The goal should not be 2050 or 2040, but 2030, plead Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric (EPA: SU)’s Chairman and CEO, to governments and corporates as the world edges ever closer to missing on its own target of 1.5-degree temperature increase.

Speaking to a virtual audience of thousands during the company’s Innovation Summit World Tour 2021, Tricoire urged attendees to adopt critical decarbonisation measures including for example deep retrofits, further penetration of digital technologies, and a more rapid adoption of green energy.

The executive alerted to the need of reducing emissions by 30-50 percent this decade, compared to current levels. Missing this makes it virtually impossible to limit temperature rise to a 1.5°C degree threshold as outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).

“Despite increased momentum around sustainability and more companies adopting ambitious targets to tackle climate change, this research reveals how we need to speed up,” Tricoire said.

“At Schneider Electric, we are uniquely part of the solution. To support organisations in their quest to decarbonise at pace and deliver on their climate commitments, we are accelerating the expansion of our global sustainability consulting services business to meet the increasing demand for meaningful progress on energy transition and climate action goals.

“What organisations require today is a trusted partner who combines strategic planning and target setting with a proven track record of solutions implementation to deliver faster, tangible sustainable outcomes. Having successfully overcome many sustainability challenges ourselves, and in so doing, achieved world-leading digital and electric solutions in our own facilities, we are well-positioned to help others go faster and further.”

Tricoire said in his keynote that Schneider started this journey for sustainability 15 years ago and that 2021 was a “very special year” with the company recognised by Corporate Knights as one of the most sustainable brands in the world.

He added: “In 2021, we launched the Zero Carbon Project to help 1000 major suppliers reduce emissions by 50% by 2025. The world has understood that the triad of sustainability is inseparable.

“Greater sustainability is based on a world that will be more digital and electric. And we have found that these three closely related elements have shown a shift and acceleration over the past two years. We want to bring this vision to life and make it come true. “