Cisco Canada and Canadian Green Building Council partner in pursuit of greener and smarter Buildings
The annual Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) conference in Vancouver this week (June 4 – 6) marked the inauguration of an exciting industry partnership between Cisco Canada and the CaGBC.
Smarter buildings are green buildings. This is not the first time you will have heard of this. As buildings are increasingly infused with leading edge information technology to provide for more economic (cost savings, efficiency, operations) and social (flexity, mobility, experience) infrastructure, so also we see a rapidly increasing opportunity to address the environmental aspects of our built environment (for instance, energy management and carbon reduction).
Building systems are entering the world of the Internet at an accelerated pace; the first Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Internet Protocol (IP) door locks, HVAC controllers, light fixtures, power meters and security systems are available and demonstrating tremendous impact on cost and energy reduction. Companies like Cisco are carving out their niche to play an instrumental role in smart and connected buildings: not only how buildings are used, but how they’re designed, built and operated – changing the real estate lifecycle in unprecedented ways.
Cisco continues to build strong partnerships with building automation companies to support the transition from silo-ed and proprietary “systems” to open, flexible, and integrated building “platforms”. Already, firms like Johnson Controls, Honeywell, and Schneider Electric have entered exciting partnerships with Cisco.
In May 2013 Cisco announced its intent to acquire Joulex, a network energy management platform that will be further embedded in Cisco’s switching environment. With the inclusion of comprehensive and holistic energy services baked into the network (a building’s fourth utility) and our growing partnerships with automation and energy companies, the network is becoming increasingly relevant for achieving environmental sustainability in our built environment. [Come check this out in the Cisco Canada Toronto S+CC Innovation Centre]
In addition to product development, acquisition, and partnerships, Cisco is also increasingly involved in the research and development of energy transformation. In the fall of 2012, we partnered with the University of Waterloo on a Cisco Research Chair in Smart Grid (note: Smart and Green buildings are required for grid modernization). On May 27th of this year, Cisco signed a partnership with the University of British Columbia to focus on research and development in smart buildings and energy management. The initial focus of this partnership is on the creation of IP-networked buildings that are fully Powered over Ethernet, having an unbelievable power and cost reduction impact.
It is with all these groundbreaking initiatives that Cisco is proud to now team with the Canadian Green Building Council. This relationship is about forming the “Human Network” that will further advance and accelerate the education, awareness and validation of the role of ICT in creating green (and smarter) buildings. Cisco was a premier partner of the 2013 CaGBC Annual conference, and will collaborate with CaGBC on a series of exciting thought leadership and knowledge transfer initiatives for all CaGBC members.
Keep following us, and the development of all these industry relationships. It’s only when we all come together and rally around a vision and uniform strategy that we will have the greatest impact on transforming an industry that so badly needs it.
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