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The first day of spring seems like the perfect time to formally announce a Canadian partnership which will create new opportunities for sustainable development and innovation. Today, together with Schneider Electric, we announced a Canadian partnership that will create new opportunities in the development of smart buildings and smart communities across Canada, and have a positive impact on the environment by improving energy efficiency.
Appropriately, we announced our Canadian partnership at Collaboration for a Sustainable Future at the Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology, one of the most efficient buildings in the world and a leader in innovative water, energy conservation and comfort strategies. Cisco and Schneider Electric have each been working with Earth Rangers for a number of years, and many of our collaborative solutions can be seen in the Centre.
![We also announced the deployment of Cisco TelePresence technology at the Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology, which will continue our devotion to sustainability by cutting down on travel.](https://alln-extcloud-storage.cisco.com/Cisco_Blogs:gblogs/sites/50/2014/03/earth-rangers-tp-1024x768.jpg)
We also announced the deployment of Cisco TelePresence technology at the Earth Rangers Centre for Sustainable Technology, which will continue our devotion to sustainability by cutting down on travel.
The world will spend more money on energy in the next 40 years than it has in the previous 400. This massive increase in demand creates challenges with generation, distribution and CO2 emissions. In order to address this dilemma we need to eliminate waste and reduce demand, while managing to improve profitability and resource productivity.
Schneider Electric and Cisco believe conservation efforts will build a route to a sustainable future. Schneider Electric has developed solutions to address this growing demand, while we’ve been working hard at Cisco to develop sustainable technologies to show people that technology can work for the environment, and not against it.
This has been the driving force behind our Smart+Connected Communities solutions: devising methods to better monitor and control energy output to ensure economic, social and environmental sustainability.
This vision is shared by Earth Rangers and Schneider Electric, so it’s no surprise that we have established a strong working relationship. Like us, Schneider believes cities hold the key to energy sustainability and it’s our job to make sure they become smarter through technology. This shared vision of sustainable development and innovation forms the cornerstone of our new Canadian partnership.
It’s also an important step to further the possibilities made available by the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE plays a crucial role in sustainable technology and we want to ensure Canadian businesses are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities it offers. Over the next few years, more and more items will be connected to the Internet that can have a tremendous impact on the environment: anything from refrigerators to cars to building heating systems.
Cisco and Schneider have already enjoyed success working together in other parts of the world. Now we will be offering Canadian businesses the opportunity to share in our expertise for business development, solution creation, go-to-market strategies and customer pursuits. Ultimately, they will benefit from integrated and seamless technology solutions which will help them complete projects faster, improve energy efficiency and manage their business more effectively.
I welcome your comments and questions on this announcement in the comments section below, and stay tuned for more from Cisco and Schneider Electric in the future.