Schneider Electric leverages sustainability as growth driver

Global energy management and automation company Schneider Electric has put sustainability at the core of its business strategy, with a focus to accelerate sustainable progress for its customers, partners and employees.

Grasping the business opportunity that sustainability presents, Schneider Electric has positioned itself as a leader in the technology industry when it comes to its carbon neutrality and circular economy journey.

According to Astrid Groves, general manager for IT and edge at Schneider Electric, “Being sustainable should save you energy, but more than that it is a business opportunity.

“The World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group have shown up to 25 percent growth in companies with great sustainability initiatives. It helps to attract staff, it is a significant factor for businesses when they choose suppliers and shareholders and other stakeholders are now looking at ESG closely.”

Embarking on its sustainability journey in 2005, the organisation has focused its efforts on reducing its emissions profile across all three scopes.

“We look at what carbon emissions we are directly responsible for and then look for ways to reduce or eliminate those emissions,” said Groves.

“Then we ask — is there a knock-on effect that creates excessive emissions? The third scope is around the supply chain and lifecycle of the products we make. We choose ethical suppliers and work with them to help them achieve carbon neutrality and reduced emissions.”

Every element of Schneider Electric’s operation is viewed through the lens of environmental impact. Even software development is a focus, as Groves explained the company optimises software code so fewer lines are executed, thereby minimising the amount of compute power that’s needed.

For customers, the use of AI and analytics means they can better manage the life of a piece of equipment. Potential hardware failures can be detected before they become critical and rather than following arbitrary refresh cycles, equipment can be replaced when it is truly end of life rather than when it is financially depreciated.

Schneider Electric is taking the lead on ensuring equipment is ethically disposed of and recycled. For example, the company’s new Trade-Ups program allows customers to trade in old UPS units — even those made by Schneider Electric’s competitors — so the lead, acid and other components can either be recycled or safely disposed of rather than ending up in landfill, contaminating the environment.

“Being sustainable means you are efficient, you are probably automated, and you can scale really easily, so your profitability is going up,” said Groves.

“We’re starting to see a lot more ESG criteria in a lot of tenders. Customers are looking for that in their suppliers.”