Sustainable Matters: How ESG starts from within

Michael Page's Sustainable Matters: Sondang Saktion, HR Director at Schneider Electric Indonesia & Timor Leste

For our Sustainable Matters series, we are spotlighting the people and companies leading the charge in creating a better world for future generations.

In our inaugural feature, we speak with Sondang Saktion, HR Director of Schneider Electric Indonesia & Timor Leste, to find out how sustainability became the company’s raison d’etre.

In this video, Frances Taslim, Associate Partner at Michael Page Indonesia, speaks with Sondang Saktion, HR Director at Schneider Electric Indonesia & Timor Leste.

Q: How have you managed to embed sustainable thinking within your company?

Schneider and sustainability go a long way back. 15 years ago, this topic wasn’t really discussed. Nowadays, sustainability has become more mainstream, especially because of the pandemic. But, at Schneider, we started thinking about issues to do with sustainability a long time ago and it will continue to be at the core of everything we do.

We are strongly committed to this internally, but we also want to accelerate the sustainability agenda among our customers so that we can truly create positive impact and value. Because of this commitment, we have received several accolades in this space. In early 2021, Corporate Knights recognised us as being the most sustainable company in the world.

To come back to your question about how this culture is embedded in the company: We do this through our Sustainability Index, which makes the goals transparent and accessible to everyone. This is something that has been in place since 2005.

Q: What is the biggest driver for change in your company?

Sustainability is in our DNA. Schneider and sustainability cannot be separated. Because of this, sustainable principles can be found in every aspect of our strategy. It is in our KPIs and even affects how much bonus we get.

We are fully committed to helping our customers achieve both sustainability and efficiency because we believe that in the end, it’s the right thing to do. And we will need everyone – including other companies, our customers and our employees – to be on board. We can’t do it alone.

Q: What makes you so optimistic about the business ability to rise to the sustainability challenge?

With the pandemic, people have started to realise that we need to put renewed focus on sustainability to do right by the next generation. Before the pandemic, Asia was quite slow to embrace ESG. Now, everyone is talking about it.

The board of directors now expects sustainability processes to be in place, and all listed companies in Indonesia are required to publish a sustainability report. Now, almost all companies must embrace ESG in one way or another.

Q: What are you doing outside of work to lead a more sustainable life?

It’s in what I choose to eat. I’m vegetarian about 95% of the time and that’s a personal choice. A few years ago, I learnt that the production of beef consumes a lot of resources. That has reaffirmed my decision to make more sustainable choices when it comes to food.

Interested in a career in ESG? Browse open jobs in sustainability, or submit your CV.