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February 12, 2026
Turning Decarbonization Into a Long-Term Business Advantage
From efficiency to heat recovery, decarbonization can unlock operational savings. Discover how smarter systems, energy-saving strategies and innovative technologies are generating positive climate outcomes and business value.
Some decision-makers might view decarbonization as a compliance box to check or a constraint to manage. But, when we look closely at what’s happening inside buildings, across markets and within organizations, a different story emerges. Viewed through the lens of creating business value, decarbonization is an opportunity to rethink how we operate our built environment and what will make those systems more cost-effective while also reducing emissions. Decarbonization isn’t just a sustainability term, but an opportunity to create value.
On our podcast, Cool Air, Hot Takes, we talk about subjects ranging from AI to venture capital and then connect the dots on how those forces relate to the built environment. Decarbonization is one of the most exciting topics we cover: what it means, how it works and what technologies can help companies decarbonize while making operations more efficient.
What is decarbonization?
At its core, decarbonization is about reducing (and ultimately eliminating) emissions. Often, people hear about decarbonizing buildings and assume that it means an immediate leap to all-electric systems or a complete redesign of existing infrastructure, but that’s not the reality. Organizations are already decarbonizing, often without calling it that, simply by making systems more efficient and more intelligent.
Molly Ramasamy, the director of deep carbon reduction at Jaros, Baum & Bolles, recently joined us on the podcast and shared her perspective that decarbonization is one of HVAC's biggest opportunities. Small operational improvements, equipment innovations and smarter controls can create meaningful efficiency gains and cost savings. Even improving simple maintenance processes can reduce energy use and emissions over time.
The most successful projects begin with questions, not solutions. How does the building actually operate today? Where is energy being used inefficiently? Where is heat being wasted that could be recovered and reused? When teams slow down enough to ask these questions, opportunities for cost efficiencies and decarbonization often quickly surface.
After teams identify those opportunities, they can map key priorities. Some organizations see results from efficiency improvements that reduce energy use and cost. Others prioritize a rethink of how the building meets heating needs or how to leverage waste heat. In many cases, the process involves examining where energy comes from and how it is procured over time.
Decarbonization is HVAC's biggest opportunity.
Charlie Jelen
Co-Host Cool Air, Hot Takes podcast, Trane Technologies
Decarbonization in action
The most rewarding part of our work is when we see these innovations applied in projects that move the needle on decarbonization. One example is our work with EnerSys, a global battery manufacturer with a strong commitment to reducing fossil fuel use and achieving net-zero operations. Their team knew they would need to electrify heating, but standard financial models always favored energy efficiency projects.
Together, we took a systemic approach to decarbonization across the company’s facilities and created what was essentially an internal green bank that used the savings from energy efficiency projects to fund electrification. It is a powerful model of decarbonization solutions at the enterprise level, where each project generates financial resources for the next.
Another story comes from our colleague Emma Van Fossen, a Trane Technologies energy engineering team lead. Her team redesigned a customer’s HVAC system to eliminate on-site natural gas needs. After implementation, the building significantly reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and those emissions are projected to keep falling in the years ahead. Learn more about how Emma Van Fossen helps make buildings greener.
Heat recovery is another good example. Reusing the thermal energy already present in a building is often a good entry point into electrification. It reduces fossil fuel use, improves system performance, and sets the stage for subsequent decarbonization strategies.
I always think of heat recovery as the first step for chiller plants to take in their journey to decarbonization.
Dan Gentry
Co-Host Cool Air, Hot Takes podcast, Trane Technologies
A recent heat recovery case study comes from a project in Maine. Trane Technologies partnered with the local team to design a new state-of-the-art high school with a goal of all-electric operations. Using our Storage Source Heat Pump system, the team combined heat recovery chillers, air-to-water heat pumps and thermal storage to create an all-electric heating and cooling solution.
As we tested similar systems in our own facilities, we shared lessons learned and helped refine the design, creating a model that balanced decarbonization goals with performance and smart lifetime cost management.
Decarbonization is both a process and a goal
We are operating in a time of deep innovation and change in the HVAC sector. As innovation in AI and data analytics accelerates and new product technologies evolve, we will see more breakthroughs that create efficiency and cost savings while helping reduce climate impact.
Decarbonization is an opportunity for our industry: a chance to rethink how buildings operate, deliver value in new ways and help organizations move forward with confidence. Ultimately, decarbonization is not about doing everything at once. Progress, one practical step at a time, matters more than perfection.
Meet the hosts of the Cool Air, Hot Takes podcast, Charlie Jelen and Dan Gentry, both experts in a broad range of HVAC topics from microprocessors to the largest chilled water systems in the world at Trane Technologies. And to learn more, listen to the Healthy Spaces podcast episode, "Get the Scoop on Decarbonization."
The future is ours to create.
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