World Economic Forum recognizes Schneider Electric’s Wuxi, China factory as a Sustainability Lighthouse

Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced that its Wuxi factory in China has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Sustainability Lighthouse.  

Designated an Advanced Lighthouse in 2021, this latest recognition for Wuxi specifically acknowledges the factory’s advanced solutions to reduce its environmental impact. Schneider Electric now has the highest number of Sustainability Lighthouses of any company with four of the 25 globally including Hyderabad, India, Lexington, Kentucky, and Le Vaudreuil, France.

The Forum, together with McKinsey & Company, co-founded the Global Lighthouse Network in 2018. It has grown to become a community of 189 production facilities and value chains leveraging cutting-edge Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for exceptional performance in productivity, supply chain resilience, customer centricity, sustainability, and talent development. These global leaders reaffirm the Network’s role in setting a standard and creating a shared learning journey.

Schneider Electric’s Wuxi campus is an electronics manufacturing center that produces key products for the company’s two business units, Energy Management and Industrial Automation. In 2022, the site achieved net zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, eight years ahead of its goal.

Through AI-powered eco-design, a closed-loop CO2 tracking platform with suppliers, machine learning models to improve energy efficiency, and new circular business models developed in partnership with customers, the site has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90%, Scope 3 emissions by 65%, and water use by 15%, all in two years.  

"The Wuxi campus and our other Sustainability Lighthouse facilities across the globe underscore our commitment to our sustainability goals how essential our supply chain operations are to realizing them," said Mourad Tamoud, Schneider Electric’s Chief Supply Chain Officer. "Investing in the right technologies at scale and pace, investing in our people’s development, and engaging with our partners, suppliers, and customers is critical to making progress, not just in sustainability but also in operational efficiency, flexibility, agility, and our customers’ experience in working with us.”

"Across our global lighthouse network, digital technologies are revolutionizing production ecosystems," said Kiva Allgood, Head of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains at the World Economic Forum. "From AI-driven control towers to zero-code workflows, Lighthouses exemplify sustainable innovation, setting benchmarks millions can follow to drive transformational change across the entire ecosystem."

Impact Supply Chain Program

The Wuxi campus is reflective of the Schneider Electric’s Impact Supply Chain transformation program that aims to make a positive impact on both customers and the planet. Its key pillars are:

• People – our people are empowered to innovate and make a positive impact for customers every day.

• Planet – we are building a sustainable, responsible, and net-zero ready supply chain.

• Customers – we are investing in reliability and industry-leading quality for our customers.

• Performance – we drive supply chain performance through advanced technology, smart and unified processes, regional ecosystems, and collaborative design.