Hervé has spent the last two decades driving Schneider Electric's global Digital and IT Transformation programs. As Tech Debt VP, he focuses on simplification and technical debt reduction in the application landscape.
As Green Digital Lead, Juan Ignacio integrates digital solutions into Schneider Electric's Eco Design approach to drive end-to-end decarbonization.
Can you tell us about Schneider Electric?
Schneider Electric is a Fortune Global 500 company specializing in digital automation and energy management. We operate in over 100 countries.
Our mission is to empower everyone to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability. At Schneider Electric, we call this "Life Is On."
How does sustainability manifest in your organization?
At Schneider Electric, sustainability is part of our DNA.
It manifests in our operations and strategy, starting with our climate action goals. We aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with interim targets for 2025 and 2030.
Minimizing the environmental impact of our IT sector is an essential part of our sustainability strategy. We have achieved significant reductions through company-wide simplification, infra modernization, and technical debt reduction programs.
Additionally, our innovative programs, such as our EcoStruxure™ platform, enable energy savings and carbon reductions for our customers.
These efforts have earned us global recognition. This year, Schneider Electric was named the 2025 World's Most Sustainable Corporation by Corporate Knights. In 2024, Time magazine and Statista named us the world's most sustainable company, and recently, we were included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the 13th consecutive year.
What does Green Software mean to you?
Green software represents our commitment to sustainability in the digital realm. It means measuring to identify where we emit the most and developing and deploying software that emits less and promotes energy efficiency.
As the Green Digital Lead (Juan Ignacio), I work toward making green software the new normal for our R&D teams. This involves integrating sustainable practices into our software development processes and ensuring our digital offerings align with our Eco Design by Design principles.
Why did you join GSF?
Joining GSF was a natural step. I (Hervé) had been engaged with the GSF community for 1.5 years and saw the value in accessing top standards and frameworks to reduce our IT carbon emissions.
By adopting the principles and practices advocated by the Green Software Foundation, we aim to lead the way in developing software that is both efficient and environmentally responsible. This is a crucial step toward our net-zero objectives.
What do you see as the main challenges regarding green software, and how can we overcome them?
Reducing IT-related carbon emissions presents several challenges:
Lack of a holistic view of all impacted IT dimensions and their interconnections.
Evolving and emerging Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) standards, limited framework for measuring and comparing software-related emissions.
Inconsistent and limited energy and carbon data from cloud providers.
Challenges in measuring impact beyond the cloud, including edge computing, on-premises systems, and software supply chains.
Raising awareness, educating, and dispelling myths, such as the misconception that optimizing energy efficiency compromises performance.
To address these, scaling education on GreenOps and Green Software Patterns is a priority, alongside breaking down silos between code, infrastructure, and deployment optimization.
We must also increase pressure on third-party cloud providers to get granular data and improve internal data governance to support effective environmental impact assessments.
As a large company, we face both positive and negative aspects when overcoming these challenges. On the positive side, our scale allows us to make a significant impact and lead by example. At the same time, the complexity of implementing green software practices across diverse teams and projects can be daunting.
We have to think big but start small. Be transparent in our sustainability journey, measure progress, and prioritize cost-effective carbon reduction efforts throughout the software lifecycle.
How do you hope to contribute and benefit from the GSF?
We aim to embed sustainability into the software domain by leveraging our expertise in energy efficiency and decarbonization and contribute to GSF across various initiatives:
Expertise in Energy Management: Our best practices and innovative approaches to energy management solutions and carbon reduction can help shape the standards and tools for green software development.
AI Hub Development: Our AI Hub, located in India, France, and the US, focuses on using AI to address pressing challenges such as climate change and energy efficiency. By integrating AI with sustainable practices, we can contribute advanced methodologies and insights.
Committee Participation: Schneider Electric has a history of participating in committees related to electrical safety and other domains. We plan to replicate this involvement in the digital space by actively participating in GSF committees and developing standards and best practices.
Regarding benefits, being part of the GSF allows us to collaborate with other leading companies and learn from their experiences. Access to valuable resources is crucial for guiding our efforts to create environmentally responsible digital solutions.
Joining the GSF validates our commitment to sustainability, enhances our reputation and credibility in the market, and supports building a green software brand at the company level.
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