Green Builder Media’s 9th annual Sustainability Symposium 2025: A Force of Nature, a free, virtual event on April 30 and May 1 from 12-3 ET, will explore what it truly means to move beyond incremental change.
From fully circular products to phase-change materials and AI-driven smart systems, the Symposium will offer ideas and solutions that don’t just tweak at the margins but rather overhaul the entire model for how we design, build, and live.One of the leaders helping to usher in this new era is Scott Tew, VP of Sustainability for Trane Technologies. Scott will present a session at the Symposium, ClimateTech Evolution, on May 1 at 12:30 ET, during which he will address how circularity can shift from pipe dream to profit center.
“Circularity used to feel like pie in the sky,” Scott told me in a recent interview. “But things have changed. It’s not just possible now—it’s becoming a profit center. We’re finding that circularity isn’t just good for the planet. It creates real business opportunities. It’s a new form of value creation.”
COGNITION Smart Data reveals that 81% of consumers are more likely to purchase from companies that actively reduce waste and promote product reuse. Circularity isn’t just good ethics—it’s good business.
Scott believes that reinvention starts with materials. “At Trane Technologies, we’re now questioning everything we use. We’re asking hard questions about materials as well as suppliers.”
He shared a telling example: the base pad used in residential outdoor AC units. Historically, it included glass fiber, making it impossible to recycle. “Now, we’re asking—why not reengineer that component for end-of-life recyclability? It’s not just about recycling—it’s about preventing environmental extraction in the first place. Why are we still specifying virgin copper when recycled copper performs just as well?”
Scott’s forecast for the defining innovation of the next decade: digital enhancements. He asserts that AI is the next frontier.
According to Scott, the evolution of smart buildings is only now starting to fulfill its promise. “In the past, we used the term ‘smart buildings’ too early. Now we’re seeing what that actually means—systems that self-diagnose, predict failures, and optimize themselves in real-time, delivering efficiencies we didn’t think possible.”
We’re honored to have Scott join us again this year for the Sustainability Symposium, bringing bold ideas and real-world experience to a conversation that demands urgency and ambition.
Don’t miss Scott’s session, because when ClimateTech evolves, so does everything else.
Register now. Be a force of nature.
Believe me, this is an event you don’t want to miss.
A heartfelt thank you to Trane Technologies and Whirlpool Corporation for their continued support of our annual Sustainability Symposium, as well as their commitment to corporate sustainability.