Many electrical equipment companies may tweak technologies here and there to show they are in the game of energy saving. But there are a very few who passionately pursue the goal of energy saving in the greater interest of the community. Schneider Electric India Pvt Ltd is one of them. "Before going into energy issues, first we must realise that it is everybody has the right to breathe cleaner air and live in greener atmosphere. We are living in an environment in which demand is increasing while at the same time population is also rising.

We are struggling to find new sources of energy like solar and wind. And nuclear energy has its own hassles," said Dr Satish Kumar, Energy Efficiency Ambassador, Schneider Electric.

Though cost comes to play, there are technologies in power segment that can lead to less damage to environment. Schneider is making all-out efforts in this line in bringing out products and technologies which consider environmental-friendliness as a priority, opined Dr Kumar.

"For example, Schneider has developed recently a product for rural business community called IN-DIYA, an LED lamp which attacks the problem of energy starvation.

The lamp is linked to the solar panel. The importance of it is in tapping the energy efficiently. It stores the energy in a separate battery for 8 hours.

This is how Schneider has taken its energy saving initiatives to the rural market to tap the potential," he added. For the urban side, Schneider has launched a lot of initiatives, according to Dr Kumar. "Starting from circuit breakers, contractors, distribution transformers that Schneider has successfully developed for the companies in medium and low voltage segment, and then going to automation products and drives of variable frequencies, our company has been blazing very many successes", he added. Schneider has a strong commitment and has emerged as a leader in producing very environ-friendly products.

It serves various segments including waste water segment, mining, building, and lighting. The main focus of the company is on energy management solutions.

"We believe that energy efficiency is going to play a very critical role in the days to come and Schneider is preparing well to meet the challenges arising out of power production and consumption," Dr Kumar said. "Technology is not the only solution for energy efficiency. It has to start at the grassroot level. It is everyone's personal philosophy." In power projects today, energy efficiency is the foremost issue, said Dr Kumar.

"One may say I have an energy-efficient refrigerator, but at the same time may buy ten other things through which the energy consumption will go up sharply. We have to have a holistic approach for energy efficiency," he added. Schneider, a Euro 20 billion global leader, has been in India since the last 15 years. Dr Kumar said that the company has made a firm commitment to involve itself in the growth of this fast-growing economies like India and China.

Schneider has more than 11,000 people in about 23 manufacturing facilities in India, where it has a turnover of over Rs 5000 crore.

As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation, and data centres/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications.

Focused on making energy safe, reliable, and efficient, the company's 110,000 plus employees achieved sales of 19.6 billion euros in 2010, through an active commitment to help individuals and organisations make the most of their energy.