Latest news with #CorporateKnights
Zawya
01-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Schneider Electric kicks off the year with significant sustainability milestones
Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that its Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) program achieved a score of 7.95 out of 10 for the first quarter of 2025, toward a target of 8.80/10 by the end of the year. Recognized in January as the world's most sustainable corporation by Corporate Knights, Schneider Electric remains committed to driving significant progress toward its sustainability goals as it embarks on the final year of its current SSI program. Throughout the first quarter, Schneider Electric has made substantial progress in various areas: The company has helped its customers save and avoid nearly 700 million tonnes of CO2 emissions through its solutions. This concurs with the launch of the second Energize Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) cohort, enabling four global healthcare companies to buy 245 GWh of renewable electricity annually for the next 10 years. Efforts to reduce upstream carbon emissions have also been accelerated, achieving a 42% decrease from the company's top 1,000 suppliers. Despite surpassing targets more than a year in advance, Schneider Electric's commitment to fighting poverty and supporting communities remains strong. To date, 56 million people have gained access to energy through initiatives that develop clean energy solutions for education, healthcare, agriculture, and small businesses. Moreover, by signing the Rise Ahead Pledge recently, Schneider Electric is also working to expand access to essential services and promote socio-economic development, by focusing on energy poverty and impact investing in underserved markets. Zone and Country presidents continue to drive local impact initiatives, following the advancement of over 200 initiatives started in 2021. These programs aim to enhance the company's sustainable impact by supporting and empowering local communities with training and mentoring, energy resiliency, environmental action, and more. For example, Schneider Electric UK and the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation have recently launched a STEM educational program to inspire local pupils with interactive workshops and digital resources, equipping them with essential skills for a sustainable future. 'At Schneider, we believe in strong partnerships with corporations, governments, local partners, and communities to uplift livelihoods, boost incomes, and expand access to education and reliable, clean energy,' said Chris Leong, Chief Sustainability Officer. 'I'm especially proud of our people's relentless pursuit to turn ambition into action, from innovating solutions for environmental impact to giving back to our communities. Together, we're making progress and sustainability a reality for all.' For more details, please refer to the Q1 2025 report of Schneider's Sustainability Impact program, including the progress dashboard: Recent recognitions: Schneider Electric's factory in Wuxi, China was recognized by the World Economic Forum as the company's fourth Sustainability Lighthouse, due to its significant reductions in emissions while promoting a circular economy. Schneider Electric has been ranked #1 in Europe and among the Top 10 globally in the 2025 Carbon Clean 200 list of publicly traded companies that are leading the transition to clean energy solution. Schneider Electric is included in Ethisphere's Top 100 World's Most Ethical Companies for 2025, demonstrating 14 years of unwavering commitment to business integrity. Schneider Electric is recognized as a Top-Rated ESG performer out of more than 5,000 companies in Sustainalytics' ratings universe. Schneider Electric was honored with the Gold Seal of the Capital Goods industry for Gender Equality by Equileap in 2025. Related resources: See Schneider Electric's Q1 2025 Financial and Extra-financial release. Schneider Electric's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG): Sustainability reports page Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sustainability Disclosure Dashboard About Schneider Electric Schneider's purpose is to create Impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. At Schneider, we call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be the trusted partner in Sustainability and Efficiency. We are a global industrial technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by our deep domain expertise, we provide integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software and services, delivering digital twins to enable profitable growth for our customers. We are a people company with an ecosystem of 150,000 colleagues and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries to ensure proximity to our customers and stakeholders. We embrace diversity and inclusion in everything we do, guided by our meaningful purpose of a sustainable future for all. Discover the newest perspectives shaping sustainability, electricity 4.0, and next generation automation on Schneider Electric Insights.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Group announces innovative plan to transform abandoned oil wells: 'Our vision hasn't changed'
