Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, is urging the EU to urgently accelerate the development of energy efficiency and electrification in Europe as a unified, scalable, domestic, and sustainable response to the prolonged volatility of energy prices.
Global energy prices are expected to rise by 24% this year—the largest jump since 2022. Europe is particularly vulnerable to such changes, as energy costs here are typically two to four times higher than in other major regions of the world. Against this backdrop, Schneider Electric is calling on policymakers to stop viewing energy efficiency and electrification as an “add-on” to climate policy and to recognize them as Europe’s only scalable and domestic energy resources. Their accelerated implementation has the potential to generate at least €250 billion annually by 2040, reduce energy demand, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and boost competitiveness.
Europe remains structurally vulnerable: the EU still relies on imports for nearly 60% of its energy resources, which cost €336.7 billion in 2025. This makes households, industry, and public services vulnerable to instability in global fossil fuel markets and geopolitical upheavals. Schneider Electric emphasizes that measures to improve energy efficiency and electrify end-use consumption can be implemented quickly and with a short payback period, delivering immediate benefits while accelerating the transition to a stronger and more energy-independent system.
Schneider Electric calls on the European Commission and EU member states to focus on five key policy steps:
Calls for support and incentives to help businesses scale proven, fast-return energy efficiency solutions that reduce demand within months.
Industry: Targeted support, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, to scale up energy management systems and implement low- or no-cost measures that can deliver savings of up to 30% over time and lay the groundwork for digitalized production.
2) Rapidly and consistently implement existing EU legislation on energy efficiency and buildings
Fully implement the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to ensure a rapid anti-crisis effect. Specifically:
• Rapidly deploy building automation and control systems (BACS) under the EPBD, which can deliver annual savings of 450 TWh in final energy consumption, reduce CO₂ emissions by 64 million tons, and lower energy bills by €36 billion.
• Strengthen energy audit requirements under the EED by making the implementation of their recommendations mandatory—starting with small and medium-sized businesses—using leasing mechanisms and the “energy-as-a-service” financing model.
3) Accelerate electrification through targeted incentives
Despite the growth in electricity production from renewable sources, a significant portion of energy consumption—that is, the demand side—has not yet switched to electricity. As long as people drive gasoline-powered cars and heat their homes with gas, Europe will remain dependent on imported energy sources and price fluctuations.
Faster electrification will enable more effective integration of renewable energy and reduce dependence on price fluctuations for fossil fuels. It also has the potential to break a decade-long period of stagnation in Europe, which currently stands at 21% (10% behind China), where rapid electrification is taking place. Schneider Electric calls for:
• A significant scaling up of heat pump adoption (which are 3–5 times more efficient than gas boilers) with the goal of reaching one million installations annually by 2030. This requires supportive mechanisms that lower initial barriers for consumers, including tools such as social leasing.
• Faster electrification of transportation through targeted measures, including incentives to accelerate the electrification of corporate fleets, which will also foster the development of the used electric vehicle market.
4) Use taxation and funding to shift demand from fossil fuels to clean electricity
Schneider Electric calls on policymakers to make electrification economically attractive by:
• Reducing electricity taxes (including lowering VAT and excise taxes where possible) to narrow the gap between retail prices for electricity and gas.
• Redirecting and simplifying access to public funding to scale up energy efficiency and electrification—specifically funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility and revenues from the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
• Keep any temporary mechanisms for capping or subsidizing gas prices to a minimum and short-term, as this discourages investment in clean energy resources.
5) Unleash self-generation, flexibility, and smart grids to lower bills
Remove barriers and create incentives for the development of flexibility, energy storage systems, and digitalization, which help reduce peak loads and system costs. Priorities include:
• Ensuring flexibility in buildings and industry through rooftop solar power plants (PV), energy storage systems, and digital control systems, as well as supporting demand response mechanisms.
• Faster and higher-quality deployment of “smart” meters with a focus on functionality, real-time data access, and system interoperability—primarily for large commercial buildings, industry, and EV charging infrastructure.
• More digitized power grids and smarter grid infrastructure planning, including support for grid efficiency technologies, results-oriented KPIs, and tariff models that incentivize peak load reduction and grid-friendly energy consumption.
