Comment from Mike Hughes, Zone President UK&I, Schneider Electric…
“Halogen light bulbs are being banned from the 1st of September. The logic is clear – halogens are a false economy, costing less initially but more expensive than their LED counterparts over the course of us because of their hugely inefficient energy usage.
“While many have seized the opportunity to point out the EU’s heavy handedness, over the last few years we have seen the success of clear environmental policies. The introductions of energy ratings on appliances, charges for plastic bags and potential taxes on plastic cups have resonated with consumers, been widely accepted and helped shape attitudes and behaviour.
“It is an unfortunate reality that the majority of people vastly underestimate the challenge ahead when it comes to energy consumption. Our own research found that 74% people in the UK believe they are already doing enough when it comes to the environment (whether recycling, reducing use of plastics or saving energy). Recognising that people are unlikely to change behaviours on their own places a greater emphasis on the evolution of technology to help increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption. Both businesses and government should be doing everything they can to encourage the adoption of more efficient products and practices.
“Efficiency holds the key to our wellbeing and, as a matter of urgency, we must become more aware of our behaviour before the situation is irreversible. This includes how we produce goods in manufacturing plants, how we occupy buildings, store our data and our choice of light sources in our businesses and homes. Collectively, we must become three times more efficient if we are to successfully power our futures in a sustainable manner.”
Mike Hughes – Zone President UK & Ireland:
Mike is passionate about how technological innovation can help achieve efficiency and sustainability and truly change the world and people’s lives. He worked across a huge number of industries, from telco and cloud, oil and gas, finance and automation to smart cities, micro grids and blockchain.
He has had an international career in IT and industrial automation spanning over 25 years. For 15 of those he has worked at Schneider Electric – starting work in motion control systems in Germany, he then worked in China before being appointed to lead the secure power datacentre business in EMEA out of Paris in 2012.
Now he leads the EMEA team charged with developing products, solutions, software and series to meet the needs of strategic customers, while also head-up the UK & Ireland, driving the zone’s overall strategy.
