A space dedicated to innovation and sustainability, a regenerated gas and a network of green installers: the latest news from the world of Daikin, to promote the circular economy.
The keyword: circularity! Not only in the economy and in the design and management of products, but also in relationships between people: with customers, employees, and installers. In essence, this was the key theme of the conference held yesterday, 4 June, at Daikin Italia's Milan headquarters, for the presentation of the group's three main news items: the Daikin solution campus, the product range with regenerated gas, and the Installatori green project, developed in collaboration with the Remedia consortium, which handles the management of Raee.
Attending the event were Takayuki Kamekawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Daikin Italia, Elena Sensi, Marketing Director of Daikin Italia, Ansgar Thiemann, Business development manager of Daikin Italia, and Danilo Bonato, Director General of Remedia.
After a brief address by President Kamekawa, who recalled how the company has been committed to sustainability for a number of years now, having also set a target of becoming "carbon neutral" by 2050, Elena Sensi took the floor and presented the Campus. This is a space within Daikin Italia's headquarters dedicated to training, dialogue between the company and its stakeholders, employees and the public, and above all to innovation — of products and processes — and to ideas, without which true circularity cannot exist.
"The idea of creating a shared space came about more than a year ago, when we moved to these premises. The aim was to create a place that was more open to collaboration, one in which we could also develop a cultural change," said the marketing director. "The campus also includes the offices, which were designed to stimulate collaboration and the sharing of experiences. The Solution campus logo itself is circular, because we want to emphasise the sharing of value and experience. It is only by sharing that we grow together. All the events we host will have this theme — shared experiences and values such as sustainability and innovation, to achieve genuine circularity in the economy. This is also why we inaugurated the space with an event dedicated to the circular economy," Sensi added.
The Campus has two main areas, both with Japanese names. Kizuna, meaning "relationship", is the area dedicated to sharing, training and dialogue; the Dojo, a Japanese term meaning "gym", is the area devoted to the training of knowledge and therefore to workshops and ideas. All of this is housed in a structure that is at the forefront of energy efficiency, comfort, environmental sustainability and design.
The more technical subject fell to Ansgar Thiemann: namely, the presentation of the new regenerated gas R410A, recovered from the R410 gas of old decommissioned domestic air conditioners, reprocessed and of a quality — certified — equal to that of virgin gas. This is a genuine, concrete example of the circular economy, which has led Daikin to develop not only the regeneration technology, but also new products designed to use this gas even more efficiently.
Regenerated gas R410A is also one of the key elements of the Installatori green project, recently launched by Daikin together with Remedia and presented by the consortium's president, Danilo Bonato.
30 Daikin installers spread across Lombardy and Emilia Romagna have been trained both on the regulatory and operational fronts to recover old domestic air conditioners and channel them into the recovery and regeneration of R410 gas. By raising awareness among installers — who thereby earn a "quality badge" — the aim is also to raise awareness among end customers, who will thus be able to increase demand for regenerated products. The pilot project will last 9 months and initially targets the recovery of around 500 units.
The President of Remedia explains that "It will not be a certification in the strict sense — there is no certifying body involved — but rather a qualification. We will use a checklist to verify a set of requirements that qualify the installer's ability to comply with certain procedures and certain rules. We will carry out a process of selection and assurance with regard to the installer's capacity to follow that fundamental process in order subsequently to obtain the regenerated gas."
In a spirit of true circularity and the exchange of experiences, Daikin has decided not to keep the project to itself, but to "open it up" to the other members of the consortium as well.
"In practice, Daikin has chosen not to brand the project as exclusive, but to launch it as a promoter, while leaving the consortium free to offer this type of model to its other member manufacturers — who are many," Bonato noted. "This is a far-sighted vision, because it makes it possible, in the longer term, to have a network of multi-brand installers who can not only handle the collection of old units, but also raise awareness among end users. In a sense, the strength of the consortium, which is the leader in this sector, can act as a driving force. We hope that these 30 installers, with whom the project began, will soon become 100, 500 — a widespread network across the whole of Italy."
Sharing at every level, then. Including with the other members of the consortium. Because that is the true purpose of circularity. Joining forces — and minds — to become active promoters of change.