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At the One Planet Summit in France, Schneider Electric accelerated its fight against climate change by committing to carbon neutrality and 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
The company strongly believes it cannot go renewable without ensuring optimization of its energy system first. Today’s commitments are yet another step-in Schneider Electric’s journey to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Aligned with these commitments, Schneider Electric decided to join two global, collaborative initiatives, led by The Climate Group and bringing together influential businesses committed to accelerating climate action:
Schneider Electric strives to answer the world’s new energy challenge by boosting energy efficiency everywhere: in homes, buildings and cities, industry, the grid, and throughout remote community. In a world more decarbonized, more digitized, more decentralized, energy use needs to be more productive. In order to deliver on its new promises and its sustained energy efficiency efforts, Schneider Electric will leverage its own technical solutions (EcoStruxure Power, EcoStruxure Grid). Using these solutions, the Group has been able to reduce its energy consumption by 10% every 3 years for the past 10 years. More specifically, Schneider Electric has reduced consumption by 6 between 2008 and 2017 at its headquarters in France, The Hive.
These commitments will cover more than 1,000 electricity consuming sites around the globe, including 200 factories. Schneider Electric will leverage a broad range of renewable energy sources, including but not limited to solar, wind, geothermal and biomass.
Schneider Electric will drive its transition to 100 percent renewable electricity through three levers, with an interim goal of achieving 80% renewable electricity use by 2020 to 100% in 2030:
“We are in a new world of energy that is becoming more electric, more decarbonized, more decentralized, and more digital" says Emmanuel Lagarrigue, chief strategy officer and executive vice president at Schneider Electric. "Our mission at Schneider Electric is to supply the technologies that permit, drive and catalyze the transition to a new world of energy. The commitments we have made today in joining RE100 and EP100 to source 100% renewable electricity and reflect on the doubling of our energy productivity are a demonstration of how consumers and business can be empowered to ensure the affordability, resilience, sustainability, and security of the energy that they consume.”
At COP21 in Paris in 2015, Schneider Electric announced 10 Commitments for Sustainability. The commitments were aligned with the Planet & Society Barometer, Schneider Electric’s sustainability scorecard to measure its ambitious commitment to sustainable development on a quarterly basis and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These commitments support the company’s objectives to make its plants and sites carbon neutral by 2030, in a coherent industry ecosystem encompassing both suppliers and clients.
“Already a leader in the energy space, joining RE100 and EP100 represents a smart business decision for Schneider Electric," says Helen Clarkson, CEO at The Climate Group. "These commitments will help the company to deliver on its wider climate ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030. Doubling energy productivity will help it to use energy as economically as possible while making the transition to renewables, which are themselves cost-competitive in many markets. I welcome the powerful signal Schneider Electric is sending to peers, investors and governments, to accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions economy.”
In addition, to become a carbon neutral company by 2030, recent initiatives from Schneider Electric include:
