Name: Johnson Controls tells CEOs 'Act Now' to solve the climate crisis
Uploaded: 2021-12-09
Duration: 8 min 43 s
Description: CEO George Oliver says he has the technology to create buildings with net zero emissions.

CEO George Oliver says he has the technology to create buildings with net zero emissions.

Johnson Controls tells CEOs "Act Now" to solve the climate crisis

Leadership

Johnson Controls tells CEOs "Act Now" on climate crisis

Johnson Controls tells CEOs "Act Now" to solve climate crisis

George, thank you so much for joining us to talk about johnson controls and climate change. Recently, you played a very active role in the United Nations climate Summit in Glasgow, and the headlines were encouraging governments and corporations around the world reaching an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But the big question that many people were asking is that are all these promises and pledges going to lead to meaningful action, what can we expect, what's your take on all this? I'm extremely encouraged, I think, um you know, when you look at the problem, we're trying to solve, it is big, it is global and it does require all constituents to come together and be aligned and how the problem is going to be solved. And I think what has changed here over the last, it's really been the last 12, months where not only our government stepping up and making commitments to achieving their goals and in supporting the paris accord and ultimately the overall commitment to climate change, but I think what I've seen is is that combined now with companies and corporations stepping up and understanding that the problem is real. It's it's, you know, the there needs to be urgency and how we're solving the problem. I'm gonna have to be solved. Looking at ecosystems where you look at the, the overall, you know, front and back, um, you know, supply chains and overall industries, and I think there's a genuine commitment now to solving the problem. I think now it's it's more about the, how, you know, how the problem can be solved. How, how all of the different constituencies come together and then develop a roadmap and then begin to execute, I'm sure you heard that there were a lot of experts who are saying that this agreement was a compromise. They wanted bigger, bolder cuts and more money to do the job. What do you say to that? I think, you know, when you look at the overall commitments, I think they are bold across the board and I think at the end of the day there's there's real understanding of the problem and I think now demonstrating the bold commitments and how we're going to go about solving the problem because it is going to require, you know, the the right amount of regulation and over from a policy making standpoint, the right policy combined with the, you know, the right um innovation and technology and new business models and like I say, you know, full front to back, you know, solutions that ultimately solve the problem. I understand there were a lot of Fortune 500 ceos at this meeting, one of them Scott Kirby of United Airlines was a strong advocate for all the things that you're talking about. What were other ceos telling you at the meeting, this full commitment across the business community and ultimately what we're setting out to do. And I think we all recognize that the business community plays a huge role uh and how the problems are solved. And I think it's built on not only the making sure we're getting the right re investment in innovation and technology and in developing new solutions, but then working with all of our customers so that as we look at the problem, we're balanced, you know, with the approach and how we we go about solving the problem so that we can obviously minimize the economic impact or while we're solving the problem, be able to generate positive economic impact. So clearly all of these developments are good for your company and the business here in tell our viewers exactly what does johnson controls do? Johnson controls is a global leader in smart, healthy, sustainable building technology solutions. We've been in business for over 130 years and we've got about 100,000 employees globally that are very passionate about what we do for our customers, were very much focused on sustainability and it has been part of our business for for decades. We've made incredible progress over the last two decades, reducing our our uh Carbon emissions by up to about 70%. Um and a lot of what we do is actually invest in technology and innovation that allows us to be able to take the multiple systems within the building, bring those together into one platform and then utilize the data to be able to create new outcomes. So with all this new interest and passion to reduce carbon emissions. I bet your phone is just ringing off the hook with new customers. What's in the reaction? Absolutely. You know, we just did our recent earnings and we communicated that we have a backlog that's up double digit where we're getting good traction with the new technologies and new solutions that we're bringing into the market. We've got a lot of excitement around the company relative to what we're doing and so what I would also tell you Suzie is that we're maybe historically buildings have been served at a lower level has been more viewed as a cost or balance sheet item within our customers. It has now become much more strategic and so as health of that, the engagement that I'm having at the most senior levels within our customers, engaging in what the future is for their buildings and how do they get to net zero carbon emissions and how do they make their buildings the healthiest and safest buildings? Um, yes, those engagements are have significantly accelerated. I was surprised to hear you mentioned this statistic to investors recently that buildings represent about 40% of global greenhouse emissions and you said that we really can't tackle climate change without making substantial investment in buildings. Well, you know, that's a tall order for many companies who want to be environmentally responsible. But just the whole idea that you have to redesign and Dick carbonized an existing building. It just is overwhelming in terms of cost and in terms of complications how do you get ceos on board to take this on? We have the technology today and we're deploying that technology successfully to be able to solve the problem that this is a big headache for our customers when you look at the order of magnitude of the problem. But actually with the inefficiency that exists within a building today, we can go in, we can upgrade retrofit, we can deploy our digital platform, we can begin to put the data to work and ultimately change the outcomes and reduce energy by 50%. And so we have the ability now to create Net Net zero buildings as a service, including financing that over a period of time, we can ultimately deploy a solution and get an economic return for our customers. So although it seems like a big problem to solve that, we have the capabilities in the business models today to work with our customers to ultimately achieve that end result. So we're working hard to get our customers educated and ultimately begin to deploy Now, this combined capability that I believe is going to fundamentally change the game. And to what extent do you think that the recent signing of the infrastructure bill will also motivate many members of the business community to get on board with making these environmental changes. I think it's a huge catalyst I think with the resource deployment through this bill is focused on the in the right areas which are buildings and infrastructure where we can not only upgrade the infrastructure but make it much more sustainable and being able to achieve, achieve our climate goals pretty much across the board. So this is a huge catalyst, who to really begin to act George Besides being the ceo of johnson controls, you're also the chairman of the Business Roundtable's Committee for Energy and Environment, so you're in a position that many business leaders look to you for guidance and advice on all of these kinds of issues. What is the single most important thing that you say to them, especially the ones that are on the sidelines and, you know, just kind of in a cautious wait and see mode, what do you say to them so that they'll take action? So I would say move now, what I would say, there's a genuine opportunity to refresh your business, energize your teams, it's creating a lot of momentum across the globe, um that most businesses, I think the businesses that take a leadership position and get to the solution first are going to be the ones that are going to be advantaged. It's going to be great for the planet. It's going to be good for the bottom line. So there's really no reason to wait. I like to encourage that the idea of, of acting now is gonna position you in a much better place in a much better competitive place on a go forward basis, no matter what industry that you're in