Global management consultancy Bain & Company and sustainability-focused energy and automation digital solutions provider Schneider Electric announced the launch of a new strategic partnership, focused on supporting corporate energy management and decarbonization efforts.

According to the companies, the new partnership comes as companies have been increasingly setting ambitious climate goals, with over 4,000 now committing to achieve science-based carbon reduction goals, yet many are struggling to make progress towards their targets, while facing increasing pressure from investors and regulators to act and report on emissions and climate risk.

Steve Wilhite, President of Schneider Electric’s global Sustainability Business, said:

“The global demand for corporate decarbonization has accelerated rapidly, driving new pressures for companies to make meaningful progress on energy efficiency, renewable energy procurement, and electrification. Our partnership with Bain & Company will advance decarbonization and the energy transition for our clients, driving greater resilience and faster results.”

The announcement marks the latest in a series of moves by Bain to target sustainability-related opportunities and help support client’s ESG initiatives. In 2021, the firm launched “Further,” its integrated suite of ESG capabilities, working with clients to address challenges ranging from climate change to structural inequities and environmental degradation. Recently, Bain announced a major sustainability-focused upskilling program, Further Academy, aimed at providing post graduate-level ESG training to all of its global consultants.

The new global partnership follows a series of collaborations between the companies. The collaboration will combine Bain’s advisory expertise in decarbonization and its industry-focused capabilities including supply chain enhancement, performance improvement and operational delivery, and Schneider Electric’s carbon reduction and energy use transformation experience, including its portfolio of digital decarbonization solutions and its network of more than 2,500 experts in the areas of energy and carbon management, renewable energy procurement, ESG, and efficiency.

Hernan Saenz, partner and leader of Bain’s Global Performance Improvement practice, said:

“At Bain & Company we are constantly enhancing the breadth and depth of our capabilities and expertise to help our clients accomplish their ESG goals and secure the greatest potential and value from their decarbonization and energy efficiency journeys. Our partnership with Schneider Electric will be a critical accelerator of our ambition in this arena, providing us with a key partner as we work with leading companies to forge a more sustainable and profitable future for their businesses, investors and communities.”