Laurent Bataille, Executive Vice President of Operations for Europe at Schneider Electric, stated:
“The call for policymakers to prioritize energy efficiency and electrification is just as relevant today as it was four years ago. The solutions haven’t changed. However, during this time, Europe has weathered one energy crisis after another—without making the progress needed to protect itself from price shocks and sky-high costs that leave businesses, households, and industry so vulnerable.
“Complacency is Europe’s greatest energy risk. Plans to subsidize energy costs are merely a temporary solution that does not work in the long term. Europe needs structural changes—ones that will incentivize the adoption of clean technologies so that businesses and households permanently change their approach to energy consumption. We need policies that will foster the creation of an energy system built in Europe and for Europe—one that reduces dependence on volatility, ensures a clean and reliable energy supply, and allows Europe to remain competitive.”
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies. Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, is deepening its collaboration with the World Economic Forum as part of a coalition of manufacturers, consultants, and technology partners working to accelerate the digital transformation of industry worldwide. Together, they are advancing the Lighthouse Operating System (Lighthouse OS), a framework built on proven and replicable methodologies designed to help manufacturers modernize their operations at scale.
Most manufacturers have already invested in digital transformation. However, only a few have managed to scale these changes. Pilot projects demonstrate success but eventually stall. The results achieved remain localized. The gap between the world’s most advanced factories and the rest of the industry continues to grow. The new framework presented today aims to bridge that gap.
Lighthouse Operating System (Lighthouse OS) is an open, practical model that transforms the proven practices of the world’s most efficient industrial sites into a structured path that any manufacturer can follow. Drawing on eight years of experience from the Global Lighthouse Network, Lighthouse OS was developed by the World Economic Forum’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains in collaboration with leading OEMs, end-users, and consulting firms. It provides companies with a clear roadmap for self-driven transformation—from their current state to true operational excellence—without the need to start from scratch or engage large teams of specialists.
A model based on real-world practical experience
Lighthouse OS is built around six key operational principles: adaptive and resilient processes, connected and transparent flows, end-to-end synchronization, integrated sustainability, a learning organization, and accelerated development of digital and data competencies. These principles are structured across five levels of operational maturity. Companies can assess their current level, identify priority areas for development, and scale changes at their own pace.
Unlike individual digital tools, this system is designed as a comprehensive approach that integrates digital innovation, sustainability, workforce development, and operational excellence into a single, cohesive model that delivers measurable and repeatable results.
Schneider Electric: Experience Integrated into the System, Not Added Later
Schneider Electric brings its own practical transformation experience to this initiative. For over two decades, the company has been refining an operating system that today underpins its position in the Gartner #Supply Chain rankings and nine WEF Lighthouse factories awards. It is this foundation—built on cutting-edge digital systems, AI-driven automation, and sustainability-by-design practices—that forms the basis of the Lighthouse OS framework.
Federico Torti, Head of Technology and Innovation at the World Economic Forum, noted:
“Many manufacturers have ambitions for transformation but lack a holistic path for its consistent and large-scale implementation. Lighthouse OS directly addresses this challenge: the system transforms the knowledge gained by the world’s top factories through years of operational experience into a practical model that any manufacturer can apply. The goal is to make Lighthouse’s level of efficiency a realistic target for the entire industry, not just its most advanced players.”
Cécile Vercellino, Senior Vice President of Services for the Industrial Automation division at Schneider Electric, commented: “Schneider Electric has undergone this transformation firsthand—in over 120 ‘smart’ factories and distribution centers. We know what works, where companies face challenges, and what it takes to move from isolated pilot projects to true systemic changes across the entire enterprise. It is this practical experience that is embedded in Lighthouse OS. Our organization is already applying these principles across our broader ecosystem and seeing measurable results.”
An open initiative built for growth
Lighthouse OS is designed with future evolution in mind. As global pilot projects are implemented and community feedback is incorporated into future versions, the initiative actively invites manufacturers, technology providers, and public sector partners to join the collaboration.
To learn more or join the initiative, visit: https://initiatives.weforum.org/lighthouse-operating-system/home.
