PARIS — Rexel, a leading distributor of electrical products, solutions, and services, has launched a new program called “Sustainability Shapers” in collaboration with selected suppliers. Combining a dedicated communications plan, training, promotional activities, enriched data, advanced analytics, and circular economy services, this program brings together leading manufacturers in the sector to accelerate the adoption of advanced sustainable practices and solutions across the entire electrical value chain.
Cooperation at the heart of sustainability
From its central position at the heart of the electrical equipment value chain, Rexel aims to lead by example in terms of sustainability within its own operations. The company supports innovation and shares its expertise with its suppliers, customers, and more broadly with all stakeholders in the sector.
In line with Rexel’s Axelerate28 growth strategy, the Sustainability Shapers underscore the importance of broad collaboration among industry stakeholders to achieve sustainability goals. It also reflects Rexel’s commitment to continually improve its sustainability performance and accelerate progress across the industry.
The company already requires all its suppliers to adhere to its Responsible Supplier Charter, which covers environmental respect, ethics, respect for human rights, protection of employee rights, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This framework reflects the four pillars of the company’s sustainability roadmap: employees, partners, the planet, and ethics and compliance—the basis of the Group’s overall sustainability management strategy, which earned it another EcoVadis gold medal this year. Rexel also works closely with its suppliers to provide its customers with environmental data tools and guide them toward the most sustainable solutions to help them achieve their goals, including through a selection of more than 150,000 high-end products worldwide.
Concrete actions to advance the transition
Concretely, the program includes dedicated communication actions on environmentally friendly technologies, specific training to support Rexel’s sales teams in promoting Shapers‘ sustainable products , as well as targeted campaigns aimed at facilitating customer access to these innovations. It also provides customers with advanced data on the environmental impact of the products they use and purchase, as well as new recycling and remanufacturing systems. Finally, participating suppliers will benefit from customer behavior analyses to better track their sales, refine their commercial actions, and meet the evolving needs of customers.
Ultimately, this program will advance sustainability across the entire electrical value chain—from manufacturer to end user—in line with Rexel’s purpose: Electrifying solutions that make a sustainable future possible.
“Our new program, Sustainability Shapers, provides a concrete response to growing market demand. Although the maturity of our commercial, industrial, and residential customers varies, their needs now converge around ESG issues. Rexel and its partners can help them make more informed choices by enabling them to better understand evolving technologies and regulations, and by guiding them towards the most sustainable products. For customers, sustainability needs to be simple, tangible, and verifiable: the number of environmental data downloads by our customers has doubled in two years. Thanks to Sustainability Shapers and our strengthened partnerships with our key suppliers, customers will have easier access to more sustainable products and solutions at attractive prices.”
Antoine Audureau
Rexel Purchasing Director
Leading suppliers with advanced ESG commitments
Program participants are among Rexel’s top 20 suppliers worldwide, demonstrating an advanced commitment to environmental, social and governance progress, with an EcoVadis sustainability score of at least 64/100 (Bronze Medal) and a climate target approved by the SBTi.
The first confirmed Sustainability Shapers are: ABB, Hager, Ledvance, Legrand, Nexans, Schneider Electric and Signify, as well as Rexel’s own brands, BizLine and Gigamedia. Other suppliers meeting these criteria are currently in discussions with Rexel to join the Sustainability Shapers program, which is expected to represent 30% of the Group’s global sales volume within a year.