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Trane Technologies will join Climate Week NYC 2025 as Climate Group’s Headline Partner, spotlighting how technology and innovation can help shape a more sustainable future.
In the lead-up to this year’s event, we spoke with Donny Simmons, Group President, Americas, about how Trane Technologies is harnessing AI, advanced thermal management solutions and other breakthrough innovations that can help drive decarbonization.
From your perspective as a veteran Climate Week NYC sponsor, what about the 2025 program stands out to you?
Climate Week NYC is an incredible opportunity to engage with leaders from business, government and the nonprofit sector who are all working toward a shared climate agenda.
This year, I’m especially encouraged by the growing focus on technology that can help decarbonize the built environment, which contributes over 30% of global emissions. We’re eager to share our transformative innovations in this arena, like AI-driven energy-efficiency platforms and thermal management systems that can capture and re-purpose wasted heat.
Equally important, Climate Week gives us a chance to listen, learn and exchange ideas with peers who are tackling climate challenges from different perspectives.
How is Trane Technologies using innovation to “power progress” toward decarbonization?
Our business strategy is anchored in creating sustainable solutions that also generate business value. By investing in innovative technologies, like embedding AI into building and thermal systems, we deliver measurable environmental and economic benefits. Solutions like these help our customers achieve better energy efficiency, reduce emissions and optimize energy use.
Another key area is thermal energy recovery. Much of the heat generated in buildings today is wasted. With energy recovery heat pumps, we can capture that excess heat and redeploy it for other uses, helping lower energy demand, reduce operating costs and cut carbon emissions.
The goal is to make sustainability solutions like these the default choice, proving that we can achieve both environmental impact and economic performance.
How do you adapt your sustainability strategy to meet market needs or technology shifts?
We deliberately and proactively embed sustainable innovation into our business strategy. For example, several years ago, we recognized the explosive growth of the data center market and the unique cooling requirements it posed. We invested in this sector early, expanding our capabilities, workforce expertise and manufacturing capacity to create innovative, energy-efficient cooling systems for this sector.
Similarly, as we scaled our energy recovery heat pump technology, we understood that widespread adoption would require addressing concerns about installation, integration and costs. We responded with modular designs, robust technician training and clear ROI demonstrations for customers. Those strategies have accelerated adoption and positioned us as a leader in the shift to more sustainable heating and cooling.
What role do partnerships play in achieving your climate goals?
No single company can solve the climate challenge alone. We work hand in hand with suppliers, customers, policymakers and industry coalitions to advance shared goals. Our involvement in RE100, EV100, EP100 and SteelZero helps align our actions with broader efforts to decarbonize power, transportation, operations and materials sourcing.
As an active member of those coalitions, we’re making strong progress toward our 2030 Sustainability Commitments. In 2024, 68% of our electricity came from renewable sources, low-carbon steel accounted for over 20% of our annual purchases, and we’ve reduced our customers’ carbon footprints by 237 million metric tons of CO₂e from a 2019 baseline.
Through these collaborations, we also exchange knowledge, advocate for new technologies and expand the reach of climate solutions. This collective approach amplifies impact and creates pathways for others to join the effort.
What would you like to see accomplished at Climate Week NYC 2025?
I’d like to see an even stronger acceleration that closes the gap between climate ambition and action. Critical focus areas include scaling clean energy technology infrastructure, incentivizing early adopters of proven technologies and ensuring we encourage innovation, rather than slow it.
Cross-sector collaboration is vital. If participants leave Climate Week NYC 2025 with new alliances, practical sustainability roadmaps, and a renewed sense of urgency, then together we can channel that momentum to power progress toward a more sustainable future.