Schneider Electric, the leader of the digital transformation of energy management and automation, hosted ‘Homes of the Future’ track at its flagship Digital Innovation Summit 2021, currently underway between October 19th to 21st. In its quest to achieve net-zero carbon emission and increase focus on sustainable living in the future and beyond.The session deliberated by Srinivas Shanbhogue, Vice President, Home and Distribution, Schneider Electric India along with Gita Ramanan – CEO & Co-founder - Design Café, and Kavita Sastry, Principal Architect - KS Designs Studio and Chairperson, IIID Bengaluru, was themed around “Smart and Sustainable Living”. The experts discussed the need for adapting sustainable and smart homes to create a carbon neutral future.The Innovation Talk captured Schneider Electric, Design Café, and Code’s commitment towards empowering homes, making them energy efficient. The discussion delved into addressing aspects like the increase in demand for energy, the importance of meeting client needs with energy efficient solutions, the trends in sustainability, eco-friendly products, and the smart homes space. The experts stressed upon the need for optimising the home furnishing space, various solutions that help in making homes more efficient and various challenges and opportunities that are driving the shift towards Smart Homes.Srinivas Shanbhogue, Vice President- Home and Distribution, Schneider Electric India said “Being the leader of energy management and home automation, we are constantly working towards bringing sustainable and smart home solutions to life. Our energy-efficient home automation solutions seamlessly fit into existing and new homes, providing sustainable comfort, convenience, and security. At Schneider Electric, we have taken various measures to reduce our carbon footprint and have further pledged to become operationally net-zero by 2030.”Gita Ramanan, CEO & Co-Founder, Design Cafe said, “Design Café’s consistent pursuit is to offer sustainable personalised design solutions for homes at affordable prices. Throughout our journey, we realised that there are various ways to adapt sustainability and personalise our offerings to the clients according to their preferences. For us sustainability remains our top priority right from selecting the construction material to finalising on how to utilize the space effectively, all these decisions are taken after evaluating the long-term impact on the environment. Sustainable and eco-friendly designs and materials such as jute, bamboo, terracotta flooring, concrete flooring, wooden false ceiling and lots of plants help in reducing the carbon footprint and leads towards a high quality design with low environmental impact”.“Design thinking has evidently emerged as the need of the hour. Businesses are re-thinking their infrastructure and interiors to become more attuned to larger climate needs. With this view in mind, we are witnessing an uptick of homes that blend technology with nature and sustainability and therefore counteract the effects of increasing carbon footprints. Homes of the future will continue aligning with the needs of the environment as well as the needs of individuals and bring together innovation to sustain clean and green living, added Ar. Kavita Sastry, Principal Architect - KS Designs Studio and Chairperson, IIID Bengaluru.Schneider Electric’s flagship three – day virtual Innovation Summit, is aimed at sparking conversations around the need for integrating sustainability with business. The event with central theme 'Digital: the path to sustainability with Aatma Nirbhar Bharat' is bringing forth industry leaders and policy makers to deliberate and discuss upon how we can build a sustainable and resilient future for India.