Schneider Electrics: Top 10 2020 sustainability trends
Business Chief takes a look at Schneider Electrics top 10 2020 sustainability trends.
As companies continue to ramp up their investments in sustainable operations, we take a look at Schneider Electrics top 10 2020 sustainability trends for the year.
Bold new climate commitments
Companies across sectors are heeding the call to act on climate change by limiting average global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050,” commented Ekaterina Tsvetkova, Head of Sustainability Consultancy; Budapest (HUN).
With more than 177 signatures pledged to set climate targets, many organisations are setting and meeting ambitious goals to invest in clean energy, transportation and drive sustainable solutions within their operations.
Global investors adopt green investments
“Today’s investment community is riding a wave of growing interest in sustainable companies — ones that show progress toward a 1.5C world,” comments Maureen Bray, International Energy & Sustainability Consultancy Director; Dunfermline (UK). As companies continue to evolve their sustainable journey, so do investors.
Corporates buying renewable energy
“In 2019, we saw many interesting developments in the renewable energy space: in addition to a steady growth of renewable opportunities in the U.S., Europe continued to advance as an attractive market for corporate PPAs — a trend that will only speed up in 2020,” commented James Lewis, Director of International Cleantech; Boulder, CO (U.S.), who is seeing increased innovation in deal structures coming out of the European market.
Water action
“In the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risk Report, water crises were identified as one of the top 5 greatest risks to society over the next decade. Time is running out for companies to be unaware of their water footprint,” commented Louis Christopher, Sustainability Specialist; Louisville, KY (U.S.). Who highlights that companies must understand what goes into their upstream and downstream operations.
Technology disruption
“We live in an age of rapid technology innovation. Technology that is giving rise to new opportunities and business models that possesses the potential to change the energy and sustainability industry in unique and dramatic ways,” commented Dominic Barbato, Director of Strategy; Louisville, KY (U.S.).
Technology disruptions include: wind turbines, photovoltaics, electric vehicles, battery storage, microgrids and other distributed energy resources (DERs) as well as artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain.
Climate risks
“2019 wrapped with some of the most extreme cases of natural disasters. According to the World Economic Forum’s top 20 risks facing the world in 2020, these risks are only growing. Over 70% of respondents think risks to businesses will increase in the next 10 years across all areas of short-term risk outlook, including climate-related disasters such as extreme heat waves and uncontrolled fires,” commented Erik Mohn, Director of Sustainability, Americas; Louisville, KY (U.S.).
As a result companies should expect to see more of a push from the investment community to address risks related to climate change.
Carbon zero
“The upswing in carbon neutrality goals was already a big trend in 2019, with almost daily announcements of net zero initiatives from countries, organisations, event organisers or even on a personal, family level. While many companies have joined this movement, there are still a lot of discussions on what exactly is net zero (and what is not),” commented Gabriel De Malleray, International Consultancy Manager; Paris (France).
Schneider Electrics explains that initiatives can differ based on what a company sells, owns or influences. “The emissions reduction rate associated with neutrality claims is not always clear and neither is the way that the remaining emissions may be offset,” adds De Malleray.
Supply chain
“Many companies have turned their focus to carbon reduction on Scope three, or indirect emissions in a company’s supply chain. Mainstreaming supply chain carbon reduction will bring a real breakthrough, as impacts could be exponential compared to focusing only on emissions from a company’s own operations,” commented Gary Cafe, Consultancy Manager — Sustainability; Hoofddorp (Netherlands), who has seen a large amount of activity from supply chains in scope three.
Circular economy
Schneider Electrics has also seen a growing number of businesses beginning to identify opportunities in adopting circular business models. “Unlike the mainstream linear model, circular models adopt strategies in recycling and product life extension. In the past, such initiatives mainly focused on plastics and packaging reduction and recycling, as the public interest in the ocean plastics crisis had driven both consumers and regulators to seek action. Nowadays, circular economy programs extend to decouple many economic activities from consumption of finite resources and help to cut GHG emissions,” commented Valérie Limauge, Sustainability Consultant; Lasne (Belgium).
Green Microgrids
Schneider Electrics has seen microgrids trending for multiple reasons. “Regionally, Asia Pacific has emerged as a leader in installed and planned capacity, as microgrids provide access to a secure and reliable power supply for a growing population — even in regions with power scarcity. Growth in microgrid business is also fueled by the need of organisations to ensure grid reliability and resilience of their physical supply infrastructure. Electrical interruptions caused by extreme weather are increasing, and microgrids are available as a solution to build a resilient infrastructure,” commented Matthieu Mounier, Global Leader Microgrid Line of Business; Grenoble (France).
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