Schneider Electric has been named the world’s most sustainable company in a new survey from Corporate Knights.
The company earned the top spot on Corporate Knights’ 2021 Global 100 list of ‘Most Sustainable Corporations’, representing a significant improvement on the 29th place Schneider Electric achieved in the previous year’s rankings.
“We are honoured and grateful to be ranked number one by Corporate Knights,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric’s chairman and CEO.
“It is a major encouragement for our teams and partners, and a great recognition of more than 15 years of engagement to make our company and the world greener and more inclusive. Sustainability is a journey that we accomplish with our people, partners, suppliers, customers and communities where we operate. This recognition goes also to all of them.”
Corporate Knights’ 2021 ranking was based on an assessment of 8,080 companies with more than US$1 billion in revenues. Performance indicators include evaluations of how much renewable energy and waste companies generate. This year, they also included new indicators on sick leave, executive and board racial diversity, and clean investments.
“There are two sides to the sustainability coin,” commented Gilles Vermot Desroches, sustainability senior VP at Schneider Electric.
“We aim to lead by example within our own operations and ecosystem, and we work to be part of the solution for our customers. Sustainability improves performance, innovation and our attractiveness as a place to work. It creates value.”
Corporate Knights applauded Schneider’s steady shift towards products and services that help customers manage their energy needs more efficiently and safely.
“In recent decades, Schneider has shifted its focus to data centers; storage and other distributed energy resources; and smart solutions that advance electrification, energy efficiency and renewability. It now earns 70% of its revenue from, and directs 73% of its investments toward, sustainable solutions,” noted Toby Heaps CEO of Corporate Knights. “Schneider Electric also performs strongly in racial and gender diversity and in resource productivity and safety.”
Schneider Electric was an early adopter of ESG considerations and has dialed up its sustainability commitments repeatedly and ambitiously over the past decade and a half. The firm is hoping to extend its lead in the rankings next year, with the firm having announced a newly accelerated sustainability strategy earlier today.