Schneider Electric advances energy and industrial intelligence for a more resilient future at Climate Week NYC 2026

Schneider Electric uses Climate Week NYC 2026 to unveil quantified AI, building and data center efficiency gains plus a new Lenovo decarbonization alliance.

Rhea-AI Summary

Schneider Electric (SBGSF) is showcasing new research, partnerships and programming at Climate Week NYC 2026 to advance AI-enabled building efficiency, building modernization and resource‑efficient AI infrastructure.

A white paper on AI‑enabled building optimization estimates up to 22% energy savings versus buildings without AI, with 7.2%–12.7% attributed to the AI layer and modeled annual utility savings of $13,600–$49,300 per building. Peer‑reviewed work with Boston University finds the main constraint on building modernization is deployment capacity, not technology cost. A 100 MW data center analysis shows an optimized liquid‑cooled AI design using adiabatic heat rejection can cut annual on‑site cooling water use by 48% in Dallas and 53% in Paris versus an air‑cooled AI design.

Schneider Electric is also expanding supply‑chain decarbonization via Lenovo 360 Circle, bringing its Decarbonization Champion program to over 860 IT channel partners, and cites a 56% reduction in operational CO₂ emissions among its top 1,000 suppliers between 2021 and 2025.

Positive

• AI building optimization modeled to cut energy use by up to 22% versus non‑AI buildings
• AI layer impact estimated at 7.2%–12.7% energy savings in the building study
• Utility cost savings modeled at $13,600–$49,300 per commercial building per year
• Data center cooling water use reduced 48% in Dallas with optimized liquid‑cooled AI design
• Data center cooling water use reduced 53% in Paris with optimized liquid‑cooled AI design
• Supply‑chain emissions cut 56% in operational CO₂ for top 1,000 suppliers from 2021 to 2025

Negative

• None.

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• AI-enabled building optimization may reduce energy use by up to 22% in modeled scenarios
• Peer-reviewed research with Boston University finds the constraint on building modernization is not technology but the capacity to deploy it
• Research shows cooling architecture and operating temperature can reduce water use by roughly half

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, today outlined its presence at Climate Week NYC 2026, bringing new research on AI-enabled building efficiency, building modernization and data center water use, executive programming and forthcoming news on collective approaches to supply-chain decarbonization.  AI is driving increased energy demand, and when combined with data and domain expertise, it can also make energy systems more efficient and resilient. Across the week, Schneider Electric will show how energy and industrial intelligence can help organizations unlock capacity, strengthen resilience, and deliver measurable sustainability gains.

 Energy has become a board-level decision, and for most organizations the constraint is no longer ambition but execution. As an energy technology partner, Schneider Electric pairs energy and industrial intelligence with electrification, automation and advisory expertise to help close the time to power gap.

Beyond capacity and speed, this is also how sustainability delivers: making energy use more efficient, operations more resilient, and businesses more competitive, while creating the skills and jobs that bring more workers and communities into the new energy economy.

"Resilience is not something you buy once. It is what energy and industrial intelligence delivers when decisions get better," said Pankaj Sharma, Executive Vice President, Software & Services at Schneider Electric. "What we are bringing to Climate Week NYC is the evidence: an AI layer that frees capacity inside a building, a cooling system that reuses the same fluid instead of drawing more. Energy and industrial intelligence applied to the infrastructure we already have, paired with the execution to deploy it."

AI-enabled building optimization
Schneider Electric's "AI for Climate: Quantifying the Energy and Carbon Impact of Building Optimization" white paper examines the effect of adding AI to existing building management systems. The analysis estimates energy savings of up to 22% compared with buildings without AI. It attributes 7.2% to 12.7% to the AI layer alone and estimates annual utility savings of $13,600 to $49,300 per building at the commercial rates used in the study.

Overcoming barriers to building modernization
The Schneider Electric Research Institute published "Modernizing the Built Environment,"  drawing on a four-study peer-reviewed program produced with Boston University's Institute for Global Sustainability and a case study developed with the Bloomberg New Economy Energy Technology Coalition. Drawing on 95 catalogued barriers from 880 academic sources and 60 practitioner interviews, it finds that the constraint on building modernization is not technology but the capacity to deploy it, with retrofit cost premiums tracing to missing workforce, permitting and financing capacity rather than to equipment cost. Read together, the two papers make one argument: the efficiency is available today and closing the gap between what buildings can do and what they actually do is an institutional problem as much as a technical one.

Supporting responsible AI infrastructure growth
As AI drives growing demand for data center capacity, design choices can materially reduce the resource demands of the infrastructure supporting it. Schneider Electric today published "White Paper 220, Water Usage at AI Scale: Insights from a 100 MW Comparative Analysis." The paper shows that on-site water consumption for cooling is strongly influenced by data center design choices, including heat-rejection technology, liquid-cooling architecture, and operating temperature.

In modeled 100 MW data center designs using adiabatic heat rejection, an optimized liquid-cooled AI architecture reduced annual on-site cooling water use by 48% in Dallas, from approximately 382,000 to 197,000 cubic meters, and by 53% in Paris, from approximately 108,000 to 51,000 cubic meters, compared with an air-cooled AI design. The analysis indicates that high-density AI capacity can be supported while materially reducing on-site water use for cooling.

Schneider Electric will also share further news during Climate Week on collective approaches to supply-chain decarbonization, building on its Energize and Catalyze programs.