Additional information:
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and promoting sustainable development through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies. Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
About the Lighthouse Operating System
The Lighthouse Operating System is a World Economic Forum initiative, in alignment with the Global Lighthouse Network, that defines a next-generation operating system for industry by codifying proven best practices from leading lighthouse enterprises and value chains. Its goal is to ensure operational excellence and scalable impact in the areas of productivity, supply chain resilience, customer focus, sustainability, and talent development.
The initiative aims to create a responsible operational model for industry, jointly developed by industry leaders and based on the principles of lean manufacturing, digitalization, and sustainable development. At the same time, it forms a capability-building framework that will help governments accelerate the adoption of industrial technologies, enable scaling for small and medium-sized enterprises, and strengthen national competitiveness.
At its core, the Lighthouse Operating System serves as a transformation engine built on a systematic approach to capability development. It integrates strategy, operations, and people into a cohesive, scalable model, transforming the best practices of lighthouse enterprises into practical framework solutions that can be implemented across various manufacturing sites and value chains.
The initiative is being developed by leading co-creators from industry, consulting, and the public sector, who are working together to shape the future of global manufacturing and operations.
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Carbon Accounting and Management Applications 2026 Vendor Assessment.
The study evaluated 17 global vendors based on capabilities and strategic vision.
The IDC report highlights the following key strengths of the company:
• AI-native architecture: Schneider Electric’s Resource Advisor+ platform, powered by the Sera AI agent, automates data extraction and normalization, emissions factor mapping, reporting, and CSRD compliance processes, while also supporting supplier engagement and scenario analysis.
• Integration of an in-house developed platform: building the Resource Advisor+ platform in-house ensures seamless data exchange and compatibility across products, enabling context, analytics, and management actions to be shared across the entire platform and throughout the client’s ecosystem.
Resource Advisor+ is an AI-native platform for energy consumption management and sustainable development, developed by Schneider Electric. SE Advisory Services, Schneider Electric’s global consulting practice. Launched in early 2026, the platform integrates energy data, carbon emissions tracking, supplier engagement, and reporting into a single environment built on a Responsible AI approach, which ensures the effective and optimized use of artificial intelligence.
Resource Advisor+ is supported by specialized teams at SE Advisory Services, comprising over 4,000 consultants worldwide and more than 17,000 specialists across Schneider Electric’s various business units. The combination of software and consulting expertise is a key element of how SE Advisory Services helps clients move from ambitious sustainability goals to measurable results.
The platform’s supply chain management capabilities are built around supplier engagement, training, and practical decarbonization actions. Suppliers receive support through structured data collection, benchmarking, and progress monitoring, as well as a transparent maturity assessment model that helps identify specific next steps. Specialized training modules include built-in mechanisms for launching decarbonization projects or engaging with expert teams. Energize and Catalyze, SE Advisory Services’ flagship supply chain decarbonization initiatives, support suppliers in accessing renewable energy, achieving large-scale emissions reductions, and accelerating progress toward science-based climate targets, while delivering measurable business value.
Learn more: resourceadvisor.com
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About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technology, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies.
Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, today released its results for the first quarter of 2026 as part of its new Impact 2030 sustainability roadmap.
Building on years of leadership and a unique approach to sustainability, Impact 2030 structures the company’s ambitions around four strategic pillars—electrifying the world, transforming industry, unlocking human potential, and supporting local communities—which are implemented through targeted programs and measured using clear performance metrics.
In the first quarter of the new cycle, the Impact Score reached 3.40/10, marking a strong start toward the 2026 annual target of 4.20/10 (where 10/10 corresponds to the 2030 ambition). This metric reflects early progress in key programs, combining results in the company’s operations with scalable impact for customers, suppliers, and communities.
Schneider Electric further reduced carbon emissions in its own operations: Scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 82.5% compared to 2017. In the first quarter, the company also helped customers save or electrify 47.5 million MWh of energy through energy management, automation, and digital solutions. These efforts resulted in a reduction and avoidance of 20 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent for the quarter.
Achieving large-scale results also requires rethinking approaches to product design and manufacturing. In the first quarter, the company continued to implement the Future Designed framework: 14% of key products in the development phase already demonstrate high levels of circularity and environmental efficiency.
In the supply chain, the company accelerated the rollout of the Zero Carbon Pathway initiative, developing a long-term model for engagement with suppliers. In the first quarter, more than 1,100 suppliers joined the program, many of whom have already completed training and received practical tools to decarbonize their operations.
