• Schneider Electric is the first-ever corporation to top Corporate Knights Global 100 twice.
• This marks the company’s 14^th consecutive year on the list, achieving a top 10 ranking for the 7th time.  
• The global recognition highlights Schneider Electric’s outstanding efforts in advancing sustainability and innovation in emerging markets worldwide, including the Philippines.

Leading energy management and automation digital transformation leader Schneider Electric was named the World’s Most Sustainable Corporation for 2025 by Corporate Knights. The company is the first to ever rank first in the Global 100 twice, having done so in 2021. Schneider’s long standing dedication to providing the greatest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in promoting sustainability and innovation throughout emerging markets globally, including the Philippines, is recognized by this international accolade.

“For many years now, sustainability has been at the heart of what Schneider Electric does. For an IMPACT company it’s more than just a corporate goal, it’s the driving force that shapes our business decisions and inspires our employees,” said Olivier Blum, Schneider Electric’s Chief Executive Officer. “This second title as the World’s Most Sustainable Corporation from Corporate Knights, alongside other key ESG recognitions, is testimony to the valuable, long-term positive impact we have.” 

Schneider Electric’s exceptional sustainability efforts, such as encouraging gender diversity in leadership, creating cutting-edge solutions for energy efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization, and linking executive pay incentives to its sustainability goals, earned it the top spot in this year’s Global 100 index. The company also received high marks for making large expenditures in sustainable R&D and successfully separating energy use and carbon emissions from commercial expansion.

This global commitment to sustainability is also mirrored in Schneider Electric’s impactful initiatives in the Philippines. In recent years, the company has demonstrated leadership in sustainable development practices across the country, including being named the most Gender-Inclusive Workplace by the 2024 United Nations Regional Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards for its efforts in advancing gender equality and inclusion in the workplace, all while delivering energy-efficient solutions through the expansion of its Smart Distribution Center in Cavite.

With 98% of Philippine firms prioritizing sustainability according to the company’s Green Impact Gap Survey 2024, Schneider Electric continuously supports local companies by advancing energy-efficient technologies, digitalization, and solutions for supply volatility and price fluctuations.

“Digitalization is becoming increasingly crucial for Filipino businesses. While challenges still remain, we are making significant strides,” said Ireen Catane, Country President of Schneider Electric Philippines. “Now, being recognized as the most sustainable corporation in the world twice in a row, it is high time to further accelerate efforts in transforming emerging markets in the Philippines into sustainable landscapes that drive progress and innovation.”

Corporate Knights’ Global 100 index uses publicly available data to score businesses according to sustainability. For 14 years running, Schneider Electric has been on the list, and it has placed in the top 10 seven times, which is a record for its category. The Schneider Sustainability Impact Program, which tracks ESG progress toward 2025 goals, began and ended with these recognitions.

• Schneider Electric donated state-of-the-art solutions for energy management and facility security.
• This symbolic act demonstrates Schneider Electric’s ability to mobilize resources for a multi-secular historic monument.
• The success of this project is a result of ingenious solutions used to address logistics and complex constraints encountered on site.

Schneider Electric contributed, by means of donations, to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The donated solutions have made it possible to secure and monitor the site’s electrical facilities. 

The restoration of Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral was recently aided by donations from Schneider Electric, a leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. The site’s electrical facilities can now be secured and monitored thanks to the donated solutions. Incorporating 21st century technology into a cathedral that marks a pinnacle of medieval art and has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, the monument’s energy consumption may be managed and optimized via the company’s Building Management System (BMS).

The fire that severely damaged the cathedral on April 15, 2019, sparked an incredible wave of solidarity that Schneider Electric wanted to be a part of. “It’s an obvious move for Schneider Electric to support actions of this type for symbolic and prestigious sites, as we have done in the past for the Comédie Française state theater and the Antarctic station,” highlights Gilles Vermot Desroches, Director of Citizenship, and Institutional Affairs at Schneider Electric.

