Spotted: Reducing emissions is a top priority in every industry, and doing so as fast as possible is essential. Now, innovators everywhere are grappling with how to turn great ideas into working concepts, and then industrial-scale solutions. Canadian property technology experts at Audette have built an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that does in a few hours what it would ordinarily take humans years to do – analyse a full portfolio of commercial real estate for decarbonisation opportunities and build a plan to retrofit every building in the most cost-efficient manner.

From renewable energy opportunities to carbon-negative materials and low-carbon technologies, Audette can build a carbon-transition plan for any building. The platform layers operational data with capital planning and a breakdown of costs and energy usage of each piece of equipment and location, as well as forecasts of emissions. This allows for effective, efficient retrofitting and long-term planning for a carbon-negative future.

Property managers can add data to the platform and test out various ideas themselves. The AI projects return on investment, helping teams identify the higher priority changes to make. The platform recognises and suggests methods for maximising efficiencies across an entire business, not just a single building. Audette also connects users to a building scientist to ensure that the AI-backed decisions make business sense.

Audette recently raised $9.5 million (approximately €9.14 million) to support the launch of its technology across 150 North American cities. The initial rollout is planned for 2023 and 2024.

Springwise has spotted other means of decarbonising buildings on a sizeable scale, including a platform that allows real estate investors to monitor and reduce waste and emissions across their properties, and smart technology that prevents excessive use of heating and lighting in office buildings.

Written By Keely Khoury