Schneider Electric Joins WEF Board for Sustainable Factories

Schneider Electric has been appointed to the World Economic Forum's Lighthouse Operating System Advisory Board to develop an open-source manufacturing blueprint for digital transformation. The initiative addresses a gap in the sector where most companies remain at early stages of digitalisation.

According to the World Economic Forum, 64% of companies report they are still in the early stages of their digital factory transformation. The Lighthouse Operating System means manufacturers gain access to methods used by high-performing industrial sites without developing proprietary systems from scratch.

The initiative aims to improve modern manufacturing across the value chain. One of its six core operating principles centres on embedded sustainability.

Open source manufacturing framework

The Lighthouse Operating System functions as an open source blueprint that translates practices from high-performing industrial sites into a structured path. Schneider Electric describes the system as applicable to any manufacturer.

The World Economic Forum's Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains developed the framework in collaboration with original-equipment manufacturers, end users and consultancies. Co-creation partners include Bosch, Nestle, Haier, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Siemens Advanta and NEOM.

Federico Torti, Head of Technology & Innovation at the World Economic Forum, says: "Many manufacturers have the ambition to transform but lack a coherent path to do it consistently and at scale. The Lighthouse OS addresses that directly; it takes what the world's best factories have learned through years of real operational experience and turns it into a practical framework any manufacturer can apply."

Six principles including sustainability

Lighthouse Operating System is built around six core operating principles: adaptable and robust processes, connected and transparent flows, end-to-end synchronisation, embedded sustainability, a learning organisation and accelerated digital and data capability.

The framework is structured across five levels of operational maturity. Companies can assess their current position and identify where to focus first.

Manufacturers can scale at their own pace according to their operational capacity.

The embedded sustainability principle shows how environmental considerations are integrated throughout manufacturing processes rather than added as separate initiatives.

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Schneider Electric's manufacturing experience

Schneider Electric has spent more than 20 years building and refining an operating system built on advanced digital systems, AI-driven automation and sustainability-by-design practices.

The company operates more than 120 smart factories and distribution centres.

Cecile Vercellino, SVP Services, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric, says: "Schneider Electric has lived this transformation across more than 120 smart factories and distribution centres, we know what works, where companies get stuck and what it takes to move from isolated pilots to genuine system-wide change. That direct experience is embedded in the Lighthouse OS."

According to the World Economic Forum, only 12% of companies are protected against future disruptions in supply chains and operations.

The Lighthouse Operating System is designed to enable support for new business models and drive value creation, aiming to mitigate future challenges through improved operational maturity.

The system means manufacturers can develop more resilient operations that adapt to disruptions across global supply chains.