Dr. Stefan Hardt on visions, new standards and the MeteoViva-DNA

MeteoViva has been around since 2001. As of today, are you an established company or still a start-up?
MeteoViva is a mature tech company with a strong start-up mindset. Our technology is sophisticated and established. At the same time, the platform is very flexible and we can always adapt it to new requirements. Everybody enjoys that. What generally distinguishes us from many start-ups is that we don’t just develop any app. With the combination of our technology and engineering know-how we can do things that others simply can’t. This combination is unique.

Many did not see it that way when you entered the market. How was that?
That was in 2001. Climate protection and energy efficiency were not yet a big topic for the corporate real estate sector. And if you looked into it, then it was mainly about changes in material, not data. Data is not physically tangible. Back then, efficiency was mainly about equipment and insulation materials. We had to create a market for smart data first. We had to do the ground work for data driven building controls.
How it all started

Today your solution is operating in office buildings all over the world. Many large companies trust you. What are MeteoViva’s goals for the future?
The vision has always remained the same. We want to establish MeteoViva Climate as a worldwide standard for intelligent building operations – in other words a standard for data driven predictive controls. We are driven by the firm belief that it is against Nature to control a building reactively. Early on, it became clear that MeteoViva Climate can do a lot for environmental protection. Using our technology, more than 7,500 tons of CO2 emissions were saved in 2019. With that in mind, we also want to become more involved in the general climate debate. Markus Werner, with whom I founded MeteoViva, recently moved to the newly appointed Advisory Board where he is actively involved in the social discussion.

Can your technology also be used in different ways?
MeteoViva Climate is a simulation platform and consists of two components. On one side there is the simulation, which replicates the reality and on the other side the optimization, which aims at achieving a specific objective with the lowest use of resources. The objective can be a certain indoor climate, CO2 savings or a cost reduction. Our technology can be applied for optimization whenever external factors like the weather, prices and usage influence a process or the production of goods.

How would you describe the corporate culture, the DNA of MeteoViva?
We have a world-class product. I always say that it can’t be any better in terms of the product. Also, because it has a positive impact on our environment and climate, all of our employees work here with conviction, enthusiasm and extraordinary commitment. They know that they are contributing to something meaningful and are comfortable here. And with that, comes a very low turnover.

To manage the growth of the company MeteoViva needs well trained personnel. What can you offer employees?
We are looking for people who have a vision themselves. With us, they can really put their knowledge into practice. Of course, all our employees have an environmental awareness. We’re a small company and everybody makes a difference. For that, I think we have created a good foundation and we make sure that this spirit remains while we grow.