Introducing Dassault Systèmes’ Sustainability Compass

In 2012, we declared our corporate purpose as:

Dassault Systèmes’ provides business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations capable of harmonizing product, nature and life.

We have remained steadfast to that commitment, and continue to bolster it as the world urgently races towards a green, digital transformation of the economy. As a leading technology company with clients across the world representing all sectors of the economy, we are in a strong position be a catalyst for redefining processes that help shape the physical world by leveraging the virtual world.

To bring this objective to the forefront, we have launched the Sustainability Compass – a three-pronged approach that codifies our approach to being a sustainable company and to help others on that same path, with the urgency and speed needed for the global economy to transform.

The components of our Sustainability Compass are:

• EXPERIENCE the change: we strive to “walk the talk” and embed sustainability in everything we do.
• HARMONIZE the portfolio: we focus not only on providing the tools, but also the inspiration for our customers to innovate sustainably.
• COLLABORATE with stakeholders: we aim to work in partnership with customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

In this video, our Chief Sustainability Officer, Alice Steenland, explains our approach. Watch this, then read on for detail on each pillar:

EXPERIENCE the change

This pillar of our Sustainability Compass ensures that we demonstrate that we’re not just about words: we are about action. We are committed to embed and practice sustainability in everything we do.

In recent years, companies across the world are adopting a stronger, more focused approach to sustainability, driven in part by the 2015 establishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN. To help comply with the SDGs, organizations have taken a hard look at their products and operations, then developed processes and approaches that have sustainability at the heart. At Dassault Systèmes, we are committed to taking a holistic approach to be both a catalyst for enabler of a sustainability renaissance.

The goals we’ve set to accomplish by 2025 include:

• a science-based target for carbon emissions & a 5t CO2/FTE goal* (-38% vs 2018)
• 40% women in executive roles, 30% women as people managers
• 95% of employees having completed ethics training
• 85% employee pride & satisfaction score

We’re well underway on our work to accomplish each goal. A few specific examples of progress include:

• Joining the Science-based Targets Initiative in December 2020, signaling our commitment to set an ambitious series of targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, in order to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement
• 39% of our executive team are women, up from 22% in 2018
• 21% of women are people managers, up from 17% in 2018
• 98% of employees trained on ethics and compliance in 2020
• 83% of employees report a positive pride and satisfaction score, up from 77% in 2018

HARMONIZE the portfolio

This pillar illustrates our commitment to provide both the tools and the inspiration for our customers to innovate sustainably.

While we have longer-term goals we are working towards achieving by 2035, we have interim goals as well:

• 2/3 of new licenses from solutions/processes with positive sustainability impact, by 2025
• Life Cycle Analysis integrated in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform by 2022

It is important to note that our solutions portfolio is already helping our customers use resources more efficiently and to reduce their environmental footprint. Since its introduction in 2012, the 3DEXPERIENCE platform has been a catalyst for sustainable innovation through its capacity to leverage and impart knowledge and know-how for internal teams and their value chains. The platform creates virtual worlds – spaces for experimentation only limited by imagination – that allow innovators, professionals, consumers and citizens to take a holistic approach to value creation with a positive impact on our the planet. Our goal now is to move further towards embedding social and environmental sustainability into our technologies, placing this value at the center of our offers.

We have a number of customer stories that demonstrate how we are already helping companies develop sustainable innovations. A sampling include:

• Amcor: this leading plastic container manufacturer is continually looking for ways to reduce the amount of material used in beverage containers while keeping them strong and cost-effective to produce
• NIO: a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer creating a new generation of electric road cars that deliver superior performance and unique user experiences to establish EVs as a natural choice for everyone, leading to a more sustainable tomorrow
• EEL Energy: a startup dedicated to harnessing the power of marine energies as a credible means for electricity generation from non-carbon sources, starting with embracing the high potential of France’s expansive coastlines

One more thing to check out: in a recent joint paper with Accenture, Designing Disruption: The Critical Role of Virtual Twins in Accelerating Sustainability, we explored use cases from five industries (construction, consumer packaged goods, transportation, life sciences and electrical & electronics) that show how virtual twins could help meet the world’s sustainability goals. These five use cases alone can unlock more than 7.5Gt of CO2e emissions reductions through 2030 and US$1.3 trillion of economic value. You can read more about this, here.

COLLABORATE with stakeholders

The third pillar represents our commitment to collaboration: both in how we work internally and to deliver a key benefit for our customers. Because we know that achieving sustainability goals can only happen through collective efforts, we’ve reinforced our commitment to tightly work in partnership with customers, employees and other stakeholders.

We aim to meet two goals for this pillar by 2025:

• Engage 5,000 stakeholders by rolling out various programs to mobilize our ecosystem, including our employees, our suppliers, our customers, students as well as non-profits around sustainable development issues, because we believe that our success hinges on a collective effort.
• Launch an annual sustainable innovation event

Under the direction of our first chief sustainability officer, Alice Steenland, in the past year we’ve demonstrated our commitment fo collaborate for sustainability by joining:

• The Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), a global organization focused on enabling digital sustainability.
• The Ellen McArthur Foundation to drive systemic change and scale solutions globally
• The Science-Based Targets Initiative, committing to set a target within 24 months to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to meet Paris Agreement goals.
• The European Green Digital Coalition, a first-of-a-kind coalition emphasizes the key role of technology in the green and digital transformation of the economy inside and outside Europe as Founding Member

This is just the beginning!

We are working tirelessly on new projects and have announcements to making in the coming months. Bookmark our Sustainability Insights section to learn news as it breaks, as well as to read current articles, press releases and discover our events.