Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 12 | Page 74

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology IN OCTOBER 2017, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC ANNOUNCED THAT IT EXCEEDED ITS BAROMETER TARGET FOR 2017; A QUARTER AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. • Access to energy as a fundamental human right: the fight against climate change will not be effective without taking into account the needs of 2.3 billion people who have poor access to energy. Schneider Electric actively promotes access to energy. Energy Access Ventures – a fund backed by Schneider Electric that invests in growing, entrepreneurial businesses in sub-Saharan Africa addressing the lack of electrification in the region with new technology and innovative business models – has secured commitments of €54.4 million to provide electricity to 1 million people by 2020. • Providing new solutions for more efficient, more liveable and more sustainable cities: for Schneider Electric, a sustainable city is an urban centre where infrastructure and energy go hand in hand. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure enables the company, its partners and its customers to lead a new world of energy that is more electric, more digitised, more decarbonised and more decentralised. Schneider Electric also uses its EcoStruxure Power, Building and Grid solutions to help its own buildings and data centres to be more resource efficient and profitable. • Carbon pricing: the introduction of robust, clear and predictable carbon pricing mechanisms, that take into account specificities across regions, along with the adoption of ambitious, 74 INTELLIGENTCIO long-term policy frameworks that favour low carbon solutions and incentivise innovation are essential to reduce CO2 emissions. Schneider Electric has already adopted an internal price of carbon as part of its various programmes to reduce its CO2 footprint, which include setting bold energy efficiency targets; introducing renewable energy projects; optimising logistical operations, such as transportation routes and container fill rates; and eco-design of its products with CO2 considerations front of mind. • Raising awareness of sustainability is crucial for making the world greener: doing more with less is possible now, but to successfully face climate change, we need to involve and change behaviours across society. Schneider Electric and its Foundation – under the aegis of Foundation de France – are committed to raising awareness amongst its employees, customers, partners and shareholders globally. Its aim is to demonstrate that creativity and innovation are major levers in acceleration change by offering the general public new and original means of action and reflections, mobilising Gilles Vermot Desroches, Senior Vice President Sustainability, Schneider Electric their own creativity. Schneider Electric is also developing tools such as a Footprint Calculator that allows users to measure their demand on natural resources and assess their personal Earth Overshoot Day (the calculated illustrative calendar date on which humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources that year). • Importance of gender equality for energy transition: Fiji Presidency of COP23 will focus on the disproportionate vulnerability of women and the approaches that can make them more resilient. Schneider Electric supports training and entrepreneurship programmes for women and has an objective to have 85% of employees work in countries with Schneider Electric gender pay equity. “Access to energy is a fundamental human right,” said Gilles Vermot Desroches. “At the same time, combating climate change cannot be effective without considering development problems, which is why we promote sustainable access to energy worldwide.” n COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE CANNOT BE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT CONSIDERING DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS, WHICH IS WHY WE PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO ENERGY WORLDWIDE. www.intelligentcio.com