Capgemini recently announced an update to its ESG objectives, which were initially launched in 2021. Which are the most meaningful changes that have been incorporated?
There’s been a strong acceleration toward achieving net zero in our own operations. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are more manageable for us — a key milestone was reaching 100% renewable energy in India. Our global energy consumption is now monitored through a centralized energy command center in Bangalore, powered by renewable infrastructure. In collaboration with Schneider Electric, we’ve even developed a sustainability offering for clients, built on the same energy optimization principles we use internally.
Travel has also been a major focus area, particularly in how we drive cultural and managerial change. We're reducing unnecessary flights, enforcing stricter rules around internal meetings, and encouraging alternative modes of collaboration. We’re also exploring innovations in carbon removal, and we are scaling up our investment in climate and nature solutions at a level commensurate with our total GHG emissions. Our people take this seriously — they regularly ask how often I fly, and hold leadership accountable. That internal pressure is critical.
Sustainability isn’t just a top-down mandate; it’s a grassroots demand from our 340,000 employees, many of whom joined Capgemini because they believed in our commitments.
What’s one recent sustainability initiative from Capgemini that you believe could drive meaningful, measurable impact over the next three to five years?
There are many, but one of the most promising is our work in the aerospace industry with AWS. Each year, hundreds of aircraft are dismantled or serviced, and the ability to reuse components depends on digitizing an enormous volume of documentation. With AWS, we’re helping create platforms that enable secure tracking and reuse of critical aircraft parts, similar to how the automotive industry began embracing circularity over 20 years ago.
Capgemini is a service company developing digital solutions and products. One example is the AMI electric car, co-developed with Stellantis. It’s fully electric, fully recyclable, and priced under €15,000. We took it from RFP to pre-series version, before handing it off to the OEM. More broadly, we’ve formed a climate tech task force focused on hydrogen, renewables, and battery gigafactories. The mission isn’t just to innovate — it’s to support industrial ramp-up and long-term maintenance. For us, energy dominance — where companies and countries manage their own energy futures — will become the defining driver of sustainable strategy.
Companies everywhere are scaling up their sustainability ambitions, but struggle to turn those ambitions into reality. What’s the most common internal barrier holding them back?
The real barrier is the level of investment required. Companies are constantly navigating a conflict between quarterly targets and longer-term sustainability goals. Even when they understand the urgency and have the right solutions, many hesitate. They worry about how the market will perceive the cost, whether now is the right time, and how to balance short-term returns with long-term resilience.
But that long-term resilience is precisely what sustainability provides. It’s not just about compliance — it’s about business continuity, social relevance, and industrial leadership. I was at Le Bourget recently, meeting with leaders from Airbus, Boeing, and Safran. Their social responsibility programs are now embedded into their industrial strategies, not kept separate. And when you see major OEMs investing hundreds of millions into renewable energy sourcing, energy efficiency, and electrification, it becomes clear: this isn’t cosmetic, it’s structural.
Global competition, innovation pressures, and environmental realities are shaping the sustainability landscape in real time. What are the biggest external forces companies need to reckon with?
Chinese players are accelerating the pressure. They’re well ahead in electric vehicles, battery technology, and renewables. I see more and more clients facing the tough choice of whether to protect IP or move faster through partnerships with proven Chinese technologies. That tension between ownership and speed will reshape global collaboration models in the next two years. Meanwhile, AI is multiplying the stakes. The electricity demand could increase ten- to twentyfold as companies deploy more AI-driven systems.
And we can’t forget water. In many regions — southern Spain, parts of Morocco — water scarcity is now a limiting factor on growth and sustainability. It’s not just about agriculture or manufacturing. Even in leisure, like golf, we need to question how we allocate precious resources. When energy and water are both constrained, they become strategic assets, and our solutions need to reflect that interconnected reality.
Capgemini has partnered with major sporting events like the Tour de France to showcase its technology. How exactly is AI being applied in these kinds of partnerships?
With the Tour de France, we’ve just signed on, so we’re still early in the partnership. But what we demonstrated with the America’s Cup gives a preview of what’s possible. There, we used AI and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to map real-time wind impact on the water — a major breakthrough for both teams and broadcasters. In the Tour de France, we’ll likely explore visualization and forecasting , based on riders' speed, remaining elevation and wind resistance.
The goal is to make sports broadcasting more immersive and intelligent, but there’s a deeper layer. These same tools are already being used in our work optimizing wind turbine fields, managing EV battery performance, and improving large-scale energy systems. What starts as entertainment becomes a laboratory for practical industrial applications. It’s a perfect example of how data and AI — when applied with purpose — can drive sustainability in ways both visible and behind the scenes.
