Schneider Electric is doubling down on its sustainability strategy, with the firm embedding environmental, social and governance considerations into every facet of its activities.
Following the announcement that Schneider Electric had taken the top spot in Corporate Knights’ Global 100 list of most sustainable corporations in the world, the company said that it was launching a new sustainability program that will span the next four years. The new program will represent a significant acceleration on the company’s previous sustainability targets.
The new program, dubbed the Schneider Sustainability Impact Program, are centred around six long-term commitments, all of which are set to deliver on each of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Those 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;
- To empower local communities.
Schneider Electric noted that 11 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.
“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 has long embraced those issues, and we keep raising the bar for ourselves, and for our customers and partners,” commented Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“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.”
Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric’s chief strategy and sustainability officer, added, “The ability and willingness to make the world greener and more equitable is not just a moral responsibility – it makes good business sense too.
“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.”