New partnership with Lenovo brings decarbonization services to IT channel partners
Schneider Electric has also joined Lenovo 360 Circle, Lenovo's global sustainability community, as a strategic ally, bringing the Schneider Electric Decarbonization Champion program to a network of more than 860 partners. Eligible partners gain carbon management tools to establish a Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions baseline, training through Schneider Electric Sustainability School, and hands-on support from Schneider Electric Advisory Services specialists, including a remote site audit and a jointly developed decarbonization roadmap. It applies at ecosystem scale the approach Schneider Electric has taken in its own supply chain, where engaging its top 1,000 suppliers contributed to a 56% reduction in suppliers' operational CO₂ emissions between 2021 and 2025.

Schneider Electric at Climate Week NYC

• Sustainable Growth: The Implementation Imperative, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, 9:30 a.m.–7 p.m. ET, Glasshouse Chelsea, 545 W. 25th St., including:
  • New Vital Signs of Business Health, 9:30–10:30 a.m. ET
  • Energy Intelligence at Full Speed, 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
  • From Targets to Execution: Closing the Clean Energy Gap, 2:00–3:00 p.m. ET
  • Achieving District-Scale Decarbonization through Digital + Physical Integration, 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
  • Financing Climate Action: The New Carbon Market Playbook for 2026, 3:15–3:45 p.m. ET
  • Unlocking Decarbonization Across Fashion's Global Supply Chain, 4:30–6:30 p.m. ET

Executives attending Climate Week NYC include:

• Pankaj Sharma, EVP, Software & Services
• Lena Henry, SVP, SE Advisory Services
• Andre Marino, SVP, Industrial Automation, North America
• Vanessa Miler-Fels, SVP, Global Supply Chain, Safety, Environment, Real Estate & Sustainability
• Amit Chaturvedy, SVP, SE Ventures & Partnerships
• Steve Carlini, Chief Advocate, Data Centers and AI, Energy Management Business
• Michele Hix, NAM VP, Strategic Customers
• Dave Rimkus, Head of Global Supply Chain Decarbonization, SE Advisory Services

Updates throughout Climate Week NYC will be shared through Schneider Electric's global newsroom and U.S. newsroom.

Related resources

• AI for Climate: Quantifying the Energy and Carbon Impact of Building Optimization
• Modernizing the Built Environment: Closing Institutional Gaps to Scale Decarbonization
• White Paper 220, Water Usage at AI Scale: Insights from a 100 MW Comparative Analysis

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader, driving efficiency and sustainability by electrifying, automating, and digitalizing industries, businesses, and homes. Its technologies enable buildings, data centers, factories, infrastructure, and grids to operate as open, interconnected ecosystems, enhancing performance, resilience, and sustainability. The portfolio includes intelligent devices, software-defined architectures, AI-powered systems, digital services, and expert advisory. With 160,000 employees and 1 million partners in over 100 countries, Schneider Electric is consistently ranked among the world's most sustainable companies.

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FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What does the building modernization research identify as the main barrier to upgrades?

The Schneider Electric Research Institute’s “Modernizing the Built Environment” program, based on 95 catalogued barriers from 880 academic sources and 60 practitioner interviews, finds that the primary constraint on building modernization is not technology, but the capacity to deploy it. Retrofit cost premiums are traced to missing workforce, permitting and financing capacity rather than to equipment cost.

How does Schneider Electric’s data center study link design choices to water use?

“White Paper 220, Water Usage at AI Scale” concludes that on‑site cooling water consumption in data centers is strongly influenced by design choices including heat‑rejection technology, liquid‑cooling architecture and operating temperature. In modeled 100 MW data centers using adiabatic heat rejection, an optimized liquid‑cooled AI architecture cut annual on‑site cooling water use from about 382,000 to 197,000 cubic meters in Dallas and from about 108,000 to 51,000 cubic meters in Paris compared with an air‑cooled AI design.

What benefits do Lenovo 360 Circle partners receive from Schneider Electric’s Decarbonization Champion program?

Through Lenovo 360 Circle, eligible IT channel partners gain access to Schneider Electric’s Decarbonization Champion program, which provides carbon management tools to establish Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions baselines, training via the Schneider Electric Sustainability School, and hands‑on support from Advisory Services specialists. This support includes a remote site audit and a jointly developed decarbonization roadmap.

How is Schneider Electric extending its own supply‑chain decarbonization experience to others?

The company is building on its Energize and Catalyze programs and its experience engaging its top 1,000 suppliers, where that engagement contributed to a 56% reduction in suppliers’ operational CO₂ emissions between 2021 and 2025. At Climate Week NYC, Schneider Electric plans further news on collective approaches to supply‑chain decarbonization and is applying its Decarbonization Champion methodology at ecosystem scale through the Lenovo 360 Circle network.

What is Schneider Electric’s main event during Climate Week NYC 2026?

Schneider Electric is hosting “Sustainable Growth: The Implementation Imperative” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET at Glasshouse Chelsea, 545 W. 25th St. The day includes sessions such as “New Vital Signs of Business Health,” “Energy Intelligence at Full Speed,” “From Targets to Execution: Closing the Clean Energy Gap,” “Achieving District‑Scale Decarbonization through Digital + Physical Integration,” “Financing Climate Action: The New Carbon Market Playbook for 2026,” and “Unlocking Decarbonization Across Fashion's Global Supply Chain.”