NEWS UPDATE GOVERNMENT POLICY In Brief


● The latest sustainability report from LG Electronics reveals strong progress towards its 2030 environmental targets, with Scope 1 and 2 emissions nearing its goal, a 19.4% reduction in product carbon emissions since 2020, a 97.4% waste recycling rate in 2024, and a 36% year-on-year increase in recycled plastic use.


● Visitor registration is now open for the Smart Buildings Show 2025, taking place at ExCeL London on 15-16 October 2025. The event is the UK’s only dedicated commercial smart buildings conference and exhibition and attracts over 3,500 attendees. For full details and registration please visit: https:// smartbuildingsshow.com.


● Siemens and Microsoft have announced a collaboration to enable interoperability between Siemens’ Building X platform and Microsoft Azure IoT Operations, aiming to improve integration of IoT data for buildings and reduce integration efforts by up to 80% using open standards, such as W3C Thing Descriptions and OPC UA PubSub.


● Critical engineering services provider, MARCH, has acquired Quantum Controls Limited and Q Electrical Industrial Services Limited, to expand its offering to clients. The acquisition strengthens MARCH’s asset care, energy efficiency and sustainability services, particularly in the water utility sector. Quantum’s management team will remain in place to ensure continuity.


● Clean Energy Capital has rebranded as Xela Energy, reflecting the organisation’s transformation into an Enterprise Independent Power Provider (EIPP). The company develops, owns and operates private wire renewable energy infrastructure for large UK consumers, including data centres and manufacturers. Xela Energy offers fully funded, scalable and cost-effective solutions to support decarbonisation, energy security and price stability without upfront capital costs.


● Whitecode Consulting, a building services engineering company, has received the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Endorsed Organisation certificate. The endorsement recognises the company’s compliance with CIBSE’s standards for professionalism and best practice in building services engineering.


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Germany looks set to back-track on energy targets


For years, Germany has been rated amongst the most ambitious in Europe in driving forward both energy efficiency and renewable technologies. Now, however, Germany‘s new right-wing government is signalling its intention to pull back on implementation. Its powerful economic affairs


minister, Katherina Reiche, a Christian Democrat, has launched a “reality check” on the country’s “green electricity expansion”, due by the end of August. The review aims to assess how the “transformation of the energy system for climate protection purposes” can become more “affordable and reliable” for households


and ensure security of supply, while implementing national and European climate targets,” the review’s terms of reference state. According to the ministry, the evaluation will examine whether the government’s “previous” energy targets are “achievable, coherent and cost-effective”. Germany’s Greens, no longer in


and businesses. Significantly, it is to be conducted not by civil servants but by “expert institutes” selected by Reiche. “Based on the inventory, the question


is whether a reorientation of energy policy is necessary to minimise costs


maintenance Chiller maintenance demand is soaring across the UK as a second 2025 heatwave grips the country, and building systems struggle to keep up. New data from HVAC specialist Klima-Therm reveal online searches for ‘chiller maintenance’ jumped 86% in April and May compared to last year, a sign that rising temperatures are catching many facilities off guard. It follows one of the hottest springs on record. According


to the Met Office, spring is now the UK’s fastest-warming season, with average temperatures climbing by nearly 2°C since the 1970s. Eight of the ten warmest springs have occurred since 2000. Despite this, maintenance schedules are struggling to keep pace. Searches for “chiller repair near me” are up 200% since 2021 – pointing to a reactive, last-minute approach to essential HVAC upkeep. Tim Mitchell, sales director at Klima-Therm, warns that


building operators are not responding fast enough to shifting seasonal patterns: “Climate change is sadly an undeniable reality and we have to change our behaviour to prepare ourselves and our buildings for conditions that


are becoming all too commonplace. ‘Climate resilience’ is key. We advise anybody responsible for maintenance and the health and wellbeing of building users to review their approach to keeping cooling equipment operating as it should.” Mitchell says leaving chiller maintenance to the last


minute, or in the worst-case scenario, until breakdown, will lead to increased costs, uncomfortable building occupants and shortened equipment lifespan. He advises that essential HVAC should be prepared for peak seasons, hot or cold, well in advance, ideally using a predictive approach based on real time data and actual usage.


Poor data connection means smart buildings are ‘running blind’ The study claims that the biggest


Some of the most advanced energy management technologies are falling short because many buildings do not share data between their different systems, new research has found. The data, published in Energy Reports, reveals that buildings account for nearly 30% of global energy consumption – yet much of their potential for greater efficiency is locked away by disconnected and outdated technologies. Energy efficiency experts in


commercial buildings note that without proper audits and integration, even advanced technologies can’t deliver reliable performance. Most systems


simply aren’t built to work together, and as a result, efficiency remains more of a theory than a reality. Instead of just focusing on better


technology, the research proposes a smarter structure. It introduces a six- layer reference model for Intelligent Building Management Systems (IBMS) – a framework that spans everything from sensors and meters to AI-powered decision-making. The concept proposed by


researchers suggests that a building’s lighting, HVAC, occupancy, and other systems must share real-time data across layers to best optimise performance.


roadblock isn’t missing hardware – it’s missing integration. Traditional setups often rely on fixed schedules and siloed platforms. This means that key areas like HVAC and lighting, which together account for over 50% of energy use in commercial buildings, continue to operate inefficiently, regardless of how advanced the equipment may be. Donatas Karčiauskas, CEO of Exergio,


a company developing AI-based platforms for energy optimisation, comments: “The components for greater energy efficiency are already there; we just need to enable them to work together."


EIBI | JULY � AUGUST 2025


Rising temperatures highlight gaps in cooling


government, have criticised Reiche’s choice of “expert institutes” to conduct this assessment, pointing out that one had previously “positively evaluated” the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bringing gas from Russia to Germany. The vice-chairman of the Green parliamentary group, Andreas Audretsch, is accusing Reiche of undermining the renewable transition and favouring fossil fuels. He claims she wants to “give gas an eternity guarantee” and “shovel billions to the fossil fuel lobby”.


For all the latest news stories visit www.eibi.co.uk


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