A conversation with Judith Wiese, Chief Talent & Sustainability Officer, Siemens: Sustainability Leadership Through a period of business change

At present, global development is facing challenges in many fields such as economy and climate, and "sustainable development" has become an urgent and realistic proposition. The concept of sustainable development is not only reflected at the macro level, but also deeply affects the management decision-making, business model and technological innovation of enterprises.

On November 5, during the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE), Judith Wiese, Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Talent and Sustainability Officer of Siemens AG, was interviewed by CBN on topics such as sustainability leadership, digital empowerment and carbon reduction.

As for how sustainability will affect business practices in the future, Judith Wiese said, "The world is facing major structural changes, and China's "3060" target will mean more attention from stakeholders and urgent needs from the market, which is a huge market opportunity, and for many practitioners, we need to set standards, identify business opportunities, and better be socially responsible through practical methods." ”

China's dual carbon goals demonstrate its determination to tackle climate change, and the achievement of decarbonization goals is both an opportunity and a catalyst for accelerating innovation for sustainable development. Driven by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, companies are increasingly integrating sustainability into their strategies, re-examining the way they work together and tackling sustainability as a common challenge.

The key to sustainable development: scientific and technological innovation

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In this regard, Judith Wiese emphasized that Siemens has fully integrated the concept of sustainability into its business development, so that it is no longer a mere thing, but truly permeates every key process of the company's operations.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is regarded as a more specific tool and powerful driver under the concept of sustainability. Siemens believes that technology is the key to a sustainable future and is using technological innovation to achieve its 2030 goals. "We want to make a deafening call for our sustainability strategic framework, DEGREE, which guides the company's ESG practices. The implementation of the DEGREE framework is not only a positive promotion of the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, but also a 360-degree support for Siemens to achieve sustainable development for stakeholders. There are many things a company can do, but if it really starts to connect the entire industry and value chain together, it can create a spark of clustering. That's what we're committed to doing in China. Judith Wiese said.

"Achieving sustainability through technological innovation is our value proposition, which includes decarbonization and energy efficiency, resource efficiency and circularity, as well as people-centric and social impact. By planning our portfolio, we have determined that around 90 percent of our portfolio has the potential to have a sustainability impact. This allows us to share our best practices with our customers and partners, showing them that there is no contradiction between fulfilling CSR in the ESG space and demonstrating profitability, efficient use of resources, lower carbon emissions, and compliance with regulations. ”

As a pioneer in sustainability, Siemens presents its strategic focus in the field of ESG in all aspects with the DEGREE framework. In the DEGREE framework, Siemens defines its ESG development goals, implements holistic approach principles in six focus areas, and sets rigorous and measurable measurable targets: decarbonization, ethics, governance, and resource efficiency efficiency), equity and employability.

In fact, as early as September 2021, Siemens China launched the "Zero Carbon Pioneer Program" with DEGREE as the framework, and at the launching ceremony of the "Zero Carbon Pioneer Program", Judith Wiese said: "Promoting sustainable development is not a choice, but a must for enterprises. ”

Sustainability plays a crucial role in Siemens' mission and vision.

"Sustainability is deeply ingrained in Siemens' DNA, aligned with our founding principles, and further enhanced through our DEGREE framework. With 14 clear key performance indicators, the framework provides guidance for our operations to scale our impact by leveraging our technology, product portfolio and business scale. ”

This year is the sixth time that Siemens has participated in the CIIE, and has comprehensively displayed its innovative solutions and application achievements in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, intelligent infrastructure, and intelligent transportation with three exhibition areas: industry transformation practice, cutting-edge technology, and ecological value co-creation, and at the same time released the Siemens Xcelerator ecological partner program.

Judith Wiese said that the CIIE is a platform to promote a high level of openness, it welcomes advanced technologies, showcases the world in China, and shows China to the world, "This is my first time participating in the CIIE, and it presents many advanced technologies, which not only shows the world China's openness and strength, but also provides us with a great opportunity to showcase Siemens' cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to the Chinese market." ”

She said that China's dual carbon goals have strongly promoted the growth of market demand for sustainable development. This opens up plenty of opportunities for businesses to invest and further engage in this area. By aligning with China's sustainability goals, businesses can not only contribute to a greener future, but also tap into a rapidly expanding market. It's a win-win situation where businesses can drive their own growth while making a positive impact on the environment.

