Schneider Electric accelerates its sustainability strategy

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, on Monday, doubled down on its long-standing strategy to embed environmental, social and governance considerations into every facet of its activities – and to assist its customers and business partners in achieving their own sustainability objectives.

The announcement coincided with the news that Corporate Knights, a Canadian media and research company producing rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance, has for the first time recognized Schneider Electric number one of its annual index of “the Global 100 most sustainable corporations in the world”.

A jump from 29th position the previous year, the top-ranking for 2021 represents an important external recognition of Schneider Electric’s early and sustained commitment to ESG issues. It also highlights the company’s transformation into a leading provider of digital solutions that facilitate energy efficiency and sustainability.

“The core of our strategy is to build a sustainable business and company. Customers, employees, partners and investors have never been more focused on ESG considerations than they are now. Schneider Electric has long embraced those issues, and we keep raising the bar for ourselves, and for our customers and partners,” Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer was quoted to have said in a release by the company.

He added: “When we introduced our first sustainability barometer in 2005, we were an early adopter of ESG matters. But ESG commitments cannot just be a one-off, and we have reinforced ours every three years. All of us – companies, governments, individuals – can contribute to make the world greener and more inclusive. Our new commitments define the next steps of our contribution.”

The new Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) program will span 2021-2025 and amounts to a significant acceleration of previous targets. It is built on six long-term commitments, which are set to deliver on each of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These commitments are: to act for a climate-positive world; to be efficient with resources; to live up to its principles of trust; to create equal opportunities; to harness the power of all generations; and to empower local communities.

“The ability and willingness to make the world greener and more equitable is not just a moral responsibility – it makes good business sense too,” said Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric’s Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer.

“The year 2020, marked by COVID-19, a string of climate-linked disasters, and the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change, reinforced the urgency for action. It has also intensified the appetite from our customers to accelerate their own transitions towards a lower-carbon world. Our solutions can help them achieve their goals, too” he noted.

Eleven concrete targets, deliverable by 2025, underpin these commitments. And, for the first time, leaders of the more than 100 markets in which Schneider operates will set local targets to address grassroots-level needs in their communities.

Repeatedly recognized in key rankings for its sustainability achievements, Schneider Electric said it will continue to report on its extra-financial performance on a quarterly basis, as it has done since launching the world’s first corporate sustainability barometer in 2005.

In just the past year, Schneider Electric said it has already stepped up on its own decarbonization roadmap and became a signatory of the Climate Pledge; was the first company to issue an ESG-linked convertible bond; was also ranked Corporate Disclosure Project (CDP) A-List for environmental transparency and action for the 10th year in a row, and was included in the Financial Times’ Top 50 Diversity Leaders ranking.

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