Supporting equal opportunities remains a key priority for the company. In the first quarter, more than 2.8 million people gained access to sustainable electricity through Schneider Electric’s community solutions, and 113,000 people received training and upskilling in programs related to energy, electrification, and automation. In total, more than 1.2 million people have been trained since 2009.
“Impact 2030 creates a framework for systemic transformation by engaging all stakeholders,” said Esther Finidori, Director of Sustainability at Schneider Electric. “We expect positive results to grow with each quarter as our ambition translates into tangible, consistent, and measurable progress.”
Detailed results and key sustainability indicators for Q1 2026 are available in the report.in Schneider Electric’s quarterly report, published alongside the Group’s first-quarter financial results.
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About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and environmental sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies. Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, today released new findings from its global Industrial AI in CPG Survey 2026, which indicate that consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers expect a significant increase in production inefficiencies and cost pressures by 2030. Many are turning to industrial intelligence—the combination of AI, data, and automation—to strengthen their competitiveness in a decade of accelerated volatility.
Structural production costs are expected to rise through 2030
The survey shows that consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers expect the margin crisis to accelerate: inefficiencies—including production delays, downtime, and equipment breakdowns—already account for approximately 20.3% of the final cost of goods produced. Respondents report that 15.2% of average production revenue is lost due to delays, downtime, rework, quality deviations, or inefficient use of assets.
These avoidable losses are expected to rise significantly—to 21.37% as early as next year and approach 29.14% by 2030.
Many CPG manufacturers are turning to industrial AI to curb the projected growth of such production losses.
Expectations for AI are rising rapidly, while readiness lags behind
Today, only one in eight (13%) consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers report that AI is fully integrated into key operations and decision-making processes. By 2030, more than a third (37%) expect AI to become the backbone of their operations—a threefold increase in adoption in just four years.
Respondents also expect significant growth in the return on investment (ROI) delivered by AI:
• one-third (32.7%) expect a return of 50–74% on their AI projects by 2030
• nearly one-tenth (7.9%) forecast a return of over 100%, meaning that investments in AI will pay for themselves in less than a year
Such a level of efficiency is currently observed only in WEF Lighthouses[1] or autonomous factories.
In contrast, 70% of respondents note that the current return on investment in AI is less than 20%, with nearly a third (28.4%) reporting an ROI of 5% or lower, reflecting an industry that is currently deriving limited value from early implementations.
“Manufacturers predict a threefold increase in end-to-end AI adoption by 2030, along with a sharp rise in expected returns—to levels currently demonstrated only by the most advanced Lighthouses and autonomous factories,” said Neil Smith, president of Schneider Electric’s CPG division. “This gap between expectations and reality is the strongest signal of urgency we’ve seen in recent years. AI can only be transformative when it delivers true industrial intelligence: the ability to turn real-time operational data, modern automation, and AI into synchronized solutions that drive efficiency at scale. Many organizations still operate with outdated manufacturing sites, fragmented data, and legacy systems that limit the value and adoption of AI. Bridging this readiness gap is now a key competitiveness priority for the CPG sector.”
The barrier lies not in AI technology, but in the fundamental readiness to implement industrial intelligence.
Despite high confidence in the potential of AI, survey respondents consistently identify structural, rather than technological, barriers as the main obstacles to scaling:
• a shortage of skills in AI or data science (43.0%)
• Outdated automation systems and infrastructure (37.5%)
• Lack of contextualized operational data (36.3%)
• Resistance from staff (25.7%)
All these factors outweigh concerns about cybersecurity or regulatory compliance (21.7%).
“The results are clear: achieving the transformational return on investment expected from industrial AI in just four years requires a qualitative shift in collaboration, transparency, and shared standards,” said Cecile Versellino, Senior Vice President of Services for Schneider Electric’s Industrial Automation division. “Through SE Advisory Services, we are already applying our ‘Lighthouse’ expertise in manufacturing alongside customers worldwide, helping them turn digital ambitions into measurable results. We believe that the exchange and implementation of best practices and industry expertise will catalyze the next wave of industrial digital transformation.”
A new white paper: “Beyond the Hype: Practical AI for Competitive Consumer Goods Manufacturing” published today by Schneider Electric in collaboration with AVEVA, provides recommendations for the successful implementation of AI in the food and beverage sectors.
