Schneider Electric to go all green as it pushes for sustainable growth

Schneider Electric, the French digital solution provider to energy management and automation, will turn all its 23 plants in China into green factories and work with more local partners to push sustainable growth in the coming years, according to a senior executive.

"Since the government has done a lot by creating the environment and setting up objectives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, we expect that all industries will work on their own sustainable strategies, and we will continue to invest in this area," said Olivier Blum, chief strategy and sustainability officer of Schneider Electric.

The multinational now runs 13 manufacturing facilities recognized as green factories by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, taking over 50 percent of its total of 23 factories in China.

As innovative, green and low-carbon products and solutions, including 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, the internet of things, new energy vehicles and the next generation industrial battery will be the driving force of China's economic growth, particularly during the country's 14th Five-­Year Plan (2021-25) period, Blum said Schneider Electric is keen to support its clients to cut carbon emission with its technologies and solutions of digital transformation in energy management and automation.

"We hope that the government will push for more electrification, because electricity is the most decarbonized energy form and suitable for digital management which brings efficiency everywhere in the value chain," he said. "We believe that the promotion of clean energy, electrification, renewable energy and micro-grid will accelerate the trend."

Eager to accelerate its commitment on sustainability, Schneider Electric updated its plan in late January to execute long-standing strategy to embed environmental, social and governance considerations into every facet of its activities – and to assist its customers and business partners in achieving their own sustainability objectives.

The new plan, named SSI (Schneider Electric Sustainability Impact), initiated in 2005, will span from 2021 to 2025 and amounts to a significant acceleration of previous targets. It is built on six long-term commitments including climate and resources, which are set to deliver on each of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

"In essential, carbon emission is an energy issue," said Blum, noting the solution is to use digital technology throughout the whole life cycle of energy to improve energy efficiency, especially in high emission industries such as power and grid, manufacturing, buildings, steel and petrochemical.

To further upgrade its production gears and save the power cost, Schneider Electric has already increased the use of renewable electricity. The company has moved its own operation forward with renewable electricity from 2 percent to 80 percent, and target to achieve 90 percent soon.