Interview with the new Eurovent President – Mikael Börjesson
In this interview, the Eurovent Communications Officer, Ngoni Taruvinga, speaks with Mikael Börjesson, the new President of Eurovent Association, about the future of the ventilation and indoor climate industry across Europe.
They discuss the key conversations likely to shape Eurovent’s next chapter, the strengths that Mikael believes the Association should build on, and where there is room for evolution in a rapidly changing regulatory and technological landscape.
Ngoni: Thank you for joining us today.
Mikael: Thank you.
Ngoni: We’d like to ask you a few questions since you’re the incoming President. First question — how does it feel?
Mikael: Exciting, challenging. And of course, taking over an organisation that is in a change in some way, but also very strong where it is, and has a solid foundation.
Ngoni: As you’re stepping in as the President of the association, what conversations do you think will define the next chapter of Eurovent Association under your presidency?
Mikael: That’s a good question. We are in a transition period, if you’re looking at politics for the moment, and also the kind of global change in some way. I’m coming into an organisation that is very strong, quite reliable, and credible. But of course, we need to adapt to the world order, going for the energy crisis and energy efficiency first, as the EU pointed out, but also the sustainability transition, with the built-in carbon, all of these perspectives.
We also need to add resilience and health perspectives. We are working in an industry that is heavily involved in the different transitions. Exciting but challenging. Probably, the balance between ambition and feasibility will be key.
Ngoni: And you’re up for the challenge?
Mikael: Of course I am up for the challenge, I think we are all in the industry are up for the challenge in the industry, and eager to promote even better what we can actually do to effect these kind of changes.
Ngoni: You’ve been heavily involved in the board of the association. What strengths do you want to build on, and where do you see the opportunities taking you?
Mikael: That’s a good question, I’ve been on the board for many years, so I know the organisation quite well. We always build on our expertise, the technical expertise we have as a manufacturer-driven organisation with all the product groups. And we should of course stay there. That is a core value, and we should emphasize it even better going further on.
And maybe explore other areas where we are not today but still within our core. But I think we have already started being more proactive regarding advocacy, targeting policymakers, and I think there is an area where we can increase our efforts even more. So there I would probably like to spend more time on that, both from a board and presidency perspective.
Ngoni: Interesting. I would also like to get into one of the main topics that is hovering around HVAC which is EPBD. I read your article which is titled “Beyond Energy Efficiency.”
Mikael: It’s good that someone is reading it.
Ngoni: The revised EPBD puts IEQ in focus. If EPBD is fully implemented as intended, on 29th of May, what visible difference should ordinary people actually feel in their homes, schools, and workplaces?
Mikael: That’s a really good question. First of all, based on the situation, the EPBD will not be implemented by 29th of May — most member states are late in their local legislations. And referring to your question, what will change will be very much up to the local legislations, interprets the EPBD intention.
But my thinking and my take of EPBD is that we should emphasise that energy efficiency is super important and we put demands on energy efficiency but we cannnot forget the conditions for people inside. What it would mean then for the people inside is that they can probably in a better way, rely on that the legislation is putting their health into play, securing that the indoor climate conditions are comfortable but also not dangerous.
Hopefully, EPBD in its long-term perspective will visualise the indoor climate in a better way for the people who are living, working, studying or whatever we do inside, sporting or whatever we do because the conditions today are quite invisible. That is probably one of the challenges going further on, to visualise and communicate the importance of energy efficiency but also healthy comfortable indoor climate.
Ngoni: Do you think the general public is aware of this?
Mikael: No.
Ngoni: How then can they be aware of this? What measures can people take, as the HVAC industry association, what can we do?
Mikael: That’s a good question. I think we sometimes need to understand that people don’t understand. We sometimes try to estimate that the knowledge we have, has a similar spread around the user as well of buildings which isn’t. Most people do not react to the indoor conditions. They might react to temperature. The outdoor conditions for indoor climate is very hard to determine for most people. That’s why we need to define ways of showing the indoor climate in a good way. It could be sensors, it could be displays, but it can also be what EPBD is targeting, the kind of obligatory check points that people with expertise actually are evaluating the conditions in buildings and making some kind of reporting back and giving suggestions for improving or changes that need to take place. It’s a kind of, as you do with your car, you make a kind of check every year or every second year. And that will be valuable for the common public as well regarding indoor climate.
Ngoni: It’s quite of an industry where not a lot of people know about what’s really taking place, the regulations, the policies that are coming into place, the technical issues there also
Mikael: This is a paradox because the better the industries are in creating a good indoor climate, the less visual it will be, the less tangible it will be, the more you will feel that this is our natural habitat, where you thrive in, where you are performing well. That paradox is what we need to find a way to communicate.
Ngoni: A plane that lands safely doesn’t make big news.
Mikael: Exactly. But you expect it to do.
Ngoni: What is something people within the HVAC industry know deeply but the general public doesn’t know much about and they should know about, although as you are saying that it’s a paradox, the industry is doing well, some people don’t have to know, what is one thing that you think they should know about?
Mikael: It’s probably not one thing. I touched a little bit into that. We know that everything we do will affect how you live your life in your buildings or your apartment, your house. We know that the indoor climate in kindergartens affects the kids, and in schools will have an effect on how the kids are performing.
We have not had the ability to communicate that in a proper way to decision-makers or stakeholders. What we would like maybe to see in the future is an indoor climate that helps you to sleep well or perform in exams in schools. That should be the natural way of designing buildings. We tend still to see ventilation and indoor air climate as an add-on or kind of luxury kind of technology, this should be a part of a natural part of a building of a project or something like that.
I hope that we could come to the end that this is not debated, its rather how you you actually conduct it, rather than if it should be there. I still see when I am travelling, even in my own company that people tend to open windows for example when you’re feeling warm inside, and when you have your office close to a highway or something like that. It’s the worst thing you could do from a particle point of view. And we know that, so there is knowledge to be shared and behaviours to be changed.
Ngoni: So it’s always best to keep on sharing that knowledge
Mikael: Yeah, we will need to continue, it will be a never-ending story
Ngoni: I just have one last question before you leave. At the end of your presidency, what kind of cultural mindset would you hope to have strengthened within Eurovent?
Mikael: That’s a good question. It depends, of course, on how long my presidency will be, one year or more. If I would have some kind of over-arching idea, I think Eurovent should always build on its strengths to give trust in what we say you can trust. And I think that is based in our core values of engineering, technology-driven manufacturing organisation.
So we should still build on that. I would like, if I can, to aim for one industry, one voice. Can we align all the different voices so we are directing them in one way, and I would like to see Eurovent also moving in a way connected to the alignment to be seen as an open organisation, open for collaborations, open for technology innovations, bringing this kind of forward-leaning perspective.
If we can some way, move in that direction, that would be a success for me.
Ngoni: I hope for the best. And wish you all the best Mikael.
Mikael: Thank you very much Ngoni
You may watch the full video interview on our YouTube channel by clicking this link: Interview with the new Eurovent President – Mikael Börjesson