Fort Nelson First Nation in British Columbia, Canada, is an area littered with remnants of oil wells, but local communities are now looking to transform one into a sustainable geothermal power plant. Using royalties gathered over the years from oil prospectors, an indigenous group aims to transform this old, polluting fuel source into one of the country's first 100% geothermal power plants, according to a report by Corporate Knights. The community-owned plant is called Tu Deh-Kah, which translates to "boiling water," and the goal is for it to provide up to 15 megawatts of clean, geothermal electricity by 2027. Fort Nelson's electricity grid is currently reliant on dirty fuels for power, and this project is an essential keystone in the region's shift towards more sustainable energy resources. "We want to see a sustainable energy project in our territory that we own," said Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, a community liaison officer with Tu Deh-Kah. First Nations, Inuit and Métis people are already leaders in Canada's green energy transition, as partners or beneficiaries in around 20% of the country's electricity-generating infrastructure, with most of it based on renewables, the report detailed. Geothermal power plants use hot brine pumped from deep within the earth to provide heat or generate electricity. They convert it into steam to power generators, and once that water vapor has done its job, it's reinjected back into the underground reservoirs. The Tu Deh-Kah team doesn't plan to waste any resources available in the old well. Any remaining gas found in the well will be used, and there are plans to extract lithium from the brine. A recently constructed 2,000-square-foot greenhouse built near the community school will be one of the first locations to be heated by the Tu Deh-Kah power plant. The ambition is to grow enough commercial produce to "feed the north," as Behn-Tsakoza put it. The project recently received $1.2 million from Natural Resources Canada through the Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships program, which the report says is designed to increase participation of those communities in the clean energy economy. Should we be harnessing the ocean to power our homes? Absolutely Leave it be It depends I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. There are still hurdles for the project, as using geothermal in sedimentary basins is still relatively unproven on the continent. There was also more gas found in the well than previously thought, which led skeptical local elders to question how environmentally friendly the project really is. Behn-Tsakoza's response was that "Our vision hasn't changed," and they'll continue to push forward with this sustainable geothermal energy project for the betterment of the community and the environment. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Canada Standard
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- Canada Standard
Canada Won't Meet Its Climate Targets Without Heat Pumps, EVs
If an all-renewable electricity grid is the backbone of Canada's shift to a zero-carbon economy by 2050, our buildings and road transport systems are the flesh and blood. Extensive new modelling by Corporate Knights' Climate Dollars project reveals that the rapid transformation we need is within our grasp. But the buildings and transport sectors each hold an essential piece of the solution. Any successful effort to bring Canada's greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 must shift the entire building stock to use heat pumps for space heating and cooling, while striking the best balance in each province between the cost and benefits of deep energy-efficiency retrofits. The Climate Dollars modelling places the batteries in electric vehicles at the centre of the decarbonization effort. Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems allow EVs to charge when solar and wind are abundant and cheap, then release part of that charge to the grid when demand is highest, reducing the cost of decarbonizing by $8,000 per vehicle - as long as those millions of EVs are on the road in time to make a difference. The analysis shows that decarbonizing our energy system by mid-century will be a big, bold nation-building project in which every sector plays an essential part. We can meet that target faster and at less cost by looking at the electricity system, buildings and road transport as an integrated whole, rather than trying to shift each sector on its own. Climate Dollars modelling points to a realistic path to eliminate Canada's energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It's achievable and affordable, requiring a manageable share of the capital dollars the country already invests each year. It delivers hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs in the rapidly emerging new energy economy. Corporate Knights set up the Climate Dollars project to measure the gap between current climate-related capital investments and the funding required to meet the country's climate goals. Much of that investment will be for the renewable electricity supply and a project we're calling the Trans-Canada Transmission Link that deliver the renewable energy to power Canada's buildings, vehicles, industry and agriculture. The other key pillars of any decarbonization plan are to make each of those sectors as energy-efficient as possible and shift their consumption from fossil fuels to clean electricity. The Climate Dollars modelling shows those changes increasing electricity demand from less than 600 to nearly 1,000 terawatt-hours per year, including 490 TWh in homes and commercial buildings and 150 TWh from road transport. The other key pillars of any decarbonization plan are to make each of those sectors as energy-efficient as possible and shift their consumption from fossil fuels to clean electricity. The Climate Dollars modelling shows those changes increasing electricity demand from less than 600 to more than 1,000 terawatt-hours per year, including about 335 TWh in homes and commercial buildings and up to 290 TWh from road transport. Both of these sectors can make it easier and less expensive for the grid to decarbonize. But only if they can clear a large gap between current capital expenditures and the levels that will be needed to get the job done. For Canada's nine million residential