The leading company in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, Schneider Electric, has been ranked the world’s most sustainable corporation, in a prestigious annual list compiled by Corporate Knights, a media and research company focused on corporate sustainability performance.

The recognition which coincides with Schneider Electric’s announcement of its accelerated sustainability programme marks a big jump from 29th place the previous year and represents a high-profile external acknowledgement of the company’s long-standing commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Schneider Electric Jean-Pascal Tricoire, while reacting to the achievement in a press statement, said the award was a reflection of the company’s drive towards sustainability and making the world greener and more inclusive.

“We are honoured and grateful to be ranked number one by Corporate Knights. It is a major encouragement for our teams and partners, and a great recognition of more than 15 years of engagement to make our company and the world greener and more inclusive. Sustainability is a journey that we accomplish with our people, partners, suppliers, customers and communities where we operate. This recognition goes also to all of them.”

Corporate Knights’ 2021 ranking was based on an assessment of 8,080 companies with more than US$1 billion in revenues. Performance indicators include evaluations of how much renewable energy and waste companies generate.

The Toronto-based company identified Schneider Electric’s steady shift towards products and services that help customers manage their energy needs more efficiently and safely.

According to the CEO of Corporate Knights, Toby Heaps; “In recent decades, Schneider Electric has shifted its focus to data centres; storage and other distributed energy resources; and smart solutions that advance electrification, energy efficiency and renewability. It now earns 70% of its revenue from and directs 73% of its investments toward, sustainable solutions, Schneider Electric also performs strongly in racial and gender diversity and in resource productivity and safety.”

In another development, General Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Process Automation, Schneider Electric, Ajibola Akindele, has called on stakeholders of Nigeria’s power sector to augment investment in the power sector so as to enable the country to achieve her industrialization goal.

Akindele who gave the charge recently, in an interview with Arise TV, averred that the country needs to create the necessary framework for private sector investments.

“We have had several years of under-investment in the power sector.  If you look back at the last 30 years, particularly between 1989, to 2007, there was no major investment in the power sector. The country was just spending enough to stabilize the grid infrastructure. The sector needs investments in order to accelerate GDP growth and create jobs,” said Akindele.

He further noted that based on general consensus by experts in the power sector, the country needs between $3-5 billion annual spend over the next 15 years to achieve industrialization. While these are huge amounts, he expects that some funding could come from Government, International Development Agencies and from the Private sector. All available funding options must be explored and investors should be given the necessary incentives and where necessary guarantees to ensure they can make a decent return on their investments.

In conclusion, he highlighted that though there have been some positive developments in the power sector recently; these are not enough and we need to move much faster to improve electrification rates and reliability of the grid.