakhidze's announcement, blocking a central avenue in Tbilisi and staging rallies in other cities.
Earlier Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s Georgian parliamentary vote as neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”
EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.
The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”
“We will continue on our path toward the European Union; however, we will not allow anyone to keep us in a constant state of blackmail and manipulation, which is utterly disrespectful to our country and society,” Kobakhidze said. “We must clearly show certain European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they must speak to Georgia with dignity, not through blackmail and insults.”
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Speaking in parliament earlier tin the day, Kobakhidze described last month’s parliamentary vote as “also a referendum between immoral propaganda and traditional values, and our society chose traditional values.”
The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
President Salome Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy. She called a meeting with EU ambassadors after Kobakhidze's announcement.
Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.
On Wednesday, the ruling party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the mostly ceremonial presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.
A woman with a EU and a Georgian national flags stands in front of police blocking a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)
A protester holds a poster as they gather in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
Police block protesters gathered in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)
In this photo released by the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the created Georgian Dream party which he initiated, left, gestures as Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the governing Georgian Dream party, sits next during a session to discussing Presidential candidate in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (Georgian Dream party via AP)
In this photo released by the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the created Georgian Dream party which he initiated, applauds to Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the governing Georgian Dream party during a session to discussing Presidential candidate in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (Georgian Dream party via AP)
In this photo released by the Georgian Dream party, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, left, Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the created Georgian Dream party which he initiated, and Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the governing Georgian Dream party as a candidate for the presidential election, speak to the media, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (Georgian Dream party via AP)