buildings and one million commercial buildings, the two decarbonization scenarios in the Climate Dollars analysis require additional capital expenditures between $14 billion and $35 billion per year through 2050. The more ambitious scenario, combining heat pump conversions with deep energy retrofits in the residential sector, reduces electricity consumption in all provinces but Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Heat pump conversions without the efficiency upgrades cost far less but increase the investment needed to ensure a renewable electricity supply through the winter months. In response to the affordable housing crisis, Canada will also see construction of hundreds of thousands of new residential buildings by 2030, the majority of them multi-family structures. They'll all have to be built to the highest possible energy-efficiency standard and equipped with air-source or ground-source heat pumps, not fossil-fuelled heating or cooling. In transport, additional capital investment of $270 to $300 billion over the next 25 years will be needed to complete the shift to electric vehicles and install 555,000 new public charging stations, with V2G technology turning the batteries in those cars into a valuable grid resource. Annual investment peaks at $17.5 billion in 2032 and then starts falling as the cost premium for personal EVs declines throughout the 2030s. Every aspect of the Climate Dollars modelling points to the investments that will make Canadians' lives safer, healthier and more affordable. The buildings sector is where the response to climate change literally comes home. Our buildings must be electrified and prepared for the extreme weather that is already locked and loaded in the atmosphere as a result of past and present greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pumps and efficiency improvements in our building stock are also essential enabling investments for the electricity supply sector to be able to make the transition to a renewables-based grid. In a cascading, global climate emergency, the simplest, cheapest path to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from building energy use is to replace fossil-fuelled heating and cooling with heat pumps at a cost of $370 billion through 2050, or about $13.6 billion per year. More extensive building retrofits deliver benefits far beyond energy savings and emission reductions. They help protect our homes and businesses from storms and flooding, wildfires, heat waves and power outages that will become more severe and frequent as the years go by. A national energy-retrofit mission would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in a thriving, new business sector, helping to build stronger communities and avert the worst impacts of climate change. Even assuming that economies of scale bring down the cost of building retrofits by 50% by 2035, it would take an additional $500 billion over the next 25 years, an average of $20 billion per year, to recondition the entire building stock. Canadians actually invest much more than that in existing buildings; in 2024 alone capital expenditures on building renovations totalled $101 billion in the residential sector and $28 billion in the commercial sector. But while those improvements included some energy-efficiency upgrading, the priorities for building upgrades are generally directed more toward interior redecoration and refitting. This is a recurring theme in the analysis of decarbonization - it is not so much an increase in the total capital that is required but rather shifts in the way capital is allocated, projects are planned and organized, a new work force is trained and deployed, and government incentives are designed for building retrofits. In road transport, the shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles is already well under way. Electric vehicle sales in Canada are growing exponentially. And with the price gap expected to narrow through 2035, drivers can look forward to a clean-energy dividend on fuel of up to $1.2 trillion through 2050, after subtracting the cost of the electricity to run the vehicles. But we'll have to move quickly to seize the moment. The average car or light truck stays on the road for 15 years, and some commercial trucks even longer, so getting to a zero-emission fleet by 2050 means phasing out new gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2035. Climate Dollars calculates a capital expenditure gap of $300 billion to fully electrify road transportation, including the cost of a V2G-enabled charging infrastructure. But that's based on the assumption that the price difference between internal combustion and electric vehicles will gradually decline, reaching parity in the 2030s, with EVs then becoming less expensive than gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. If there were no price difference today, the capital cost of electrifying the entire road transport sector would tumble to just $57 billion between 2025 and 2050. Cars and trucks have shaped the urban form of our communities and the supply chains that sustain them for the last century. Canadians travelled an average 12,000 kilometres per person per year in 2022, not counting long-distance trips, and made 82% of those trips in cars and light trucks. Given this heavy reliance on private vehicles, the Climate Dollars analysis shows only one viable path to decarbonizing transportation by 2050. The sector can and should achieve some emission reductions by cutting down on the number and distance of car and truck trips, boosting public transit, moving more freight by rail, and over the short term, making internal combustion vehicles more fuel-efficient. Those are all worthy and important steps to take. But bringing every part of the transportation system to zero emissions by 2050 must begin with rapid electrification for a fleet of cars, pickups, SUVs and commercial trucks. Along the way, vehicle-to-grid technology will dramatically reduce the cost of delivering a decarbonized electricity grid. * * * Corporate Knights will soon be releasing the full Climate Dollars analysis to drive discussion on the opportunities ahead, and how Canada can align with the investment strategies that allies in the European Union and elsewhere are already pursuing. Source: The Energy Mix
