Fighting Global Warming: Legrand Reasserts its Determination to Reduce its Energy Footprint

          The Group joins the Science Based Targets program and supports the Global Alliance for Energy Productivity

          Within a few days of the entry into force of the Paris agreement, and after the COP 22 conference, Legrand has announced it is joining two major international initiatives aimed at fighting global warming. The Science Based Targets program encourages companies to commit to specific targets for cutting their CO2emissions, while the Global Alliance for Energy Productivity against climate change is an international alliance seeking to enhance energy intensity levels. Joining both of these initiatives reinforces Legrand's track record of committing to limit the environmental impact of its business.
         

          At the heart of the CSR approach

          Legrand has for long been committed to preserving the environment, one of the cornerstones of the Group's  CSR commitment. This responsible approach has enabled it to reduce its energy footprint by over 7% in two years, between 2013 and 2015, while every year since 2011, Legrand has disclosed its carbon footprint. The Group further intends to begin gradually factoring the price of a tonne of carbon dioxide into its operational decision-making process, especially as regards capital expenditure. And because 40% of energy consumption worldwide is done in buildings[1], Legrand has developed energy efficiency solutions which should enable to avoid 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from 2014 until 2018[2].

          Forging ahead

          Now, by joining the Science Based Targets program, which is supported by the WWF, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the Carbon Disclosure Project, Legrand has decided to move another step ahead. To enable global warming to be limited to a maximum of 2 degrees, the program calls on companies worldwide to publicly commit to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

          Legrand is thus moving from an energy consumption reduction target to a target expressed in terms of CO2 emission avoidance. "The next step will involve working actively towards this target, which is going to be a key ingredient of our next CSR roadmap", explains Philippine Declercq, Legrand's CSR VP.

          Joining the Science Based Targets program means Legrand is publicly committing alongside some 200 major global businesses. Meanwhile, its support for the Global Alliance for Energy Productivity and its aim of promoting lower energy intensity across the planet, provides an additional testimony to Legrand's commitment to environmental preservation.

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          1. Source: International Energy Agency

          2 Energy savings enabled by use of Legrand's energy efficiency solutions are calculated taking into account the Group's sales volumes generated by such solutions, the level of return on investment (ROI) and the cost of electricity, in line with specialist market surveys.