Exclusive Interview with Honeywell's Yu Feng: During the Manufacturing Transformation, Companies Must Find the Green Optimal Solution

The zero-carbon wave continues to rise. After policies promoting zero-carbon parks were implemented, the construction boom of zero-carbon factories has followed closely. This year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and four other departments jointly issued the “Guiding Opinions on the Development of Zero-Carbon Factory Construction,” clearly stating that China will select a number of zero-carbon factories starting from 2026 to further promote deep decarbonization in the industrial sector.

More and more companies are accelerating their green and low-carbon transformation of factories, with practices such as green factories and near-zero-carbon factories gradually underway. Recently, the 21st Century Business Herald visited Honeywell’s factory located in the East District of Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone. Notably, this area has been included in the plan to develop a zero-carbon park in Tianjin, and Honeywell Tianjin Factory is exploring feasible paths for green and low-carbon industrial manufacturing.

Yu Feng, President of Honeywell Greater China, told 21st Century Business Herald that currently, 75% of the products manufactured by Honeywell in China come from green factories recognized at the national or provincial level. Upgrading from green factories to zero-carbon factories is an inevitable progression in the development of enterprises, organizations, and even the country.

Companies Need to Find the Optimal Green Solutions

21st Century: What are the biggest common challenges faced by manufacturing during its transition to intelligence and greening?

Yu Feng: In my view, the biggest common challenge for China’s manufacturing industry in its transformation is not a single technical or financial issue, but a complex “balance” problem. Companies need to find a dynamic optimal solution among four dimensions: ensuring operational safety, improving production efficiency, achieving green low-carbon goals, and optimizing cost structures.

Specifically, there are several contradictions:

Profitability pressure has sharply increased. Capacity expansion is far outpacing market demand growth, leading to falling product prices and significantly increased difficulty in profitability. Entrepreneurs are generally facing the major challenge of how to enhance profitability in the current market environment.

Innovation capacity needs breakthroughs. To achieve sustainable development, companies must rely on innovation to open new profit margins; cost reduction and efficiency improvements alone are not sustainable.

The gap in professional talent is widening. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s total population has begun to decline. Young people’s career preferences are also changing. In the past, many people desperately wanted to work in chemical plants, but now the number willing to engage in frontline chemical operations and technical work has greatly decreased. Meanwhile, chemical plants are becoming more complex, and the demand for equipment operation and maintenance is increasing, which pushes the industry to accelerate automation, digitalization, and autonomous transformation.

21st Century: Why did Honeywell choose to build a factory in Tianjin? What impact does the Tianjin factory have on Honeywell’s global green supply chain and sustainability?

Yu Feng: Our joint venture in Tianjin partners with Sinopec, whose headquarters is in Beijing. Tianjin is geographically adjacent to Beijing and has port advantages. Sinopec has also established industrial bases there. Tianjin was one of the earliest cities in China to promote public-private partnerships and has played an important role in China’s modern industrial development. Additionally, Tianjin has strong chemical industry capabilities and is home to a number of high-level universities, such as Tianjin University’s Chemical Engineering Department. Many core chemical companies’ talents graduated from here, which contributed to the final site selection.

For us, the Tianjin factory is not just a production base; it is a microcosm and witness of Honeywell’s 30 years of deep cultivation in Tianjin. From initial manufacturing to today’s integrated innovation base combining R&D, production, sales, and services, this transformation is driven by our long-term strategic considerations for the Chinese market.

China’s “dual carbon” goals and new productive forces align closely with Honeywell’s automation expertise. Upgrading the Tianjin site to an innovation hub allows us to better connect with these trends, quickly translate innovative technologies in sustainability and smart manufacturing into localized solutions, and empower China’s industrial transformation.

We have deployed digital solutions such as intelligent building energy management systems at the Tianjin factory, achieving significant energy efficiency improvements and carbon reductions. These proven sustainable technologies and smart manufacturing experiences serve as references for other factories and clients worldwide to achieve low-carbon transformation. Additionally, our Tianjin-based Digital and Smart Innovation Center focuses on energy saving, digitalization, and intelligent manufacturing, aiming to turn local innovations in low-carbon technology and circular economy into global competitiveness.

21st Century: Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone was selected as one of the first national zero-carbon park construction lists. As a multinational enterprise in the park, how does Honeywell view “zero-carbon parks”? Will you participate in local zero-carbon park construction?

Yu Feng: We strongly support the national push for zero-carbon factories and parks. Honeywell will actively participate. Upgrading from green factories to zero-carbon factories is an inevitable step in the development of enterprises, organizations, and even the country.

For manufacturing companies like Honeywell, the development of zero-carbon parks in Tianjin provides more stable and lower-carbon energy supplies, as well as overall energy efficiency improvements and circular economy systems. This helps reduce long-term operational costs and enhances the green competitiveness of our products. Our own decarbonization practices are highly aligned with the zero-carbon goals of the park.

We look forward to deepening cooperation with the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee. We hope to share our experience with intelligent energy management systems and other solutions tested in our factories, jointly explore zero-carbon pathways suited to local characteristics, and contribute to building a national model of zero-carbon parks in Tianjin.

