- The aim is to become the first carbon-neutral marathon by 2019
- Promotion of gender equality and the United Nations #HeForShe global solidarity movement
- In support of the organization Pompier Raid Aventure which involves young people with disabilities in extreme sporting events
- More than 10% of the runners in the marathon are Schneider Electric employees, partners and customers
For the sixth year running, Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, is the title sponsor of the Paris Marathon. On 8 April, 55,000 runners of 145 different nationalities will put themselves to the test in the iconic 42,195 kilometer race through the Paris capital. Coinciding with the Innovation Summit, an event bringing together customers, partners, industry leaders and entrepreneurs to tackle the digital transformation, the 2018 edition of the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon will once again focus on Diversity, Inclusion and Sustainability causes deeply rooted in the company’s DNA.
5,900 customers, partners and employees will be green runners, sporting Schneider Electric bibs – representing more than 10% of the marathon’s runners – forming the largest company team ever to enter an event of this type. 200 employees have also volunteered to organize the event.
Offsetting 85% of carbon emissions
In partnership with the marathon’s organizer Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), Schneider Electric will offset 85% of the carbon emissions generated by the event through field action. The target for 2019 is to achieve carbon neutrality, a first for a marathon of this scale.
To reach this target, Schneider Electric has chosen Kenya, a symbolic country for runners, with the support of the Livelihoods Carbon Fund, a coalition of ten French companies working to restore ecosystems in developing countries. In partnership with the NGO CLIMATE PAL, they have supplied 60,000 Kenyan homes with “Hifadhi” cook stoves helping to reduce the amount of wood used in cooking by 60%. The benefits include less wood chopped and burned, and fewer CO2 emissions for some 300,000 villagers who received the stoves. Schneider Electric is also engaged in eight other initiatives to replant mangroves and improve farming practices in the world.
Supporting gender equality and the UN #HeForShe movement
- Women competing in the race will have an early start before their male counterparts to allow them to cross the finish line at the same time.
- Promoting parity in the media coverage of the prize awards, ensuring that the women and men ceremonies are both broadcast live.
- Ensuring gender parity in the marathon prizes (up to €50,000), with equal rewards for women and men.
- Raising awareness of gender equality in sport through a #HeForShe booth at Le Salon du Running, which will take place at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles during the three days preceding the marathon. The #HeForShe movement strives to encourage men and boys to take active, concrete steps to promote equality.
“We are delighted to see equal support and opportunity of women at these major sporting events” said Olivier Blum, Chief Human Resources Officer at Schneider Electric. “For the first time ever, women competing in the race will have an early start before their male counterparts to allow them to cross the finish line at the same time. This is a great achievement and one more step towards gender equality which is the best way of overcoming the economic and societal challenges of the 21st century and companies have a decisive role to play in managing these changes.”
Supporting the organisation Pompier Raid Aventure
The organization Pompier Raid Aventure was born out of the determination of three Parisian firefighters to give those who would never be able to take part in the opportunity to experience all the emotions of a foot race. By including young people with disabilities in races aboard a Joëlette (a one-wheeled all-terrain chair), they can share in these powerful experiences, pulling together and overcoming the emotion and effort in places or events previously inaccessible to people with reduced mobility. Schneider Electric has given 17 bibs to the organisation, meaning that Coline and Pauline, two young women which physical disabilities, can race alongside able-bodied runners accompanied by the Pompiers Raid Aventure team, and experience all of the magic of the marathon.
A collector’s medal, designed as a piece of jewellery by woman designer Inga Sempé
Every year since 2014, Schneider Electric has commissioned a medal to award to the runners who complete the Paris Marathon. The French designer and decorator Inga Sempé was entrusted with conceiving and designing the 2018 medal, which is intended to be worn as jewellery. A former resident of the Villa Médicis in Rome, she was awarded the City of Paris’ Grand Prix de design (design award) in 2002 and was named designer of the year in Stockholm in 2012.
“We are very proud and honored to be the title sponsor of the amazing Paris Marathon,” said Chris Leong, Chief Marketing Officer, Schneider Electric. “This Marathon symbolises what we stand for in celebrating the human spirit, capturing the collective determination and energy of 55,000 runners from over 140 countries. The endurance, perseverance and passion acts as a reminder that life is a journey of possibilities. At Schneider Electric, we call this Life Is On.”
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