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Welcome to rethinking, where we're talking about global thinking and local delivery around environment, health and safety and sustainability.
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This is a bonus episode talking about energy resilience. And we're going to look at a case study today about a multinational organization, specifically in Switzerland, looking at some of the challenges, but also some of the solutions and options that were available to this particular company, as well as the regulations that either gave them opportunities or also helped guide them in some of those options.
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I'm joined today by two of my colleagues from Switzerland. I have Maria Rosaria as well as Sofiane. Welcome to both of you. Very happy to have you join us on this bonus episode today.
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Thank you.
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Hello.
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All right. Well let's kick this off. So energy. It has been a hot topic and it always is a hot topic in recent times. But if we could start with let's get a little bit of background on this project. You know the multinational clients. What are some of the specific challenges that we're faced and what this organization did to address some of those?
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The study I would like to discuss today concerns large energy consumers in Switzerland. Large energy consumers are companies that exceed an annual heat consumption of five gigawatt hours, or an annual electricity consumption of 0.5GW hours at a single site. These companies are subject to to specific legal obligations to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions. As you know, is a Europe, but it is not a member of EU.
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So coming back to the case study, the client, this client reached out to us and informed us that one of their sites in Switzerland likely met the definition of a large energy consumer. So, as mentioned before, by meeting the definition of a large energy consumer, the company is obligated to take action implementing reasonable measures.
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For example, machinery optimization, heat recovery, insulation in order to optimize energy consumption. But what are the options, the pathways that a company as a large energy consumer needs to follow? Switzerland.
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So basically there are 2 or 3 options.
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I'm saying 2 or 3 because not all the cantons offer these three options. So the first pathway is a target agreement. And this means for the company, the large energy consumer to enter into a formal agreement to achieve specific efficiency targets.
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The second option is a cantonal option and it's an energy consumption analysis. This means for the company to undergo periodic energy audits and develop an action plan to submit to the cantonal authority. The third option is the one that not all the cantons offer is similar to the first option, in the sense that it's still a target agreement, but in this case with the canton.
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How do you help them make those decisions? Is it based on the risk? Is it more of a regulatory driven? What allows them to really choose from one of those options?
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I will say that in in this case the client I mean we were involved until this step in the sense that we asked the client to make a decision and most likely the client wanted to choose the cantonal option. And this makes sense in this case, because the client had only one side.
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And so the first option, which is let's say the target agreement, would make more sense when there are different sites in different cantons. So yeah, let's say, as I said, that there is not a wrong option. But for example, I will say that the first option as a is more flexible and it's recommended in case there are different sites in different cantons.
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It is that. That's like a county, right? That would be a smaller jurisdiction within Switzerland, right? Is what you're referring to.
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26. Okay, perfect.
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Even if Switzerland is, let's say a small country, there are 26 cantons. As, as I said before, not all the cantons offer the, the three options. Some of them offer only the first two options, but not the the third option. It means the agreement with the canton.
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And that points out the nuances of, say, a local regulation versus, say, a global regulation. And I know Switzerland has always been quite a leader in sustainable construction. I think that's something that Switzerland is well known for. And there are certain standards that are local and that of course, we know some global standards like leads. Could you maybe help?
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I don't know, Sophia. This would be better for you to answer. But how do those regulations impact projects like this? Specifically in Switzerland, but elsewhere as well?
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The global certification. The lead one. This is leadership in energy and Environmental design for the world's most widely used green building rating system. Think of it as nutrition label for buildings. It provides a framework for designing, constructing and operating LC highly efficient and cost saving green building. So why does it matter? So buildings account for a massive portion of global energy use on carbon emissions.
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Or Lead certification ensures that space is built and operated with human health and the environment in mind. So how does it work? You can be certified so it's based on the total point points achieved. So it goes from the platinum gold silver certified. If we go in the in in the the opposite way. So depending of the points you hand you have this kind of certification.
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So certification looks at the entire life cycle of building. By grading it on these main categories. You have energy and atmosphere, water efficiency, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and sustainable sites and location. So why do people seek lead certification? Because you have lower operating costs, better health and environmental protection. And I do.
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Thank you to both of you, Sofia and Maria. Rosaria. Really appreciate you joining me today, hearing your perspective and the case study. Certainly, I think for this bonus episode, being able to share real, real world examples is, is always very helpful. So thank you very much.
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And as we celebrate 25 years of the injured Alliance, you know this series as a reflection of what makes our network unique.
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You know, it's that global perspective, that local expertise, it's collaboration across borders. I think for us, this is really a way for us to show that we think we can make a true difference in leaning in to build a more resilient planet for all. So thank you very much for joining, and I look forward to seeing you at the next episode.
