As a leading player in the green economy, SPIE pursues an ambitious environmental policy to help combat climate change. SPIE works daily to reduce its clients' carbon footprint and is firmly part of the solution. The Group also reduces greenhouse gas emissions from its multi-technical services.
An environmental policy based on the transition to a low-carbon economy
The environmental aspect of SPIE's CSR policy focuses on the transition to a low-carbon economy. In cities, buildings and factories, SPIE promotes energy conservation and efficiency to drive operational performance. This allows for the mindful use of fossil fuels and facilitates the ramp-up of renewable energies. Since 2010, SPIE has supported The Shift Project, a think tank that sheds light and stimulates debate on the challenges and trade-offs of a low-carbon economy.
Reducing our clients' environmental impact
In 2023, 48% of SPIE's activities made a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change, according to the framework of the EU taxonomy.
To calculate this green share of its revenue, the Group assesses the services it provides in three areas of activity according to rigorous technical performance criteria:
- Technical building systems
- Services for electricity transmission and distribution networks and renewable energy installations
- Technical services for eco-mobility infrastructure
In Germany, SPIE installed the electrotechnical infrastructure for the new plant belonging to Harmonic Drive, a leader in high-precision drive technology. For this project, the Group installed an LED system that consumes five times less electricity than conventional lighting and lasts significantly longer. The Group is also contributing to the future Fécamp offshore wind farm: in the summer of 2020, SPIE Thépault, a subsidiary of SPIE Nucléaire, was involved in connecting the wind turbines to the onshore electricity grid. Several SPIE subsidiaries are currently combining their expertise in electricity and instrumentation in the offshore environment, with start-up planned for 2023. The Fécamp wind farm will produce 500 MW of electricity per year, equivalent to the consumption of 770,000 people. In France, SPIE CityNetworks, as part of the Metropolis consortium, is installing electric charging points for the Greater Paris area, which will have 5000 of these points by 2022.
Reducing our carbon footprint
Since 2009, SPIE has been identifying and quantifying the significant greenhouse gas emissions associated with its activities and taking action to reduce them. In 2021, the Science Based Targets initiative approved SPIE's carbon footprint reduction targets, which are in line with the 1.5°C trajectory defined by the IPCC. SPIE has committed to reducing its direct emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 25% between the reference year 2019 and 2025. To achieve this, SPIE is converting its vehicle fleet to electric and improving the energy efficiency of its property assets. SPIE is also involving its suppliers in its approach to reducing the carbon footprint of its activities. By 2025, SPIE aims to purchase 67% of its equipment and services from suppliers committed to reducing their own footprint.