Investment in sustainability tech to rebound in 2022

The UK, France, Japan and the US are expected to lead rest of the world in plans to increase investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy or smart building technology. 

The 15th Annual Energy Efficiency Indicator Survey from Johnosn Controls revealed that 62 per cent of organisations surveyed expect to increase investments in these areas in 2022, indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels. 

However, the survey found that orgainisations are still facing challenges to accelerate their sustainability efforts in key areas. Almost two-thirds of survey respondents say they struggle to scale sustainability initiatives across buildings, geographies, or business units.

Almost half of the respondents say their top barrier to pursue energy and building technology improvements is either a lack of funding to pay for improvements (25 per cent) or uncertainty in their return-on-investment (23 per cent).

More than a third of respondents plan to replace fossil fuel heating equipment with heat pump technology in the next year, which is 7 per cent more than what was implemented in the year prior. Notably, thermal energy storage jumped from 27 per cent to 42 per cent in the last five years. More than half of respondents implemented electric energy storage in the past year.

The survey also found that the United States and Europe still lead the way in every metric of green building planning. The US had the most respondents who had already achieved green building certification and expect to have a net zero energy or carbon building in the next ten years. Europe had the most respondents planning to attain green building certifications and the most respondents who have established public energy/carbon reduction goals, with UK leading with 46 per cent established goals.

Compared to its global counterparts, significantly more respondents in the U.S. plan to implement measures such as building controls improvements, onsite renewable energy, and energy management process such as  ISO 50001. 

“In the face of the multiple and continuous shock waves of the last two years, it is very encouraging to see that building owners and operators are driving forward the kinds of investments that deliver the resilience needed to grow their business and attract and retain the best talent,” said Katie McGinty, vice president & chief sustainability and external relations officer at Johnson Controls. “It is clear that taking action to cut energy demand while decarbonizing and cleaning the air are core strategies for companies, governments and institutions to not only survive but to thrive.”