It outlines the path to autonomous operations through industrial data, modular automation, electrification, and the stages of industrial AI implementation.
Notes to editors:
• A statistically representative survey was conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 1,453 respondents (25% C-suite executives, 75% manufacturing managers and decision-makers) in the life sciences, food, and beverage sectors across 14 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, and Egypt. The data was collected between February 26, 2026, and March 24, 2026. Censuswide adheres to and engages members of the Market Research Society and is guided by the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies.
Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
[1] McKinsey, “How manufacturing’s Lighthouses are capturing the full value of AI”, 2024. Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/how-manufacturings-lighthouses-are-capturing-the-full-value-of-ai
Schneider Electric, a global leader in energy technologies, showcased new developments in its strategic partnership with Microsoft at Hannover Messe, demonstrating how their combined technologies help manufacturers modernize operations, accelerate engineering processes, and enhance sustainability.
Schneider Electric provides the industrial foundation for this collaboration through EcoStruxure Automation Expert—its open, software-defined automation platform that operates seamlessly in on-premises, edge, and hybrid environments. Microsoft extends this foundation with Azure cloud services and artificial intelligence solutions that analyze and optimize industrial processes. The result is a unified approach to agent-driven manufacturing, open automation, and end-to-end sustainability.
Today, manufacturers face increasing product variability, supply chain volatility, and heightened pressure to modernize safely. Schneider Electric addresses these challenges by combining engineering design with real-time operations. Their joint platform enables teams to standardize reusable logic, validate automation through simulation, ensure traceability throughout the entire lifecycle, and scale interoperable operations across different sites and equipment.
Schneider Electric is collaborating with Microsoft to develop the next generation of agent-based, software-defined manufacturing—an integrated workflow spanning design, engineering, construction, commissioning, and operations. At its core is EcoStruxure Automation Expert, which allows manufacturers to create, model, test, and deploy automation logic once and run it anywhere without additional reconfiguration. Schneider Electric’s deep expertise in safety, compliance, and industrial integration ensures reliability in highly regulated environments.
“From agent-based design to software-defined operations, Microsoft and Schneider Electric demonstrate a unified, interoperable workflow that enables the consistent verification, simulation, and deployment of automation logic both in the cloud and at the edge,” said Gwenel Yue, Executive Vice President of Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric.
While traditional automation software requires separate tools and handoffs between stages—design, simulation, commissioning, and operations—the shared platform unifies them into a single, transparent workflow. Specialized AI agents, coordinated by a centralized control system, automate routine engineering tasks and verify logic before implementation, reducing time from design to launch and increasing efficiency on the first attempt. Schneider Electric’s industrial copilot for manufacturers, powered by Azure AI, is already delivering results in the field: engineering teams report a 50% reduction in time spent configuring control systems and preparing documentation, and changes to production lines that previously took weeks are now completed in hours.
In one project to implement autonomous green hydrogen production in real-world conditions in collaboration with H2E Power, an Indian pioneer in the green hydrogen sector, the platform delivered over 6,000 hours of stable autonomous operation in one of the most demanding industrial environments — high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis for green hydrogen production — reducing the levelized cost of hydrogen by 10%, equivalent to approximately €500,000 per year for a typical 10 MW plant.
“Thanks to agent-based design, we close the loop from engineering concept to operational reality by automating solutions, ensuring early validation, and delivering reusable automation packages that Schneider Electric can model and consistently deploy both in the cloud and at the edge,” said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing and Mobility at Microsoft.
At their booths at Hannover Messe 2026, Schneider Electric and Microsoft presented hands-on demonstrations of early-stage joint innovation capabilities, including live demos, engineering AI, and an ecosystem of open standards, as part of a large-scale program to develop the next generation of manufacturing.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy technologies, driving efficiency and sustainability through the electrification, automation, and digitalization of industry, business, and residential spaces. The company’s technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and power grids to function as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing productivity, resilience, and sustainability.
The company’s portfolio includes smart devices, software-defined architectures, AI-based systems, digital services, and professional consulting services. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric consistently ranks among the world’s most sustainable companies.
Learn more at https://www.se.com/ua/uk/
