Introduction

Schneider Electric provides energy and automation digital solutions for the built world. Corporate Knights named the enterprise one of 2021’s “most sustainable corporation” for impact plan to save 800 million tons of CO2 by 2025. When they decided to implement a future-forward office strategy that gave employees the option of working remotely, they leveraged Upflex to give their global workforce access to 10,000+ coworking spaces, meeting rooms and private office spaces around the world — and to track usage, trends and results.

Opportunity

Given Schneider’s core business focus, they understand that more than 40% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the built environment: from lighting, heating, cooling, and construction materials from commercial buildings.

In parallel to Schneider Electric building new technologies and solutions to assist their clients in reducing their carbon footprint, they also want to lead from the front, teaming with Upflex to make rapid progress on their own workplace transformation.

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Schneider Electric engaged Upflex to assist with operationalizing a cohesive workplace strategy that gives employees the option to work from home or in “third places,” such as coworking spaces. As a part of this overall strategy, Upflex empowered Schneider with tailored solutions, including:

Cohesive data and analytics

With Schneider’s focus on sustainability, they’re leveraging Upflex’s robust data and analytics capabilities, enabling Schneider to track, anticipate and respond to office use and energy consumption levels across their portfolio (not just coworking spaces), enabling them to proactively reduce energy usage and emissions. Real-time, actionable data empowers Schneider to make quick, informed decisions to stay on track to meet their workplace transformation goals.

Hub & Spoke model

In addition to giving employees access to Upflex’s spaces on demand, Upflex also enabled Schneider Electric to reposition their existing offices into energy-efficient, next-gen, environmentally- sustainable beacons of their brand, culture, and commitment to the environment, all while reducing energy usage at their leased properties.

Reduce commuting emissions

The use of “spokes” — i.e. coworking spaces — outside of Schneider Electric’s dedicated hubs substantively reduced their CO2 output by reducing commuting time for employees. This “local-first” approach to workplace strategy reduces commuting days, duration of individual commutes, and ultimately leads to a measurable reduction in overall carbon emissions.

“Clean” real estate growth

With Upflex, Schneider Electric can continue to expand without increasing energy usage or related spend. By leveraging Upflex, Schneider can “chip in” on energy usage and costs with other companies who share their co-working spaces. Schneider is also sidestepping the waste and pollution that comes from the new construction of owned or leased offices.

Contributing to the ecosystem

Upflex has a unique partnership with Trees for the Future, planting a tree on behalf of Schneider for every desk booked. For a 3,000-employee company using Upflex, each employee booking a desk five times per month means planting 180,000 trees annually — or removing an estimated 28,770 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year.

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