Innovations for the Future

Schneider Electric provided expertise, products, and solutions thanks to a donation agreement. As such, the Group supplied all the equipment required to supply power to the site and for its security (20 kV HV cells, a 20 kV/410V 1250 kVA transformer, general and divisional electrical switchboards, inverters, safety lighting, devices etc.), as well as the tools for the technical management of the building, making it possible to monitor the functioning of the network and control its power consumption (automatic control systems, sensors, controllers, communication buses etc.).

In addition to the equipment, Schneider Electric is carrying out some of the maintenance of the electrical distribution equipment, providing some of the engineering, studies, commissioning, and programming of the installed systems, as well as the training of future users.

The old electrical installation was inoperable due to the fire and without electricity, reopening was impossible. The new network ensures the distribution and security of the energy supply, incorporating innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies that optimize the management of its electricity consumption and help ensure the safety of the cathedral.

A Shared Commitment

The project team had to deal with a large number of technical issues demanding ingenuity and preparation.

One such issue was the delivery and installation in early 2024 of the connected TRIHAL transformer, a key element of the cathedral’s power supply. Delivered by truck and then raised onto the site above the construction area, this 3.2-ton block was then lowered via a hoist into position in the basement of the presbytery. A specific study had to be carried out for the lifting operation.

Installing the high-voltage substation in an underground vaulted cellar with considerable access and space constraints was also an issue resolved with customized equipment and support.

“This is a project for which the logistics have been quite tricky and required excellent coordination with the other players on site,” said Cédric Larcher, Regional Manager of the Electrical Distribution Application Center at Schneider Electric France, responsible for management, performance, and monitoring on site.

Around 60 Schneider Electric workers—from factory workers to the site’s network designers—contributed knowledge and skills as part of a skills transfer program in addition to providing infrastructure. As part of its assistance, Schneider Electric also trained partner companies, including the Val-de-Marne-based panel builder Ateliers Electriques de France to install the main low-voltage cabinet, the Seine-Maritime-based FBS Electricité to install the high-voltage substation, the Eure-based ERM to create specific support structures, and the Val-de-Marne-based Transport Avex to perform the incredibly complex handling operations in the presbytery basement. Visit this website to find out more.

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In Asia, a region with many environmental potential and concerns, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) have joined forces to help solve the growing problem of managing plastic waste. Effective solutions are more important than ever because of the growing amount of plastic trash caused by rapid urbanization, the need for single-use plastics, and gaps in waste management infrastructure.

The region’s waterways allow a large amount of the world’s plastic garbage to enter the ocean, endangering human health, livelihoods, and marine ecosystems. Asia is home to 16 of the top 20 polluted rivers in the world, which generate over two-thirds of the plastic debris that enters the world’s oceans each year.

UNDP and TCCF are stepping up their efforts in nine Asian countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam—in response to this pressing issue. TCCF is providing a $15 million grant to boost UNDP’s regional activities.

The three-year multi-country programme launched in India today, will help improve plastic waste management, promote recycling, reduce plastic leakage into the environment, foster country-based solutions, and facilitate regional collaboration. By adopting and disseminating best practices across the region, the programme aims to inspire policy changes and community-level actions to reduce and help to eliminate disposable plastic and improve the livelihoods of waste workers.

While expanding successful initiatives, the programme will focus on developing innovative business models for waste collection and recycling, offering technical advice on environmental best practices and tapping into the latest technology to improve collection and recycling, to reduce plastic leakage.

“Tackling plastic waste isn’t just about cleaning up – it’s also about building a smarter development model. Across Asia, countries are combating the problem by embracing the circular economy. Through our Zero Waste and Plastics initiatives, we are helping them craft policies, attract investments, and reduce the consumption of single-use plastics,” said Christophe Bahuet, UNDP Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “With this initiative, we are also empowering communities to scale up solutions that will effectively reduce plastic pollution and safeguard our planet.”

“Collaboration is key to help improve waste management systems and strengthen recycling infrastructure. Through our collaboration with UNDP, the Foundation aims to advance solutions that minimize packaging waste, support better collection methods, and enhance processing capabilities. This approach not only helps address plastic waste more effectively but also contributes to long-term improvements in local communities and the broader environment,” said Carlos Pagoaga, President, The Coca Cola Foundation.