In the "2025 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations" survey selected by the Canadian economic media outlet "Corporate Knights," the French global energy-management and automation company "Schneider Electric" took first place. Schneider Electric has been named in this survey for more than 10 years. It was also selected as No. 1 among the "2024 World's Best Sustainable Leader Companies" chosen by the U.S. magazine Time and the German global data platform "Statista." Let us look at the reasons Schneider Electric has long been recognized for—and has maintained—global leadership in the sustainability field, and further in the ESG-management field.
[The world's most sustainable company, Schneider Electric ©ESG.ONL/ESG Today]
The Opening of the Sustainable Workspace "The Nest" and Energy Management
In 2025, Schneider Electric opened the smart office "The Nest" in Dubai. The Nest is drawing attention for its features—it can be expected to cut energy consumption by 37% compared with existing workspaces and to reduce carbon dioxide by 572 tons annually. As a project that transforms a workspace into something sustainable and smart, it applied a structure that strengthens energy efficiency and resilience through a building-management system integrating the IoT-based open platform "EcoStruxure solution" and "Planon." CEO Olivier Blum emphasized that "The Nest is a space symbolizing a sustainable future and an innovative work environment."
[Schneider Electric CEO Olivier Blum ©Schneider Electric]
Schneider Electric is also leading innovative solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Since 2018, it has supported customers using Schneider Electric's services in cutting 679 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions. In addition, through its "Zero Carbon Project," it is achieving results such as cooperating with its top 1,000 suppliers to reduce supply-chain carbon emissions by more than 40%. Toward the goal of cutting carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, it also has the detailed goal of realizing carbon neutrality in Scope 1 and 2 by 2025. This is assessed as one of the most progressive strategies for realizing carbon neutrality among global companies, at a pace ahead of the Paris Agreement. Schneider Electric is expected to strive to realize the decarbonization of industry as a whole through various innovation measures as well—digitalization such as AI-based energy management, and electrification such as renewable-energy integration.
[Schneider Electric's microgrid ©Schneider Electric]
Expanding Energy Access and Education
Schneider Electric is working to supply clean electricity to 53.4 million people worldwide and is also showing enthusiasm for improving energy access. In particular, it is concentrating on building eco-friendly energy infrastructure such as "microgrids" (small-scale power grids that independently produce, supply, and manage electricity) and solar power in regions with difficult energy access, such as Africa and Southeast Asia.
In addition, it iS also diligent in social-responsibility activities to strengthen future generations' sustainability capabilities and contribute to cultivating talent prepared for the global energy transition. By providing energy-efficiency education programs for youth, 824,000 people have received education, and it aims to reach 1 million educated by 2025. At "The Nest," too, it runs EcoStruxure-based solution experiences and partner and customer education, as well as youth-talent-cultivation programs.
Corporate Sustainability Presented Through Governance, Not Only the Environment
Through its "Schneider Sustainability Impact program," Schneider Electric transparently discloses, every quarter, concrete goals and progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). It aims to realize responsible governance—securing gender diversity within its management and board, and linking the management-compensation system to sustainability performance. It also operates a system in which all employees can join in practicing sustainability, by regularly conducting DEI education for employees.
CEO Olivier Blum boasts that "sustainability is the core of our business and the source of inspiration for our employees," and that "together with customers, partners, and communities, we are building a sustainable future." Schneider Electric is a company that proves, through results, that ESG management is a core value driving the future of global industry. At a point when global joint discussion of ESG is rising, we need inspiration like Schneider Electric's exemplary case of global ESG management.
by Editor N