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French multinational Schneider Electric has been around for 188 years, making it older than electricity itself.<\/p>\n
Far from being outdated, though, Schneider is among the world\u2019s most sustainable companies<\/a> and a leader in the space, partnering with about 40% of Fortune<\/em> 500 companies on their sustainability goals.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is one of the biggest challenges of our generation. The future of energy was in a deadlock,\u201d Schneider\u2019s chair Jean-Pascal Tricoire told Fortune<\/em>\u2019s Claire Zillman at the Fortune<\/em> Innovation Forum<\/em> in Hong Kong last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n To accelerate the transition to clean energy, Tricoire is banking on demand\u2014governments, consumers, and companies demanding less-emitting power\u2014rather than the supply.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the story of humanity, energy transition to something which is net zero never happens through the supply,\u201d the Schneider chair said. He gave the example of electric cars\u2014they\u2019re taking off now not because there\u2019s more electricity available, but because there\u2019s already a movement to decarbonize transportation across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other words, Tricoire said, the pivot to achieving lower emissions predates the changes in\u00a0energy supply. As an energy management company, Schneider sees its opportunity for the future in facilitating the shift to cleaner forms of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not complicated. Climate change is 80% due to carbon emissions, and carbon emissions are 80% due to the way we use and produce energy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To help mammoth-sized companies adopt cleaner and more energy-efficient infrastructure, Schneider placed its bets on two things\u2014digitization and electrification. AI and automation have a part to play, too, he said.<\/p>\n Applying \u201csoftware [and] AI to optimize everything \u2026 from design, to build, to operation, to maintenance\u201d can unlock massive energy savings, Tricoire said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Sustainability is now at the top of mind for many companies<\/a>. But that\u2019s a recent phenomenon\u2014for the first 15 years of Tricoire\u2019s 20-year career at Schneider as COO, CEO and chairman, he said, investors didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the discussions surrounding environmental, social and governance (or ESG) factors began to pick up in 2019, Tricoire points out, more investors started paying attention<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The subject of ESG has been riddled with problems and controversies in recent times, with critics saying<\/a> it\u2019s a sham, has been politicized, and lacks clarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n For companies that are pursuing ESG goals, Tricoire says it\u2019s important to set strong standards to de-risk the company in every way possible. The transformation would also require the entire company\u2014its people, culture, workflow and governance\u2014to be aligned so everyone can work toward the same mission.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However you slice it, though, investing in the environment and in minimizing the world\u2019s carbon emissions will only get more important from here on out. The good news? We don\u2019t need to wait for groundbreaking innovations to help companies make progress because we already have a lot of the tools at our disposal now, according to Tricoire.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBefore we think about the big revolution, let\u2019s first deploy what we have because time counts, right?\u201d Tricoire said, adding that the carbon we cut today is far more valuable than doing the same 10 years from now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAchieving ESG goals and more<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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