Schneider Electric introduces circular economy offer for its Smart-UPS Uninterruptible Power Supplies

Schneider Electric has revealed the results of an industry-first circular economy initiative for its range of APC Smart-UPS uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

First trialled in France in 2024 via a pioneering reduce, reuse and recycle program, delivered in partnership with leading distributor Ingram Micro, Schneider Electric sought to increase the sustainability and circularity of its industrialised single-phase UPS solutions, while meeting customers’ demands for sustainable, responsible systems.

The new solutions enable Schneider Electric’s French partners to address the competitive and fast-growing market for circular IT equipment - helping customers to reduce CO2 emissions associated with their critical systems, and with zero impact on the UPS’ operational performance, resiliency, or energy efficiency.

With several high-profile French customers now utilizing Schneider Electric’s circular UPS, including CGR Cinemas – one of Frances’ most notable leaders in the film industry – circular economy projects will also be extended to support partners and customers in key countries across Europe, including the UK and Ireland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany (DACH).

Further, with take-back services delivered with Schneider Electric's partner ecosystem in France, coupled with replacement, recycling and rigorous testing processes via Schneider Electric’s local repair center, the new solutions form part of a complete circular economy offer to serve the French channel and end-user markets. They allow customers to utilize circular, responsible power protection products with the same level of quality and warranty as Schneider Electric standard UPS, while being less CO² emissive.

“When we first set out to establish our circular UPS offer, our ambition was to ensure that there was no compromise on the efficiency, resilience and the sustainability of our industrial processes, and to create sustainable solutions that deliver the same level of quality and reliability our customers expect,” said Geoffrey Richard, Schneider Electric’s Circular Economy Director, France. “Through these new UPS’, our partners can meet customer demands for sustainable solutions safe in the knowledge that they are making a significant contribution to environmental sustainability, and that their customers will benefit from the same warranty as standard Schneider Electric Smart-UPS models.”

“As one of the largest distributors in Europe, Ingram Micro is on a mission to help our partners and their customers run better, grow faster, and become more mindful of the impacts their actions have on people and our planet,” said Sandrine Vigor, Sustainability Manager at Ingram Micro, France. “We’re delighted to have partnered with Schneider Electric to bring this industry-first initiative to life, and one which aligns so closely with the values of our IngramMicroESG program perfectly - supporting our ambitions to help businesses become more sustainable, globally.”

Serving the market for second life IT

Research published by Canalys in 2024 found that 50% of partners expect to generate revenue from sustainability solutions this year, and that a further 92% of customers are seeking guidance from partners around sustainable product procurement processes, including circular IT systems.

Schneider Electric’s new circular UPS offer not only support partners’ ambitions to capture growth opportunities associated with sustainable products but enables them to act as trusted partner for take-back, recycle and replacement services, while meeting local environmental and regulatory requirements such as the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), Paris agreement, and the United Nations (UN) climate objectives.

According to the Circularity Gap report 2023, a transition to a global circular economy will allow us to fulfil people's needs with only 70% of the materials we now extract and use – moving human activity back within the safe limits of the planet. Schneider Electric’s own research showed that products from the circular economy can reduce CO2 emissions by an average of 35% compared to first-time manufacturing - a transformation which involves profound supply chain changes to recover products and equipment for reconditioning, repair or remove spare parts to repair others.

From an environmental standpoint, Schneider Electric’s new circular UPS offer requires key processes which include taking back the end-of-life UPS, detailed diagnosis and testing, dismantling and refurbishment of all single critical parts and end of use components such as batteries, switches and LEDs, reassembly, and rigorous testing – all prior to repackaging and resale, with the same alignment on applicable standards, quality and warranty as a brand-new UPS.

Further, as the UPS solutions require less primary extraction of raw materials, and a reduction of potentially harsh or hazardous substances, customers are also more resilient against fluctuations in the pricing and availability of raw materials, and importantly, can ensure that embodied CO² or Scope 3 emissions associated with the production process are far lower than that of a standard system.

Delivering circular solution for CGR Group

One high-profile adopter of Schneider Electric’s circular UPS solutions is The CGR Cinemas group, which operates 713 movie theatres across France. CGR is well-known as a major player in the French film industry, leading for several decades and is the second largest operator of cinemas in the region.

A key part of its strategy is to create places where emotions, exchanges and experiences are lived and reinvented without respite, and it has developed a park of 45 premium ICE rooms in its cinemas, including the deployment of 4K laser projectors within its theatres and new comfort rooms for an ever more qualitative experience.

Protecting its critical systems from power failures is vital to the customer experience, so it chose Schneider Electric’s new circular UPS offer not only for the quality of its innovative products, but because the company’s commitments to creating environmentally friendly technologies met CGR’s requirements for energy efficiency and sustainability. By using Schneider Electric’s circular Smart-UPS, CGR Cinemas will save 11T600 (11,600 tonnes) of CO² emissions, while safeguarding their critical equipment.

Michael Cron, Logistics and Purchasing Director, CGR Group said, "Schneider Electric’s choice was natural, as their commitment to environmentally friendly products is in perfect harmony with our values of sustainability. Their innovative and eco-friendly approach, while meeting our high-performance requirements, is fully in line with our ambitions for environmental responsibility and efficiency. This choice, both technical and economic, can only be realized and sustained through common interaction and collaboration."