Schneider Electric announced today at Climate Week NYC 2019 that it is drastically stepping up its commitment to carbon neutrality with three new actions: (1) accelerating its 2030 goal of carbon neutrality by demonstrating carbon neutrality in its extended ecosystem by 2025, bringing forward its objective by 5 years (2)  achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2030 as part of validated SBT target and (3) engage with suppliers towards a net-zero supply chain by 2050. These targets are expected to contribute to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) goal of capping global temperature increase at 1.5°C. Schneider Electric is also calling on other companies to reduce emissions, offering support through products and services to help businesses streamline and find efficiencies within their own operations.

“Climate change is the single biggest threat to the health and well-being of our society. We must work together to reduce our carbon emissions and halt the rise in temperature.” says Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO at Schneider Electric. “At Schneider Electric, our commitment to carbon neutrality is weaved into our business decisions and governance, but we need to do more and faster. Not only are we stepping up our carbon commitments and moving up our timeline, but also calling on others to take bolder actions to reduce carbon emissions and establish more sustainable business practices that will help set the stage for a post-carbon world.”

In the move towards carbon neutrality, Schneider Electric has established several safety nets to ensure communities are not negatively impacted during the transition. The company’s Access to Energy program will provide electricity to 80 million by 2030 and train more than one million underprivileged people by 2025.

The company has two impact investing vehicles aimed to support inclusive startups, which activity contributes to SDG7 (clean and affordable energy), through equity investments. The expected outcomes of these vehicles are to increase the number of households and small and medium enterprises connected to the grid in remote areas (Africa, India and South East Asia), and to decrease the number of households facing energy poverty in Europe.

“Access to energy is a basic human right, but it is also crucial that we are mindful of the effects of energy consumption on the environment,” Tricoire said. “We must find ways to bring energy-poor populations access to energy and allow them to develop in a sustainable way.”

Collaborating for Carbon Neutrality

For the past 15 years, Schneider Electric has been committed to decarbonizing itself and its customers through innovative offers and strategic alignments. The success of these initiatives will allow the company to move up its carbon neutral goal to 2025 and work towards a net-zero supply chain by 2050.

“Committing to carbon neutrality across our supply chain is a challenging undertaking that requires businesses to develop models and increased collaboration with suppliers, partners and customers,” says Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Chief Officer at Schneider Electric. “Climate change can only be overcome through innovation and collaboration and Schneider Electric will continue to lead the way with products and services that will help achieve meaningful progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Schneider Electric takes a collaborative approach to carbon and environmental solutions with products, solutions and services that can be utilized by companies at all stages in their sustainability journey. The company’s internal Smart Factory Program, for example, applies Schneider’s EcoStruxure™ solutions across its global supply chain. The program demonstrates that EcoStruxure is one of the best in class solution to drive operational and energy efficiencies, while Schneider’s Energy & Sustainability Services (ESS) helps customers quantify their CO₂ emissions to track progress. The company’s recently launched Schneider Electric Exchange also provides a crowdsourcing platform for new innovative ideas to address challenges in the energy ecosystem.

Schneider Electric also reinforces its contribution to SDG17 (Partnerships for the goals), by joining the Business Ambition for 1.5°C initiative, and the Global Compact LEAD group.

For more information on Schneider Electric’s sustainability journey and various product offerings, visit http://sdreport.se.com