Carbon Footprint Management Has Become a Core Competitiveness

21st Century: How does Honeywell Tianjin Factory specifically manage energy low-carbonization? What is the status of water use, carbon emissions, and other data?

Yu Feng: Our two Tianjin factories promote the continuous construction of “green factories” across multiple aspects, including land use efficiency, harmless raw materials, clean production, waste resource utilization, and energy low-carbonization. Especially in energy low-carbonization, the factories first adopted intelligent building energy management systems (BeMS). Sensors installed inside the factories collect data on various energy uses (water, electricity, cooling/heating flows, etc.) and upload it to the BeMS, enabling real-time monitoring and control of energy consumption, identifying waste and inefficient equipment, and providing optimization suggestions. This helps reduce energy consumption and operational costs. After implementing BeMS, the Tianjin factories reduced electricity consumption by about 122,800 kWh compared to the previous year, a 5% decrease, equivalent to reducing 86 tons of CO2 emissions.

In addition, the factories have carried out key upgrades in areas such as intelligent lighting, smart sockets, heating and cooling systems, rainwater recycling, and water-saving devices, reducing resource waste and achieving more sustainable operations. From R&D and production to delivery, the factories continuously innovate product design and improve processes, minimizing raw material consumption while ensuring product quality and functionality, and scientifically achieving energy-saving and emission reduction goals.

21st Century: Do you think the experience of building green factories is replicable under the background of green and low-carbon transformation?

Yu Feng: Regarding the replicability of green factory construction experience, I believe management attention is the primary prerequisite. Many people mistakenly think that green and low-carbon efforts only bring social benefits and lack economic benefits—that’s a misconception. Take China’s new energy vehicle, photovoltaic, and wind power industries as examples; these have become major export drivers, while many traditional export categories are declining. Moreover, many international procurement requirements now explicitly demand product carbon footprint data. Companies that have not engaged in related work risk falling behind. It’s clear that carbon footprint management has become one of the core competitive advantages for enterprises.

Second, suitable tools and methods are needed. Companies can choose different paths based on their financial situation. The Honeywell Tianjin team has developed customized solutions, including cost-effective upgrades and more systematic approaches covering various scenarios, providing tailored energy-saving recommendations through technical analysis.

Green development is not a solo act of individual factories; coordinated efforts at the park, city, and national levels are more valuable. Currently, 75% of Honeywell’s products manufactured in China come from our recognized green factories at the national or provincial level. We also share relevant experience with key suppliers and customers, hoping more enterprises can obtain green factory certifications.

Using “Carbon” as a New Efficiency Metric

21st Century: Starting in 2026, China will select a batch of zero-carbon factories. How do you view the impact of zero-carbon factories on industrial manufacturing, and will Honeywell participate in their construction in the future?

Yu Feng: As a company rooted in China for over 90 years, Honeywell is very encouraged by China’s deployment of zero-carbon factories. This is not just a simple “emission reduction” challenge but a strategic issue concerning China’s future industrial competitiveness. The core is to guide us to treat “carbon” as a new and critical efficiency indicator and design constraint, systematically examining and reconstructing every aspect from factory design, energy supply, production processes, to supply chain management. This will inevitably drive a profound efficiency revolution and mode innovation, serving as a key path toward high-quality industrial development.

For Honeywell, we are not only highly attentive to this trend but have already integrated our development with China’s “dual carbon” goals. We are actively moving toward zero carbon in our operations, committing to achieve carbon neutrality across all business operations and facilities by 2035. In China, several factories, including Tianjin, have received national or provincial green factory titles, which form the foundation of our practice. More importantly, we are embedding sustainable technologies into our solutions to help customers solve problems.

21st Century: For companies that have already been recognized as green factories, what do you think are the biggest challenges and opportunities in progressing toward zero-carbon factories?

Yu Feng: Transitioning from green factories to zero-carbon factories is not a simple upgrade but involves deep systemic changes in strategy, technology, management, and supply chains. Based on Honeywell’s practices and industry observations, I see that the challenges and opportunities in this transformation are two sides of the same coin, mainly embodied in three integrated aspects:

First, technological breakthroughs and industry leadership integration. Overcoming technical bottlenecks such as process emissions and high-quality heat source substitution is not only about investment but also crucial for driving industry upgrades, building key barriers, and opening new growth points.

Second, supply chain collaboration and ecological construction integration. Managing vast amounts of supplier carbon data and decarbonization actions is complex but offers opportunities to elevate from supply chain management to building a green ecosystem. Through co-creating standards and empowering partners, a low-carbon ecological network centered on the enterprise can be established.

Third, carbon cost management and carbon asset operation integration. Achieving precise lifecycle carbon accounting is fundamental. Its value lies in making carbon flows as transparent as logistics and capital flows, systematically eliminating hidden waste, and transforming carbon management from a cost center into a potential profit center.

Faced with these integrated challenges, we are not only exploring technological applications and economic balance in our own factories but also committed to providing end-to-end solutions. The biggest challenge in moving from green to zero-carbon factories is crossing from “optimization and improvement” to “systemic reconstruction,” and the greatest opportunity lies precisely in this leap.