Calling for that action to be "three to five times faster" in order to halve emissions by 2030, Schneider said smart, green electricity and next-generation automation will be key to achieving targets – and to help industry it has expanded its consulting services.
Urging attendees to adopt critical decarbonisation measures, chairman and CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire said: “Despite increased momentum around sustainability and more companies adopting ambitious targets to tackle climate change, this research reveals how we need to speed up.
"At Schneider Electric, we are uniquely part of the solution. To support organisations in their quest to decarbonise at pace and deliver on their climate commitments, we are accelerating the expansion of our global sustainability consulting services business to meet the increasing demand for meaningful progress on energy transition and climate action goals," he added.
On the enhanced consultancy services, Schneider said it is meeting heightened demand and will offer several new services: climate action consulting and affiliated supply chain decarbonisation and climate risk assessments; communications, including ESG reporting/ratings and reputational and sustainability claims; and circularity and traceability services. There will also be ESG modules for the EcoStruxure™ Resource Advisor platform to track societal and governance metrics.
“What organisations require today is a trusted partner who combines strategic planning and target setting with a proven track record of solutions implementation to deliver faster, tangible sustainable outcomes. Having successfully overcome many sustainability challenges ourselves, and in so doing, achieved world-leading digital and electric solutions in our own facilities, we are well-positioned to help others go faster and further.”
The developments followed the publication of The 2030 imperative: A race against time report published by the Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute.
It details the need to reduce carbon emissions by 30-50% this decade, compared to current levels. Schneider said missing this target "makes it virtually impossible to limit temperature rise to a 1.5°C degree threshold as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)".
On Electricity 4.0 Schneider highlighted that "electric makes energy green", while "digital makes energy smart". In line with this it is launching APC Smart-UPS, the industry’s first 5kW Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for data centres and a series of smart sustainable home solutions.
It also extended the range of pure air SF6-free technology for net zero grids, with the RM AirSeT Ring Main Unit and Modular Switchgear and the MCSeT Active Medium Voltage Air Insulated Distribution Switchboard.
The Innovation Summit World Tour 2021 runs from 12 October to 12 November and will showcase Electricity 4.0 as well as next-generation automation, and other advances.
