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Carrier Abound Wins Top Project of the Year at the 2025 Environment + Energy Leader Awards in the Energy Innovation Category
The recognition was for the ability to drive energy efficiency through innovative strategies in the stores of a leading athletic footwear and sports retailer across the USA.

Carrier Abound has been honored with the Top Project of the Year Award in the category of Energy Innovation at the 2025 Environment + Energy Leader Awards. This recognition was for our ability to drive energy efficiency through innovative strategies in the stores of a leading athletic footwear and sports retailer across the USA.

Our award-winning project focused on integrating the retailer’s stores with edge controls and onboarding onto our smart building platform, enabling 24/7 proactive remote services while ensuring robust program management and governance. By combining automation, real-time insights, and expert-driven execution, we created an agile and sustainable energy management framework.

The project began with the 1st store in November 2019 and scaled up to 400 projects including retrofits and new store openings. Building Automation Systems (BAS) were deployed across 177 retrofitted stores, enabling us to deliver multiple benefits:

  • Energy Efficiency: Overall, achieved more than 15% energy savings1.
  • Sustainability: Over 78% of HVAC issues were resolved remotely, reducing the need for field visits and associated emissions.
  • Environment, Social & Governance: For the calls that were addressed, the Command Centers maintained an average service level of 93%, with a call abandonment rate of just 0.8%. This empowered the retailer’s employees to be more productive by providing prompt support to solve issues. In addition, reports were shared with the retailer on a weekly basis to ensure governance and compliance of policies.

Beyond operational improvements, the project has also increased energy awareness among employees, further amplifying its long-term impact. With new stores being added every month, the project’s contribution to sustainability and efficiency will only continue to grow.

The E+E Leader Product & Project Awards have recognized excellence in products, services, and corporate initiatives that drive energy and environmental improvements, for over a decade.

Here's what the judges had to say:

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"This project is a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration in modern retail operations. By leveraging AI and IoT, the retailer enhanced operational efficiency and sustainability for smart energy management. The measurable impact—significant energy savings, reduced emissions, and improved store performance—demonstrates how technology can drive meaningful change in both business operations and environmental responsibility.”
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"The AI and IoT-driven project for the retailer demonstrates significant advancements in energy efficiency and regulatory compliance, contributing to sustainability goals."
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"They show excellent compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and alignment with US GHG reduction goals. The contribution to Scope 2 emissions reduction through 15% energy savings across the network is significant. The combination of regulatory compliance with measurable environmental outcomes is particularly strong."

1The protocol followed for calculation of energy is as per the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMPV®) – https://evo-world.org/en/products-services-mainmenu-en/protocols/ipmvp