Why 2026’s Top Challenge Is Digital and Sustainable Transformation

At Schneider Electric’s recent Innovation Summit in Copenhagen, industry leaders in electrification, automation, and digitalization gathered to discuss the future of sustainability and digital transformation. Against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, climate risk, and economic volatility, the conversation focused on how companies can accelerate their climate transition plans. Fabien Chene, Head of the Sustainability Business Europe at SE Advisory Services, Schneider Electric’s global consulting practice, sat down with Verdantix Analyst Connor Taylor to discuss the growing need for integrated consulting services that combine strategy, technology, and implementation to help organizations navigate complexity and deliver meaningful progress.

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Fabien Chene: “What challenges do service providers and vendors face in helping European companies accelerate their decarbonization goals?” 

Connor Taylor: If we cast our minds back to 2019–2020, that was the wave of net-zero ambition: optimistic pledges to align corporate strategies with the Paris Agreement and limit warming to 1.5°C. 

Five years later, many of those ambitions have proven challenging to implement. And the past year of 2025 is quite symbolic: we’re halfway towards 2030 when a lot of those intermediate targets were set. 

What we’re seeing now at Verdantix is this idea of strategic fragmentation. Instead of a unified net-zero journey, companies are navigating energy volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasing climate risk. We even hit 1.5°C briefly this year, and France has already warmed to 1.7°C. 

As a result, organizations are taking individual transition paths. Before, everyone was aligned on the same net-zero trajectory. Now, each company is asking: What’s my risk exposure? How can I decarbonize while staying economically viable? How do I maintain business continuity? 

For vendors [consulting firms], this means moving from standardized net-zero targets to idiosyncratic climate strategies: tailored approaches that vary by industry and location. Every firm needs a unique plan that integrates sustainability without compromising core business fundamentals. That’s the major challenge for service delivery today. 

Connor Taylor: “With that in mind, how is Schneider Electric responding to these challenges?” 

Fabien Chene: We recently launched our new consulting practice, SE Advisory Services, with one simple goal: helping companies accelerate their decarbonization journey by moving from strategy to action. 

Commitments are great, but action is even better. Over the years, we’ve seen companies struggle in three main areas of the energy management lifecycle: 

Energy and Risk Management: This includes energy costs and risk mitigation. A strong energy procurement strategy, whether for conventional power or renewables, is key to reducing exposure. And it’s not just energy risk anymore; climate risks, both physical and transitional, are increasingly critical to identify and manage. 

Resource Optimization: The first lever for decarbonization is energy efficiency. We always start with the cheapest megawatt-hour: the one you don’t consume. 

Sustainable Transformation: Helping companies move from science-cased targets and commitments to implementation. 

These three pillars—energy and risk management, resource optimization, and sustainable transformation—form a trilemma, and at the core of that trilemma is data. Without accurate data from invoices, contracts, and consumption, translated into real-time Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions reporting, progress is impossible.

That’s why SE Advisory Services focuses on three areas: 

Strategic Advisory: Building realistic yet ambitious climate strategies, aligning with SBTi commitments, and defining operational roadmaps and business cases. 

Intelligent Technology: Strong data foundations powered by AI, which is essential to unlock sustainable transformation. 

Seamless Implementation: Because what matters most is turning plans into action across the full spectrum of decarbonization levers. 

In essence, SE Advisory Services exists to guide companies from strategic advisory to technology to implementation, helping them achieve meaningful progress on their business goals. 

Fabien Chene: “How are you seeing companies advance sustainable and digital transformation together and are there any challenges when it comes to specifically digital transformation?” 

Connor Taylor: First off, it’s a massive challenge. Despite five years of operating with a net-zero mindset, new software tools, and emerging markets for carbon reporting and climate risk, most consulting firms still have a highly disjointed and dysfunctional data stack for climate technology. 

The problem? Without integrated data, companies can’t calculate ROI on initiatives, which means they can’t secure financing or act with agility. Many organizations use separate tools for reporting, plant operations, supply chain, procurement, and ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning]—creating fragmented repositories of critical data. 

If you want to report emissions, fine. But if you also want to understand operational cost efficiency, you need a unified approach. The focus should shift from simply managing reporting to driving efficiencies: reducing emissions while delivering tangible financial ROI. 

Progress is happening, but slowly. AI has huge potential as a data management layer, especially for carbon and climate risk. It can process activity data, apply carbon factors, and streamline reporting, boosting efficiency across systems. 

The big task now? Getting ready for AI. We’re not quite at the point where AI will revolutionize climate strategy, but companies need to prepare by organizing their data so they can leverage AI when it becomes fully available. 

From a digital transformation perspective, that’s the core challenge today. 

Connor Taylor: “How does Schneider Electric combine its digital capabilities with advisory services to deliver value?” 

Fabien Chene: Scope 3 emissions are a major challenge, especially across the supply chain. It’s not just about having an accurate Scope 3 baseline—it’s about going granular on every supplier and every product’s carbon footprint. Ultimately, companies need to reconcile corporate carbon footprints with product-level footprints, which is complex. It involves multiple emissions factors, LCAs, and aggregating everything into a single corporate carbon footprint. 

This is where AI can fundamentally help, and at SE Advisory Services, we believe AI will accelerate progress by enabling real-time carbon footprint tracking, particularly for Scope 3. 

To illustrate, take one of our long-standing customers, Roca Group, a global leader in bathroom space solutions. We started by helping them understand what it means to align with a 1.5°C trajectory and built a roadmap with decarbonization levers. Then came implementation—renewable energy procurement, energy efficiency, and, importantly, digital transformation. 

By digitizing plants and assets, Roca identified quick wins, improved efficiency, and enhanced operational excellence. These use cases delivered benefits not only for sustainability and carbon footprint but also for competitiveness and industrial performance. 

This example shows how combining sustainability and digital transformation drives resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability.  

At SE Advisory Services, we believe sustainability and business performance go hand in hand. Doing well for the wallet means doing good for the planet—and vice versa. Reconciling both is key to accelerating the climate and energy transition. 

Navigate business transformation with trusted partners 

To secure resilience for the future, organizations must partner with experts who understand the intersection of energy, technology, and sustainability.