Friday, June 6, 2025
Schneider Electric has launched a landmark multi-year initiative dedicated to building a new kind of integrated ecosystem for sustainability and energy management, backed by a significant growth model that represents the company’s commitment to forward-thinking software and innovation.
“Our vision is collaborative intelligence—agentic AI that works alongside human experts as a true digital teammate,” added Wilhite. “This technology allows us to create a force multiplier effect where complex data analysis and tasks are automated, freeing our clients to focus on the strategic initiatives and innovations that lead to greater impact—a fundamental shift in how organizations can accelerate on their energy and decarbonization journeys.”
At the core of this initiative is an emerging artificial intelligence technology known as Agentic AI. These agents are a new kind of software designed to work independently or collaboratively with clients and consultants to anticipate needs and adapt to complex environments in real time, ushering in a new era of simplification and automation in sustainability. Conventional software has historically been used as a tool to help you perform tasks, while this initiative with embedded AI agents that can do work for you, demonstrates the paradigm-shifting nature of an AI-native, agentic software ecosystem.
The company’s next-generation ecosystem will reimagine energy and sustainability management by serving as both the command center and coordination layer for strategy and decision-making. By embedding AI agents into adaptive workflows that seamlessly integrate with human experts and enterprise systems, it is set to transform disconnected sustainability efforts into an intelligent ecosystem that continuously optimizes outcomes and drives sustainable impact.
Schneider Electric has appointed Julien Picaud as head of product management to lead this initiative. Picaud comes to Schneider Electric with a background in strategic leadership and product management, and a focus on digital innovation and AI-focused initiatives that enhance business performance and intelligent resource and emissions management. Picaud will spearhead the investment which will reimagine core functionality from the company’s existing software platforms while debuting new features from the recent acquisition of leading sustainability firm EcoAct, including:
- Decarbonization strategy
- Scenario analysis
- Benchmarking
- Emissions management
- Reporting and compliance
- Climate risk
- Value chain engagement
- Energy management
- Resource efficiency
- Data integration, automation and visualization
- Modernized user experience
“In specialized fields like energy and sustainability, agentic AI is only as effective as the depth of domain expertise embedded in its design,” said Amy Cravens, research director of sustainability and ESG software at IDC. “Guided by decades of experience with a team of deep, domain-level consulting expertise, Schneider Electric is creating an agentic AI ecosystem that sets a new standard for sustainability management—equipping organizations to meet increasingly complex challenges. This next generation agentic AI will readily transform information management into actionable systems of the future.”
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Featured image credit: Getty Images
