Schneider Electric's non-financial results smash 2016 target

As per the previous three years, Schneider Electric – the global specialist in energy management and automation – announces its financial and non-financial annual results for 2016. Schneider Electric uses 16 indicators from the 2015-2017 Planet & Society barometer to measure its ambitious commitment to sustainable development on a quarterly basis. Schneider Electric has exceeded its target by achieving a total score of 8.48/10 at the end of December 2016.

The non-financial results by indicator are as follows: 

Gilles Vermot Desroches, sustainability senior VP at Schneider Electric, commented: “In one year, the Planet & Society barometer rose from 6.33/10 at the end of 2015 to 8.48/10 at the end of 2016. This represents an unprecedented increase in comparison with the previous barometers since 2005. This performance can be read on each indicator. As an example, on the Planet pillar, more than 80 per cent of our products in R&D were designed in 2016 with our eco-design method, the "Schneider ecoDesign Way", launched in 2015; on the Profit pillar, more than 90 per cent of our entities have successfully passed our Ethics & Responsibility assessment; and on the People pillar, more than 90 per cent of our employees received one-day training throughout the year. In addition, at the end of 2016, more than 20 million people around the world have benefited from our access to energy offerings. International non-financial ratings have again widely acknowledged the commitment of Schneider Electric, for example the DJSI where we are Industry leader, the CDP where we are part of the "Climate A list”, the "Global 100" where we are the 27th most sustainable company in the world, Ethisphere, Vigeo Eiris and Oekom where we are Industry leader”.

Highlights of this quarter

On the Planet pillar:

-       The indicator "10% energy savings" shows 7.1% energy savings since the beginning of 2015 thanks to Schneider Energy Action, the programme for the continuous reduction of energy consumption at the Group's main sites. About 10% of the Group's total CO2 emissions come from the energy consumption of its sites (according to the latest carbon footprint). Since 2005, within the framework of Energy Action, Schneider Electric has set annual reduction targets and publishes internally the energy consumption of its production and logistics sites;

-       The indicator "100% of products in R&D designed with Schneider ecoDesign WayTM" continues to grow strongly, reaching 81.6%. Since early 2015, Schneider Electric’s design teams working on new products and solutions have been committed to a systematic approach of eco-design called ecoDesign Way. This approach is intended to measure the improvement in the environmental footprint of the Group’s products over their entire life cycle. It is driven by Schneider Electric’s desire to market products that are part of the circular economy by offering greater maintainability, reparability, capacity for retrofitting, and reprocessing at the end of the life cycle. The method also places emphasis on energy efficiency and lower CO2 impacts compared to baselines.

On the Profit pillar:

-       The indicator "100% of new large customer projects with CO2 impact quantification" recorded its first result, at 16%. The objective of the program is to have a reliable tool for calculating and communicating the CO2 footprint of Schneider Electric's large customer projects, calculating avoided CO2 emissions against reference scenarios, and identifying situations where the CO2 impact becomes a commercial advantage. The scope of application is that of won projects registered during the year, worldwide;

-       The indicator "All our entities pass our internal Ethics & Responsibility assessment" reaches 93.4% at the end of 2016. The calculation is based on a survey carried out annually as part of an internal audit. Entities must provide supporting documentation for all positive answers, and the internal control team then performs an audit for 5 to 10% of entities. The results are communicated at the end of the third quarter and entities have the opportunity to take action in order to improve their score before the publication of the results at the end of the fourth quarter.

On the People pillar:

-       The indicator "One day training for every employee every year" reaches 92% and thus exceeds its target of 85% of employees who have received at least one training day during the year, the equivalent of seven hours in total. There is a strong focus on Learning in the Schneider is On 2015-2020 company programme. Its “Step Up” component fosters a culture where employees take the initiative to learn, grow their skills and drive their career development. Employees should feel able to do so regardless of their origin: education, background, nationalities, gender, business, level, etc.;

-       The indicator "85% of employees work in countries with a Schneider gender pay equity plan" reaches 75% at the end of 2016, in 35 countries. Schneider Electric uses a common global standard methodology to identify gender pay gaps within comparable groups of employees and uses a country-driven approach to address gaps with appropriate corrective measures.