Digital transformation and dual-carbon talent training

Digitalization is considered a catalyst for sustainable development.

According to the data, Siemens actively promotes its own green and low-carbon transformation, and currently has 7 national green factories, through the "two-wheel drive", the use of digital technology, and actively accelerate low-carbon, one of the benchmarks is the Chengdu factory - Siemens Industrial Automation Products (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (SEWC).

According to reports, SEWC integrates technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to transform traditional manufacturing processes into smart, efficient and sustainable operations. Judith Wiese believes that SEWC, which has been named one of the "nine most advanced factories in the world" by the World Economic Forum, is also looking forward to its future as a digital factory. By leveraging digital technologies, the plant aims to achieve significant energy savings, reduce waste, and improve overall operational efficiency, "and production is expected to continue to grow in 2023." SEWC achieves low energy consumption and high output for plant operations, with a power consumption of only 2,600 KW/h at full capacity. ”

It is worth mentioning that Siemens Xcelerator has made a lot of progress since it officially landed in the Chinese market at the CIIE last year.

According to Judith Wiese, Siemens Xcelerator is an innovative and open digital business platform designed to accelerate digital transformation. The platform is a conduit for scaling smart infrastructure and automation solutions that help preserve and create value, "leveraging this vast technology ecosystem, customers can accelerate the transformation of their industrial, building, grid and transportation systems with a preferred range of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled hardware, software and digital services." ”

It is understood that Siemens Xcelerator plays a pivotal role in driving sustainable development by helping companies optimize their operations and reduce their environmental footprint. For example, by leveraging Siemens' digital twins, companies can simulate and optimize production processes to minimize waste, energy consumption, and emissions. This not only improves operational efficiency, but also contributes to environmental sustainability.

At this year's CIIE, Siemens also showcased a series of sustainable development strategies and initiatives, as well as the main achievements of the second anniversary of the launch of Siemens China's "Zero Carbon Pioneer Program". Successful companies should not only focus on their own sustainable development, but also work with a wider range of stakeholders to achieve sustainable development, and Siemens is committed to becoming a pioneer, practitioner and enabler of sustainable development through cooperation.

"We actively work with partners across the value chain to provide comprehensive products and solutions to help our customers achieve their goals of decarbonization, energy efficiency, resource efficiency, circularity and social impact. Judith Wiese said that the launch of the "Zero Carbon Pioneer Program" is an important practice for Siemens and all partners to jointly promote sustainable development, and this initiative calls on suppliers and partners to accelerate the green transformation and build a sustainable ecosystem with Siemens.

At the same time, as Siemens' Global Chief Talent and Sustainability Officer, Judith Wiese said that there is a beautiful symbiotic relationship between the two, "By prioritizing the development and well-being of employees, we are committed to creating a diverse, equal and inclusive platform for employees to fully display their talents and realize their own values, and ultimately promote the gradual implementation of our sustainability plan." In turn, our sustainability strategy creates a working environment that aligns with our employees' values and development needs. ”

At Siemens, sustainability is a shared responsibility of every employee within the company. "In the dual carbon era, all members of our team, from management to employees, integrate sustainable development, green practices and low-carbon concepts into their daily work. Judith Wiese says that driving sustainability requires not only new skills, but also a fundamental change in mindset. "We regard every employee as a dual-carbon talent who can accept a change in thinking. "The external environment for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality is rapidly evolving, which requires both management and employees to learn quickly, drive change and accelerate innovation.

As a dedicated technology company, Siemens not only cultivates technical talents, but also innovative talents with sustainable development concepts and capabilities. Commenting on Siemens' vision for future-oriented talent development, Judith Wiese said, "We are firmly committed to cultivating more local technology R&D talents in China and continuously promoting the development of innovative technologies to better serve China and the world." This strategic priority will greatly promote the development and implementation of China's digitalization and dual-carbon technologies, and make more positive contributions to achieving sustainable development and addressing the challenges of climate change. ”