Roadmap to Decarbonization

Carrier’s product sustainability leader outlines the company’s plan to meet net zero goals.

As the building industry makes progress on decarbonization goals, companies are investing in research and development of low carbon products, reduced emissions during manufacturing, and research on further reduction of embodied and operational carbon. 

“We know that HVAC systems account for 40% of building energy use, so at Carrier we believe we have a moral imperative for climate action,” says Ravi Annapragada, Director of Product Sustainability, Carrier. “Internally, we have set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals, including a target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

Carrier’s goals have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and the company is on track to help their customers avoid more than one gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Annapragada says.

Carrier’s progress on the path to decarbonization led to the company earning recognition as a Green Builder Media 2024 Eco-Leader.

Mapping a Path to Net Zero

While Carrier has already helped customers save more than 400 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the company plans to increase its sustainability focused research and development investments to $4 billion by 2030.

Carrier’s path to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 includes four main pillars, Annapragada says.

“The first pillar is through electrification, especially of our heating systems,” he says. “The second one is to reduce the refrigerant and related greenhouse gas emissions by switching to lower GWP refrigerants.”

The third pillar, which Annapragada says is particularly important, is to convert all HVAC systems to electric, then to make sure the electricity being used is renewable.

“In addition, the introduction of digitally enabled energy management solutions, which can optimize the carbon footprint of the electric systems, is key,” he says. “The fourth pillar focuses on sustainable materials, making sure that we are using more sustainable materials in our manufacturing processes.”

Tracing the Life Cycle of Products for Sustainability

An important step to reach a net zero carbon-built environment is the specification of low carbon products. Environmental product declarations (EPDs) play a pivotal role in the transition to net zero by providing building industry professionals and consumers with information they need to make knowledgeable decisions. 

‘At Carrier we aim to provide the best products for not just our customers, but for the environment,” Annapragada says. “One important way to show that is through transparency about the lifecycle impact of our products on greenhouse gas emissions, energy usage and water consumption.”

Carrier has over 48 EPDs on a wide range of their products. Their EPDs align with the ISO 14025 standard and the relevant Product Category Rules (PCR), which allow for review and comparison of different environmental product attributes among products in a defined category, for each of its EPDs.

“For example, our 19 MV water cooled chiller has a near zero GWP [global warming potential] refrigerant option,” Annapragada says. “These systems are also quite efficient and well above the regulatory minimums in terms of efficiency and refrigerant choices.”

Trends in Decarbonization

Building industry professionals and manufacturers have a variety of reasons to invest in sustainability, including their commitment to the environment, customer demand, improving their efficiency and meeting regulatory standards. In the HVAC industry, new regulations are in place for refrigerants. 

“Normally refrigerants have a huge multiplier effect on the carbon footprint,” Annapragada says. “Moving to lower GWP refrigerants is being mandated across the globe in line with the Kigali agreement. As we transition to lower GWP refrigerants, we need to balance direct emissions and indirect emissions, because as you change the refrigerant, the efficiency of the system also changes.”

Overall, targeting net zero in the building industry has become a megatrend, Annapragada says.

“The onus is on us now to scale up that next set of technologies, which are net zero capable,” he says. “There's also huge emphasis on improving the transparency of our systems. Customers are now demanding EPDs for our products. In some cases, especially in the EU, there’s a push to regulate products and require EPDs.”

A corollary megatrend is electrification, Annapragada says.

“As we are electrifying products like heating systems and installing more cold climate heat pumps, the load on the grid is increasing,” he says. “At the same time, with the hyper growth in AI data centers, the burden on the grid gets worse. There's a huge need for our systems to be more resilient. And so, demand side flexibility is one of the key things that is becoming truly important to be able to manage the loads on the grid.”

Innovations for the Housing Sector

While many people think about extreme temperatures in terms of heat, cold climates are also in critical need of sustainable solutions for heat without the use of fossil fuels. 

“Cold climate heat pumps are becoming a critical need,” Annapragada says. “We achieved the U.S. Department of Energy cold climate heat pump challenge by validating that our Infinity® variable speed heat pump can operate at 100% capacity at even zero degrees Fahrenheit. The first DOE challenge designated cold climate heat pumps are slated for production this month at Carrier's Collierville, Tenn., factory.” 

The next critical step, Annapragada believes, is to integrate these systems with connectivity so they can be operated optimally and be used to help build resiliency.

“Resiliency of our products is going to be key as more products get electrified,” Annapragada says. “If you don't have a flexible system, that is going to increasingly burden the grid at peak hours. We’re looking at integrated heat pump solutions with battery storage so that you can move the energy consumption of the heat pumps from the peak times to off-peak times. You can also move the energy consumption to times of the day when you have more renewables in the mix, which can help with the overall decarbonization of the grid.”

Innovations such as connecting their products to demand side energy management systems and storage systems, along with EPDs, demonstrate Carrier’s ongoing commitment to sustainability.

Watch the video to learn more about Carrier’s innovative future plans .