Two years ago, Schneider Electric introduced a very visible, transparent and dedicated tool, wide open to public scrutiny. This tool is the Planet & Society Barometer. Its purpose is to gauge the company’s CSR performance by assessing the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet and profit. It is a collection of 14 indicators, such as CO2 emissions, eco-design, sustainable purchasing, diversity and access to energy.
Right from the start, the barometer has charted the unfaltering pursuit of the company to be sustainable; their overall performance has consistently been above target. The results of the last quarter show that among the 14 indicators of the Planet & Society Barometer, 6 indicators exceed their 3-year targets and 7 other indicators are close to them.
The suppliers indicator is carrying on with its upward trend. In the last quarter, almost 38% of Schneider Electric’s recommended suppliers conformed with ISO 26000. The company is showing strong ongoing commitment is this area so that their year end figure is closer to their ambitious target of 90%. At the end of 2011, more than 50% of Schneider Electric’s purchases were from suppliers who are United Nations Global Compact signatories. Since 2012, they have been motivating company suppliers to roll out and monitor progress plans conforming to the ISO 26000 guidelines. In addition to that, Schneider Electric are working with EcoVadis to evaluate their supplier’s CSR performance and draw up Corrective Action Plans for them where needed. The barometer is a testament that their efforts are paying off as it has displayed continuous progress since 2012.
It must be said that Schneider Electric’s transparency on reporting is commendable. Their efforts on sustainability haven’t gone unnoticed either, as this quarter, Schneider Electric was rewarded by Newsweek Green Ranking with the “Top 10 Green companies in the world” award.
