Thursday 10 February 2022

NFU Mutual partners with Schneider Electric to help deliver net zero sustainability targets

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual has selected Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, to support its net zero objectives, implementing its smart building and power management solutions to deliver greater energy efficiency across its key existing estates.

Employing Schneider Electric’s portfolio of smart energy management and monitoring systems, NFU Mutual’s buildings will undergo retrofitting across key sites to include integrated software for optimised building performance. By upgrading its Building Management Systems (BMS) across estates that have been standing for fifteen years, or even longer, Schneider Electric will help NFU Mutual reach its short-term target of a 15% reduction in energy emissions by 2023.

NFU Mutual has a long-established estate in the UK, comprised of buildings of varying ages. The programme of retrofitting NFU Mutual’s existing estate began with the deployment of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building Operation at its Tiddington Head Office, Zenith House (York) and Avon House (Ryon Hill Park). Each site has been upgraded to the latest version of EcoStruxure to enable the use of dashboards, reporting and analytics to drive reduced energy consumption and flexible building management. This will be followed by the upgrading of further NFU Mutual sites, to support its journey to a smart and sustainable estate, in line with its recently announced roadmap to achieve net zero operations by 2050.

As well as plans to install Schneider Electric’s Building Advisor in NFU Mutual’s Head Office in 2022, the partnership will also see the insurer form an Energy Reduction Committee with Schneider Electric and its facilities management partners.

The Power of Partnerships

Ed Bannister, Facilities Manager for NFU Mutual reflected, “We are serious about playing our part to help restore and protect our planet now and in years to come. Our commitment to reach net zero emissions across our business by 2050 means taking steps to reduce our impact wherever we can. A key part of this is to ensure our Group occupied estate operates as efficiently as possible. By strengthening our partnership with Schneider Electric, we know we will be able to use the latest technology and insight to reduce the impact of our existing buildings on the environment, minimising energy use while also making them better places for our people. Since employing these solutions, we’ve already seen notable improvements in the user experience. Alongside Schneider Electric, we are looking forward to making our estate an example of smart and sustainable building best practice, and to fulfil our net zero ambitions.”

Kas Mohammed, VP of Digital Energy at Schneider Electric UK & Ireland, also commented “Buildings continue to be one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions across the world, around 40% in the UK. Without addressing energy inefficiencies across our built environment, it will be impossible to reach the net zero targets that are vital to securing our planet’s future. In taking steps to revolutionise its estate, NFU Mutual is tackling this issue as a priority, demonstrating its commitment to sustainability that not only serves future generations, but also upgrades buildings to make them more comfortable, flexible and responsive to current users’ needs. We are driven to help ambitious organisations like NFU Mutual to become sustainable leaders, providing stellar examples of what can be achieved through partnership.”

This initiative is the latest in a series of successful projects between the insurer and Schneider Electric. In 2017, Schneider Electric was instrumental in the refurbishment of NFU Mutual’s Tiddington HQ, which saw the integration of Window Controls into its BMS to allow free cooling and natural ventilation over mechanical cooling. Schneider Electric was also instrumental in the successful deployment of Operational Technology (OT) networks across the NFU Mutual portfolio, with its experts providing guidance and support to the cyber governance and IT teams during the roll out.