There are few things more urgent than the actions we take to preserve our planet. It’s not a pipe dream. It’s something we need to act on now. This is what Infosys as an organization believes and invests in. Achieving carbon neutrality in 2020, 30 years ahead of the Paris Agreement is a point of immense pride for everyone at Infosys. We started calling ourselves “practitioners”. Our practitioner’s approach to Net Zero got a further boost when we found a partner – another organization who shares the same ambition of a net-zero future.

bp, a global energy company, has been Infosys’s partner for almost two decades now, but it was in 2021 that we partnered with them to co-create Energy as a Service (EaaS) – an AI-enabled energy management platform to provide end-to-end management of energy assets and services. 

The idea was to start small…well not exactly, because we piloted the digital platform at the Infosys Pune Campus. And as far as campuses go, we can call the Pune Development Centre anything but small. I still remember the first time I visited the 114-acre campus, I was in complete awe of the place. Even the team that showed me around the campus seemed equally captivated by the place, despite working there for years. The Pune Development Centre is not just a campus, it’s an entire ecosystem within itself with over 35,000 employees, its own transportation network, utilities and green spaces. And we wanted to make it a shining example of what sustainable innovation can achieve.

With our AI and technological capabilities and bp’s energy and mobility expertise combined, we wanted to create a platform that would make the campus energy efficient with access to low carbon energy and mobility solutions, while optimizing supply and demand across multiple users and assets. All this, without having to invest in additional energy infrastructure.  

The larger plan, after a successful implementation, was to extend this solution to other Infosys campuses, industrial parks and even cities. After all, building operations account for 28% of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions. Where better to start than at the foundation? 

The development of EaaS was no small feat. The teams from both the organizations worked tirelessly to develop, test and fine-tune the platform. But I’m sure when they saw what they achieved in a limited amount of time, it seemed worthwhile. EaaS is an AI-driven platform that can collect data from multiple energy sources to provide intelligence and actions that can optimize the demand and supply for every energy point: power, heating, cooling. The scope of EaaS goes well beyond the carbon footprint of buildings, it also brings to bear digital solutions for seamless EV infrastructure on campus, and even physical infrastructure with a solar power supply. The EaaS solution worked as brilliantly as the team that created it. And within six months, we saw a remarkable increase in energy efficiency – greater than 10% – in a campus where all the 18 buildings were already LEED platinum certified with an average EPI of less than 70. i.e. the campus was already geared for high energy efficiency. I guess the good gets better and the better best. Further, there is an increase in renewable energy mix by 65%; and a 20% decrease in tariff through smart demand and supply management with dynamic pricing.
  
The Infosys Pune Development Centre’s success story is a testament to Infosys' commitment to creating a sustainable future. And I, for one, feel privileged to be a part of this mission. I’m sure this experience is going to get more rewarding as we move forward.    

I'm thrilled to share the learnings from our pilot project, originally featured on the World Economic Forum website, with all of you.

‍