Environment > Dassault Systèmes

Environment

As a software company dedicated to enabling customers from all sectors of the economy to innovate sustainably, we are committed to managing our own environmental footprint fully.

For a summary of the ways in which Dassault Systèmes integrates environmental considerations into our operations, download our full Environmental Statement.

We find the 4-dimensional approach of the industry-led Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures to be a useful framework for outlining our methodology to manage the critical issue of environmental sustainability.

Read below to find out about our company’s approach to addressing the risks linked to our environmental impact, with a particular emphasis on climate action.

As a company committed to and based on science, it is only natural for us to now aim for the highest standard in emissions targets: the Science Based Target initiative. We believe that climate change is not only one of the world’s greatest risks, it is also one of the greatest opportunities in history for sustainable innovation.

Florence Verzelen > Dassault Systèmes
Florence Verzelen
Executive Vice-President, Industry, Marketing & Sustainability

Our Climate Commitments

At Dassault Systèmes, we have outlined a twofold strategy to fulfill our commitment, first by setting an emissions reduction target covering the full value chain that is in line with climate science – with scopes 1 and 2 aligned with a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway and scope 3 aligned to SBTi best practice guidance – and then by offsetting the impact of any residual emissions by investing in projects that permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to achieve climate neutrality by 2040. This strategy was established according to a baseline of 2019 emissions data, and prioritizes reduction pathways in purchased goods and services, capital goods, business travel, and employee commuting. 

In addition to our commitments on emissions, we have also committed to working with other stakeholders to tackle climate change. We joined global initiatives to promote sustainable development, such as the European Green Digital Coalition, the United Nations Global Compact, the Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi), Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) supporters’ network, Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) as well as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. We are ranked in the Corporate Knights 2021 Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World as well as Clean200, the annual list of publicly traded companies offering sustainable energy transition solutions.

Find out more about our Targets.

Governance

Sustainability issues, including climate risks, are core to the strategy of Dassault Systèmes and are managed at the highest level of corporate governance.

Strategy

Our approach to climate change takes into account both our environmental footprint and the handprint of our products and services.

  • Footprint:  Our approach to managing our direct footprint include many levers:
    • Real Estate and Facilities: Select eco-efficient workplaces, sort ordinary waste and deploy ISO 50 001 certification when relevant,
    • Procurement: Purchase low carbon energy, evaluate the sustainability performance of purchased products and initiate dialogue with key suppliers. More detail on our purchasing policies can be found here.
    • Information Technology: challenge data centers’ energy efficiency, extend hardware lifespan and manage e-waste
      Read Chapter 2 of our Annual Report for a more complete description of our environmental actions and KPIs.
  • Handprint: we recognize that climate change and pressures on natural resources means managing risks as well as capturing the enormous opportunities related to the sustainable transformation of the economy. A key tenant of our climate and environmental risks mitigation strategy is the development of solutions that enable our clients to minimize their own environmental footprint. This includes offering solutions for virtual prototyping to avoid wasted materials in the product development and testing phase, or creating intelligent cities designed to optimize use of resources within urban areas.

Risk Management

Identifying and mapping Dassault Systèmes’ key Sustainability issues is the point of departure of our Sustainability strategy. To conduct this mapping, we rely on internal input and also external expertise, notably the framework provided by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

The SASB Materiality Map highlights the most material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues for the sector. These are presented in the table here.

Dimension SASB Materiality Map (Software & IT Services)

Environment

Energy

Social Capital

Customer Privacy

Data Security

Human Capital

Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion

Leadership & Governance

Competitive Behavior

Systemic Risk Management

 

Following a detailed review with internal stakeholders, these issues are indeed considered as material not only for the sector broadly but also for Dassault Systèmes, and as such are addressed in more detail in the Chapters 1 and 2 of our Annual Report

One of the most critical risks identified by both SASB and our internal stakeholders is the management of energy consumption and its related impact on the climate. This risk is reviewed regularly as part of the Sustainability updates provided both to the Sustainability Committee, group Executive Committee, and the Board of Directors via the dedicated Sustainability lead.

Metrics & Targets

At Dassault Systèmes, we recognize that to manage our climate risks, which is one of our most critical risks as outlined above, we need to measure our impact and set out targets. We report on environmental targets and KPIs in Chapter 2 of our Annual Report.

Metrics

We use the “GHG Protocol” to analyze our carbon intensity per employee. The assessment of greenhouse gas emissions includes:

  • Scope 1, related to emissions from owned or controlled sources such as natural gas, fuel for generators and company cars.
  • Scope 2, related to indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling.
  • Scope 3, related to other relevant indirect emissions in our value chain, such as purchase of goods or use of goods sold.

Note on Scope 3 emissions from Use of Goods Sold:
Our Use of Goods Sold (Scope 3) is mostly indirect and therefore out of scope for the GHG Protocol for corporate reporting, however 3DS voluntarily estimates and reports this number: our Use of Goods Sold in 2021 (exc. Medidata) is 530 771 tCO2-eq. 

See the chart below to view our carbon intensity per employee in 2021 vs. 2020 vs. 2019:

Targets

In June 2021, The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) announced Dassault Systèmes' commitment to set science-based targets to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and develop an approach that aims at keeping global warming below 1.5°C.

We commit:

  • to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 34% and scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel and employee commuting 23% by 2027 from a 2019 base year. 
  • to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel and employee commuting 55% per km within the same timeframe. 
  • that 52% of our suppliers by emissions covering purchased goods and services and capital goods will have science-based targets by 2025.
  • that any residual emissions remaining after these science-based targets are achieved will be compensated via carbon removals, with a preference for innovative technological solutions enabled by our 3DEXPERIENCE platform, in order to reach climate neutrality by 2040. 

The SBTi mobilizes companies to set science-based targets and boost their competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. It is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi call to action is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. The initiative defines and promotes best practices in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.

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Social

Our vision for sustainable innovation puts people at the heart of everything we do. As a company, we firmly believe that The Only Progress is Human, and are committed to generating positive social impact.

Governance

For us, pursuing ethical and sustainable growth is one of the pillars of our corporate social responsibility policy and our sustainability strategy more widely.

Investors

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