Author: Peggy Smedley
If we want to be more sustainable and achieve our ESG (environmental, social, and governance) goals, we need data, which of course is easier said than done. Many companies have a data challenge, meaning they are trying to pull insights from legacy systems and legacy business processes that haven’t been modernized. Perhaps this is our next step to addressing ESG in our organizations. This is exactly the conversation I recently had with Matthew Sekol, industry advocate, worldwide sustainability, Microsoft. We talked all about data on The Peggy Smedley Show this past week. He explains how Microsoft intersects with ESG in…
The benefits of the transition to net zero are clear: reduced spending on electricity and water bills and being a better steward of the environment around us. But it comes with an upfront cost for many homeowners. McKinsey suggests reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 requires a significant increase in spending on physical assets across all homes and businesses. In fact, it suggests the transformation of the global economy needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 would be universal and significant, requiring $9.2 trillion in annual average spending on physical needs. One of the best ways to reach net zero is…
Homes are getting smarter and more energy efficient—but are they within reach for the average homeowner? Not yet, but scientists are now developing a new framework for HEMS (home energy-management systems). Let’s look at how this will impact home construction projects in the future and how this just make energy-efficient homes more equitable in the future. Dae-Hyun Choi, associate professor, Chung-Ang University, in South Korea, envisions a world where electric cars and energy trade between households. Today, many energy decisions can be done by a HEMS, which efficiently manages the energy consumption of home appliances, by scheduling when an appliance…
I had an opportunity to listen in on a presentation from Jon Baggett, business recruitment manager, South Carolina Dept. of Commerce, and ask some questions about what is happening in my new home state. Here is the big takeaway: South Carolina is looking to become a hub for EVs (electric vehicles). The state is seeing new projects related to electric vehicle supply chain, including everything from production of EV cells to changing manufacturing plants to retool product lines. He says when he pulled data two weeks before the presentation, there were 21 new investment projects and six expansion projects. The…
Are we finally stalling with distracted driving or are we speeding up? Perhaps more importantly, what are we going to do about it? The answer to these questions could be life or death for construction workers who spend their days on the road and at highway jobsites. I can’t help but ask, what will it take to keep us all so that we focus on the task at hand of driving when behind the wheel of a vehicle? To be very candid, I am saddened that I still have to educate people on the topic of distracted driving and report…
Millions of U.S. homes have moderate to severe physical housing problems, including a dilapidated structure; roofing problems; heating, plumbing, and electrical deficiencies; water leaks and intrusion; pests; damaged paint; and high radon gas levels—all of which can result in a range of health issues. Enter National Healthy Homes Month, which aims to find ways to keep people of all ages healthy in their home. Happening in June, National Healthy Homes Month—created by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes—is an outreach campaign designed to help people connect the dots between their…
The last two weeks on The Peggy Smedley Show, I had an opportunity to sit down with Sheila Hollis, acting executive director, United States Energy Assn., to discuss the energy crisis in the United States and across the globe—and I learned quite a bit about the challenges we face with energy and what ultimately needs to happen. Journey back with me for a minute to the 1920s, when the Federal Power Act came into being. As Hollis told me, it is a service invested with the public interest. “The public is what it is all about,” she explains. “When you…
Prefabrication—or off-site manufacturing—can accelerate construction projects, reduce costs, and improve health and safety, with some reports suggesting modular construction accounts for 30-50% time savings over more traditional counterparts. So, then, why isn’t the use of it more widespread? Let’s take a closer look at the future of it, and how technologies can help move the needle forward. The global modular construction market size was valued at $84.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% from 2021 to 2028, according to Grand View Research. Much of the demand comes from affordable housing…
With the cost of electric bills and energy rising, many homeowners are seeking out ways to reduce consumption. One area we can save energy is with the right lighting, which accounts for roughly 15% of an average home’s electricity use. Perhaps one of the best ways to save energy costs each year is by switching to LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. The U.S. DOE (Dept. of Energy) suggests the average household can save roughly $225 in energy costs per year by making the switch. In fact, it suggests this is one of the fastest ways to cut energy bills. Residential LEDs…
Last week, at Microsoft’s Build event, the technology company made many big announcements such as Project Volterra, Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform, and Microsoft Dev Box, among many others. I covered these in-depth yesterday on The Peggy Smedley Show and shared my thoughts about the impact it will have. Perhaps one of the best ways to explore this is with a case study, and since our topic of discussion for the month of May is healthcare, let’s look at one example. We all know the COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated the healthcare industry. Some stats suggest more than 6 million people in…