The KPIs we establish for every edition or cycle of the Climate Control Awards reflect the editorial aspirations of Climate Control Middle East magazine. Whilst the broad parameters are socio-economic and sustainable development, the granular perspective probes the specific measures being taken to solve existential problems that concern many pockets of society. For instance, what is the HVACR industry doing to stop interfering with Nature in the name of providing comfort cooling and process cooling? What is it doing to protect physiological and mental health and to ensure optimal productivity? And what is it doing to minimise food loss and food waste – to the extent possible, given that other factors, including energy management, the peculiarity of our habitats and behavioural issues, add to the complexity of the twin problems?

As a magazine, our engagement is with the gaps and shortcomings the HVACR industry is either seeking to bridge and overcome or to altogether avoid; the latter is a cause for concern and provides a fertile ground for harvesting KPIs. Of course, it would be a travesty of justice to suggest the industry, on its own, is sidestepping the issues it ought to grapple with, for after all, it is part of a larger scheme of things populated by conflicting factors, but still there is so much it can do to mitigate the situation.

Surendar Balakrishnan

Around the time of the New Year festivities came the heartening news of an assessment that the hole in the ozone layer is on the mend and that it would likely recover to the situation that existed in 1980 by the year 2045 over the Arctic and by 2066 over Antarctica. Now, if the world manages to hold the course, that’s an achievement the industry can be proud of, as it has worked so closely and profoundly in minimising the use of the causative chemicals.

The battle against climate change and the striving for better Indoor Air Quality demand similar – perhaps deeper – coordination of efforts and the willingness to look beyond prejudices, geopolitical limitations, existing global financial structures and corporate vested interests. The prejudices and other negatives permeate multiple layers of political structures to such an extent that the HVACR industry finds itself caught in the grip. And so, there is a need for a change in thinking to happen at the very top and for that to trickle down to the consciousness of the industry. That change in thinking would be based on scientific merit, open-mindedness and abolition of regional insecurities – the last a possibility only if the world sincerely aims for equitable growth.