Korea Herald
17-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
LG Energy Solution outpaces battery rivals in global sustainability rankings
Korean battery leader LG Energy Solution is being recognized in global evaluations of corporate environmental, social and governance efforts, driven by its accelerated progress toward net-zero operations. LG Energy Solution announced Monday that it had been named an 'industry mover' by credit ratings giant S&P Global in its annual ESG performance assessment, following an increase of more than 5 percent year-on-year in its score. Released Feb. 11, S&P's 2025 Sustainability Yearbook evaluated over 7,690 companies on their transition to more sustainable business models and contributions to carbon neutrality over the past year. The yearbook serves as a key benchmark for assessing how well companies are preparing for long-term business sustainability. In last year's assessment, LG Energy Solution was the only electricity facility company among the 56 industry movers and, for the first time, entered the top 15 percent of the electrical components and equipment sector. The company received high scores for its climate strategy, driven by a systematic assessment of climate risks and proactive efforts to reduce carbon emissions in line with its phased action plans, which target achieving net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2050. As part of these efforts, the company strengthened its role in supporting partner businesses in reducing emissions and enhanced control over emissions generated throughout its products' life cycle. These initiatives earned the company additional recognition in various ESG evaluation criteria. In a separate research report released at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, commonly referred to as the Davos Forum, in January, LG Energy Solution ranked 12th among the global top 100 companies for exceptional sustainability and No. 1 among battery manufacturers. The assessment, conducted by Canada-based research firm Corporate Knights, surveyed global business giants with annual sales exceeding $1 billion. The evaluation, announced annually at Davos, highlights companies leading in sustainable business practices. LG Energy Solution was recognized for its energy-efficient production, transition to renewable energy sources, and eco-friendly sales and investments. 'As one of the world's largest battery-makers, LG Energy Solution is at the center of the transition to a net-zero economy,' said Corporate Knights CEO Toby Heaps. 'It has confirmed its global leadership by being selected as one of the top 100 global sustainable companies.' Beyond its acclaimed ESG efforts, LG Energy Solution plans to accelerate its drive toward carbon neutrality. The company aims to expand its presence in the battery recycling market, establishing a closed-loop circular system to minimize waste from used batteries and regenerate materials for new battery production. 'We will continue to respond agilely and flexibly to changing business regulations and markets,' said an LG Energy Solution official. 'We believe that our ESG management will place us in a leading position to secure sustainable competitiveness and benefit our customers.'
Trade Arabia
27-01-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Acciona ranks among world's top 100 sustainable companies
Spanish infrastructure Acciona along with its wind turbine subsidiary Nordex have made it to the list of 100 most sustainable companies in the world compiled by Corporate Knights, a media group specialised in sustainability rankings. The 2025 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations ranking was made public last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The ranking is based on a detailed analysis of 8,359 listed corporations with a turnover of more than $1 billion, which evaluates the impact of their operations, products and services on people and the planet. As such, the ranking recognizes the leading companies in terms of their performance on economic, environmental, social and governance indicators, said the statement from Corporate Knights. Acciona's presence among the 2025 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations adds to the company's position in other benchmark ratings, as a result of its sustainable management, such as Sustainalytics, MSCI, Moody's ESG and CSA. A global leader in the provision of regenerative solutions for a decarbonized economy, Acciona's business offer includes renewable energy, water treatment and management, eco-efficient transportation and mobility systems and resilient infrastructures. The Spanish group has been carbon neutral since 2016. It recorded sales of €17 billion ($17.7 billion) in 2023 and has a business presence in more than 40 countries. The CSA rating given in its latest annual review last December ranked Acciona as the world's most sustainable electric utility in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI Europe). Nordex adds this recognition to achievements which include the gold medal awarded by the independent ESG rating agency EcoVadis last November for its sustainability performance, said the statement. Nordex Group improved its overall score to 74 points out of 100, placing it in the top 3% of companies in its sector and in the top 5% of all assessed companies.
