Dubai, UAE, 10 July 2018: Ingersoll Rand has pledged to invest USD 500 million in product-related research and development by 2020 to fund the long-term reduction of GHG emissions, said Johan Samuelsson, Vice President and General Manager, Trane, MEA. Speaking on the recent initiatives, Samuelsson stressed that sustainability has been factored into the Ingersoll Rand Product Development Process. “Ingersoll Rand’s Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (CEES),” he said, “partnered with UL Environment (ULE) to develop the exclusive Design for Sustainability (DfS) Certificate Program.”

Elaborating on the programme, Samuelsson said that DfS advocates for sustainability with product design teams, customers and markets; analyses and articulates market-specific value propositions of sustainability; expands risk and opportunity assessments to include sustainability; incorporates sustainability related attributes into all product design  and understand the trade-offs and opportunities during the product design stage.

Samuelsson added that in view of Ingersoll Rand’s commitment to cut the GHG footprint  refrigerant-bearing products by 50% by 2020 and incorporate lower global warming potential (GWP) alternatives in the portfolio by 2030, the company is “transitioning to lower GWP refrigerants – without safety, efficiency or other tradeoffs – faster than required”. Samuelsson said, “We have already introduced several products in our EcoWise portfolio as part of this commitment, resulting in positive customer reactions from all over the world to both the climate-friendly nature and overall lifecycle performance of these products.”

Samuelsson said that the company’s proactive move to advance its sustainability objectives has also trickled down to its supplier base and measure what matters. “We have collaborated with our preferred suppliers,” he said, “to jointly own goals around sustainability and identify solutions – whether it’s sourcing materials from new places or improving packaging.”

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com