Schneider Electric announces its non-financial results

The non-financial results by indicator are the following: 

Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainability Senior VP at Schneider Electric, comments:
“This quarter marks the end of the Connect company program and the related Planet & Society barometer, taking stock of three years of commitment to sustainability in the period 2012-2014.
With a score of 9.52/10, the 2012-2014 barometer completes its journey remarkably, above the 8/10 target. Among the 14 indicators, only one does not reach the 8/10 reference score: the percentage of our recommended suppliers progressing according to the guidelines of ISO 26000. This indicator however earns 20 points between Q3 and Q4 2014, from 43% to 63%. The efforts of the Global Supply Chain function on this ambitious program are unprecedented.
These good results are echoed in the external recognitions that Schneider Electric has obtained in the last three years: the indices of the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe, with first place in its sector over the last two years; the CDP indices, with a score from 92/100 up to 99/100 from 2012 to 2014; the "Global 100" index of the most sustainable corporations, rising from the 13th to the 9th rank in three years; finally, the classification of Schneider Electric in the Ethisphere's most ethical companies index each year over the same period.
We also release today the new Planet & Society barometer, which will pace Schneider Electric sustainability performance over the next three years. This new edition of the barometer is organized for the first time around our "megatrends" in sustainability as defined in our company program: climate, circular economy, poverty, ethics and health. We will present you the new barometer in more details and inform you of its first results at the end of the first quarter of 2015”.

Detailed performance of the indicators for the period 2012-2014

On the Planet pillar:

• the Carbon indicator shows 16% of CO2 savings in the transport of Schneider Electric goods from 2012 to 2014, above its target of 10%, thanks to a relevant shift from air mode to sea; this program covers 80% of the total cost of transport services purchased by the Group;
• the Products & Solutions indicator exceeds this quarter its objective to reach 75% of the Group's product revenue with Green Premium eco-brand, and attains 79%; the criteria of this eco-brand are the compliance with the European regulations REACH and RoHS, regardless the place of manufacture or marketing of the product, and the provision of a Product Environmental Profile and an end-of-life instruction guide to the customers;
• the Energy indicator registers 13% energy savings in three years, above its target of 10%, through the deployment of the Group’s energy management solutions in nearly 300 of its industrial and tertiary sites; 90% of the energy consumption published by the Group are covered by this program.

On the Profit pillar:

• the Green growth indicator shows 10.48 points of growth revenue with the EcoXperts partners above the Group’s growth revenue; the network of "EcoXperts" partners brings together system integrators?, specialized on key technologies in energy management by Schneider Electric;
• the Access to energy indicator has exceeded one million households benefiting from the solutions of Schneider Electric for access to energy: e.g. lamps (including the portable lamp Mobiya TS120S marketed this year) and lighting products, solar water pumping system (Water of the Sun), off-grid micro solar power plants (Villasol and Villasmart); since the program began in 2009, nearly 2.4 million households have benefited from these solutions for access to energy;
• the Suppliers indicator reaches 63% of recommended suppliers in line with ISO 26000; this program is still far from its target of 90% and will be extended into the next Planet & Society barometer to aim 100% at the end of 2017;
• the Rating indicator validates the selection of Schneider Electric in the three indices targeted by the barometer: the DJSI World, the DJSI Europe and one of the two CDP indices (the Group is actually present in both indices of CDP in 2014);
• the Best Practice indicator has also exceeded its goal: the Group had the ambition to have 300 Cool sites and, at the end of the Connect program, accounts 355 of them; the Cool sites are Schneider Electric plants or offices, attractive and motivating for its residents, with services proposals, events organization and the use of the Group's energy management solutions.

On the People pillar:

• the Safety indicator by far exceeds its goal, with a medical incident rate decreased by 61% between 2012 and 2014; this result takes into account the medical incidents, except first aid, affecting employees and subcontractors on site at the worldwide level;
• the Engagement indicator shows an employee engagement rate of 61%; this rate is below the target of 63%, but still well above the industry average of 56%;
• the Diversity indicator continues to stabilize, with 28% women in the Group's talent pool: the target of 30% is not reached; the talent pool has been redesigned this year to now focus on people who holds key positions (Key Position Holders) and those who have the potential to reach a key position (Key Position Potentials), unlike other categories of talent not related to holding a key position (e.g. experts);
• the Training indicator shows 79% of employees having received the equivalent of one day (7 hours) of training this year; this quarter’s measurement is the first in a full year and at the worldwide level; the result, although below its target of 100%, remains satisfactory; this indicator will be extended into the next Planet & Society barometer with a more rational target of 85%;
• the Access to energy indicator accounts 60,232 disadvantaged people trained in energy management around the world, through the Access to energy program of the Group; since the program's inception in 2009, over 73,000 people have been trained;
• the Communities indicator reaches 460 volunteering missions, above its target of 300 missions; the "Schneider Electric Teachers” NGO organizes these missions with Schneider Electric employees or retirees, who invest time in education or training in energy management in their home country or abroad.

A dynamic and recognized commitment

• As in the previous years, the Planet and Society barometer’s indicators have been audited by an independent third party; exceptionally this year, an indicator was not subject to this study, that of EcoXperts, because of the profound revision made during the year on the qualified partners and the targeted technologies. The 13 audited indicators have been validated without qualification. Eleven of them received limited assurance?. For the first time, a higher assurance, called reasonable, has been attributed to two indicators: "75% of our product revenue achieved with Green Premium" and "1 day training for each employee every year".
  
• In January 2015, Schneider Electric ranked 9th in the "Global 100" index of the most sustainable corporations in the world, published by Corporate Knights and announced at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Global 100 is based on 12 quantitative and objective indicators on the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic.
  
• On December 4, 2014, a tripartite partnership agreement was signed between Schneider Electric, the Algerian Ministry of Vocational Training and Education, and the French Ministry of National Education, Higher education and Research. This agreement aims to establish an Algerian-French center of excellence in renewable energy and energy efficiency training. It was concluded in the framework of the Access to energy program of Schneider Electric and will allow many Algerians access to training in the energy field with the support of Schneider Electric.

Appendix: performance of Q4 2014

In the fourth quarter of 2014, 13 out of 14 indicators boosted the overall barometer score, and 10 indicators have achieved their targets. Highlights:

• the Products & Solutions indicator has managed to be calculated this quarter from the latest REACH list published in June 2014, which identifies 154 Substances of Very High Concern; in 2014, 340 new Product Environmental Profiles and 210 new end of life instruction guides have been produced and made available to customers;
• the Best Practice indicator registers 65 more Cool sites and 12,000 more employees this quarter; it now covers close to 110,000 employees in 60 countries;
• the Safety indicator is the only indicator slightly declining this quarter; focus has been placed in 2014 on three primary levers: safety standards and behaviors, the ambition to become a leading reference company in safety, and the implementation of safety management systems;
• the Training indicator has benefited this quarter from the training provided during Schneider Electric Learning Week, organized for the first time at the Group level in October 2014;
• the Access to energy indicator (People pillar) saw the arrival of two new countries in the program this quarter: Burundi and Senegal; and three new partnerships with local NGOs and training centers: two in Nigeria and one in Vietnam; in 2014, three countries stand out for their results: India (15,000 people trained), Brazil (9,000), and Lebanon (1,000).