Our PeopleVideo
September 23, 2024
We believe every job at Trane Technologies is a sustainability job. Learn more about how Cal's efforts surrounding embodied carbon reduction are positively impacting our industry and the world.
At Trane Technologies, our purpose is to boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world. We believe every job is a sustainability job, and every role is an opportunity for impact.
Cal Krause connects to our purpose through his work as an embodied carbon specialist in our Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability (CEES). Established in 2010 - before sustainability was on global business agendas - CEES integrates sustainability practices into our everyday operations. They monitor trends on critical climate issues and help advance our net-zero goals.
With a degree in industrial engineering and a minor in environmental science, Cal has always been interested in solving problems, but he wasn’t sure how he would find a way to apply his passion for sustainability to his work—until he found Trane Technologies. He began on our procurement team, helping to develop a sustainability strategy for purchasing steel, a key material for our products. He then joined CEES to broaden that strategy for more materials.
My role is focused on embodied carbon strategy, specifically reducing all the emissions that make up our products.
From the time a unit is metal in the ground, the manufacturing processes that happen to those different materials, and when we finally assemble them at our plants, all of those emissions kind of add up to be embodied carbon.
And then ultimately, what happens at the end of life for that product? Is it recycled, repurposed, refurbished?
I care about sustainability. I want to live in a healthy, safe world where people are comfortable and can go outside and breathe fresh air.
We have our Gigaton Challenge, of course, which is our commitment to reduce one billion metric tons from our customers’ carbon footprint by 2030. That’s the big one—it covers over 90% of our value chain emissions. It’s helping our customers have more efficient, more environmentally friendly equipment.
But also looking to our suppliers, a lot of our emissions come from those materials that come from those products. So, I’m really excited that Trane Technologies is committing to a 40% reduction of embodied carbon in key materials that go into our products by 2030.
Companies across the globe are actively working to reduce operational emissions, but what about the carbon already “embodied” in key materials? Cal is helping shape our approach to this issue of growing importance, including collaborating with our suppliers and educating our customers.
What exactly is embodied carbon? Imagine you’re producing a desk. The carbon emissions resulting from cutting down the trees and processing the wood to create that desk are considered the carbon that’s “embodied” in the product. It’s the hidden environmental cost that comes with the creation of any material good, from the raw extraction to the final product.
Trane Technologies recently announced a commitment to reduce embodied carbon by 40% by 2030.
Sustainability is integrated into every aspect of our business, and it’s how we grow. Our strong sustainability performance is a direct result of our culture, which continues to drive our competitive advantage. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, engaging and uplifting culture where we can all thrive and make a meaningful impact.
We are accelerating action toward our bold 2030 Sustainability Commitments and our net-zero goals, and true progress comes from people across our company taking action every day.
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