April 24, 2015
As part of its year-round, shared-cost Sustainable Business and Enterprise Roundtable (SBER) service, SR Inc was pleased to host a Q1 Executive Symposium on March 26th at headquarters in Cambridge, MA. As part of SR Inc’s 2015 Chartered Projects – “Portfolio Managers Meet the Internet of Everything (IOE)” and “Portfolio Managers Meet the Renewable Energy Revolution” – SBER Member Executives gathered to begin to discuss what Directors of Real Estate and Portfolio Managers need to know about the IOE and Renewable Energy in 2015.As the Global Energy and Sustainability Leader at Cisco, Ali Ahmed is exceptionally well-positioned to provide insight on these topics. Ali was invited to begin SBER’s Member-Executive conversation about how Portfolio Managers might best respond to the rise of increasingly digitalized and intelligent portfolios that can increasingly be powered by renewable energy. Although Ali is based in Cleveland, Ohio, he joined fellow SBER Member Executives in the Board Room of SR Inc’s headquarters in Cambridge for the in-person part of this meeting as well as for the national, web-enabled portion of the meeting.
Ali spoke from first hand experience. He is currently leading efforts at Cisco to ensure the accuracy of metering data collected via their global Sustainability Information System (SIS) in order to maximize his team’s ability to improve energy and maintenance performance of buildings portfolio-wide. The SIS monitors 97% of utility consumption and enables the team to monitor over 20,000 IT loads with the help of digital signage showing building and lab-level utility dashboards. During his presentation, Mr. Ahmed emphasized the importance of a long-term, systems-level approach to integrating Intelligent Portfolios into operations and maximizing their benefits to a company. He argued that the Internet of Everything enables the convergence of workplace services, lowering costs and allowing for intelligent control and a new, richer workplace experience.
With respect to renewable energy, Ali has helped oversee a number of substantial projects at Cisco, including the installation of 3 solar PV systems at properties in Texas and India, which are expected to generate 2 million kWh annually. His team also deployed a 425 kW cogeneration system at Cisco’s Bedfont Lakes, UK campus and a 966 kW solar PV carport system at the Boxborough, MA campus. Cisco is also acquiring 5% renewable energy in Bangalore through the Indian Energy Exchange. Ali had a number of recommendations for companies to consider when acquiring renewable energy. These recommendations include carefully examining the opportunity to buy renewable power off the grid directly rather than through a Power Purchase Agreement. He also suggested that companies identify and focus on states where incentives are strongest for solar installations. He emphasized the importance of thoroughly investigating the suite of options available to a company, considering how geography, building characteristics, and available incentives will affect the economic outcome of a project.
SR Inc appreciates Ali’s willingness to begin the SBER Member Executive conversation on the Internet of Everything. In fact SR Inc can specifically thank Ali for encouraging us to embrace the term the “Internet of Everything” in framing our management research to expressly include human beings in a manner that is broader than suggested by SR Inc’s early use of the term the “Internet of Things.” SR Inc also appreciates his important leadership and insights on the growing if still nascent corporate adoption of renewable energy. Ali’s continued willingness to share Cisco’s experiences and lessons learned as well as his expertise relevant to SR Inc’s 2015 Chartered Projects will deepen our conversation and shared relevant research on management best practices over the coming months. And that will help SR Inc assist SBER Member Executives in developing informed strategies to navigate these two areas that are defined by both rapid technological change and promise for much more sustainable real estate and operating portfolios.
