Top marathon athletes energise Paris each year as they run through the historic city to raise funds for charity, meet personal fitness goals and join other competitors in a spirit of unity.
Lead sponsor Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation with more than 140,000 employees worldwide, is committed to ensuring gender parity at the Paris Marathon. Women compete equally with men, running the same distance and receiving awards of the same value, which was not always the case historically for the Paris Marathon.
A strong focus on gender
In the event this year, 25 percent of 55,000 competitors were women, demonstrating efforts made by the company to meet its commitment as a HeForShe Corporate Impact Champion. HeForShe, a campaign initiated by U.N. Women in 2014, encourages men and boys to take action to promote gender equality.
“We don’t forget diversity and inclusion and our commitment to HeforShe,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman and chief executive of Schneider Electric, speaking on the sidelines of the Marathon on April 14. “We are very proud of the diversity of this marathon - gender, origin - we’ve got all origins of people from 150 countries running - HeForShe is alive
and kicking at the Marathon of Paris.”
The women commenced the race earlier so as to ensure a potentially more equal finish with the men - and the overall prize was equal for men and women. Life was certainly on at the Marathon of Paris.
The official charity partner of Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris was Cancer Research UK that aims to accelerate progress so that three in four people survive cancer within the next 20 years.
The race for sustainability
Also billed as “The Race for Sustainability,” Schneider Electric aims to make the marathon - second only to the New York Marathon in scale - fully carbon neutral by 2019.
Over the past six years, efforts to offset carbon emissions have increased in large measure due to the company’s growing involvement with the Livelihoods Fund. Through the fund’s Hifadhi Project, Schneider Electric has so far contributed to more than 60,000 energy efficient cook stoves in Kenya, which consume up to 60 percent less wood than traditional
stoves. In Kenya, 95 percent of people do not have access to electricity and the vast majority of women use wood gathered from forests for cooking.
“Access to energy is a primary aim for our company,” said Gilles Vermot Desroches, sustainability director at Schneider Electric. But before thinking of smart grids or innovative equipment, we must be able to answer people’s basic needs, like cooking, and, moreover, we must help them preserve their environment.”
Schneider Electric is also contributing to substantial tree-planting initiatives contributing to landscape restoration efforts through the fund.
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