Schneider Electric: 2016 Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement Award Winner
Just because Schneider Electric, headquartered in France, has garnered worldwide awards for sustainability — in 2016 alone, they’ve been named one of the world’s most ethical companies and one of the 100 most sustainable corporations — that doesn’t mean local recognition doesn’t mean just as much.
“Just Google ‘Schneider Electric green’ or ‘Schneider Electric sustainability,'” says Estil Poff, safety, security and environmental manager for Schneider’s Columbia location. “There’s a very high expectation for all locations in the company to be sustainable. All the employees here are very proud to be green.”
Schneider is one of two winners of the Mayor’s Overall Award, reserved for repeat winners of an MCPA award. Schneider won the 2015 award in the resource conservation category.
Poff says each of the company’s locations is required to improve energy efficiency by three percent every year. The Columbia location consistently hits between 15 and 25 percent improvement. They’re also able to consistently meet the company expectation of 3 percent waste-to-landfill, meaning that 97 percent of material at the plant is recycled.
Schneider also advocates for sustainable practices in the business community. They’ve collaborated with the city to talk with other businesses about environmental best practices, and they’ve made donations to local nonprofits, such as Rainbow House, for energy-efficient facility improvements.
“[Sustainability] is just part of our culture,” Poff says. “It’s engrained in our employees here.”
This article is part of a series on the Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement awards. Check out our profiles of this year’s other winners.