Siemens positions Industrial AI as an accelerator of decarbonization

Siemens has positioned itself as a company that drives sustainable transformation through technology. How is the role of sustainability evolving within Siemens’ global business strategy, and what are its main priorities today?

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a strategic business and transformation agenda rather than a standalone topic. At Siemens, we see it as a driver of competitiveness, resilience, and growth. More than 90% of our business enables customers to achieve a positive sustainability impact in three key areas: decarbonization and energy efficiency, resource efficiency and circularity, and people and societal impact.

Our focus today is on scaling sustainability impact through technology: combining electrification, automation, digitalization, and artificial intelligence to help customers in industry, infrastructure, and mobility navigate the energy transition and the shift toward a circular economy.

Industrial decarbonization is one of the major global challenges. From your experience, which technologies and solutions have the greatest impact in helping companies reduce emissions and move toward more sustainable models?

The greatest impact comes from combining three levers: electrification, energy efficiency, and renewable energy integration, all accelerated by digitalization and AI. Electrification powered by renewable energy reduces dependence on fossil fuels, while energy efficiency is often the fastest and most cost-effective way to reduce emissions.

Digital technologies such as digital twins, industrial software, and AI enable companies to optimize energy consumption, integrate renewable energy sources, and improve operational performance across the entire value chain. The greatest advances are achieved when these technologies work together at a system level rather than in isolation.

In a context shaped by new regulatory requirements, particularly regarding ESG reporting and transparency, how is Siemens supporting its customers and suppliers in adapting to these changes?

We support customers and suppliers by helping them embed transparency, traceability, and data-driven decision-making into their operations. Regulatory requirements are increasing, but they also create an opportunity to improve performance and manage risk.

Through digital product information and energy management solutions, we help organizations collect, analyze, and use data more effectively. Our goal is to move sustainability beyond compliance reporting and enable sustainability data to become a performance management tool.

Digitalization and sustainability are often presented as two sides of the same transformation. What examples would you highlight of how digital technology is accelerating the achievement of environmental and social goals within organizations?

Digitalization is a key accelerator for sustainability because it creates transparency, connects systems, and makes products and processes “intelligent”; this drives action. AI-enhanced digital twins can simulate and optimize products, factories, buildings, and energy systems before physical changes are implemented.

A particularly powerful example comes from product design. Using AI-driven simulation and generative design tools, Siemens engineers redesigned a robotic gripper used in the automotive industry. The result was a gripper that is 90% lighter, generates 80% fewer CO₂ emissions during production, and enables a 20% faster cycle time. This illustrates how AI can help optimize products before they are even manufactured, reducing material use, emissions, and operating costs simultaneously.

In buildings, digital platforms can reduce energy consumption and improve occupant comfort. In grids and industry, real-time optimization can integrate more renewable energy and improve overall capacity, leading to greater efficiency. AI-enabled grid solutions can increase grid capacity by up to 30%, helping integrate more renewable energy without major infrastructure expansion.

Digitalization and AI deliver both environmental benefits and business value by increasing productivity, resilience, and competitiveness.

Sustainability requires a long-term vision, but companies must also respond to immediate challenges. How does Siemens balance short-term business objectives with its long-term climate and social commitments?

We do not view sustainability and business performance as competing priorities. Effective sustainability initiatives can also deliver immediate business benefits through lower costs, reduced energy consumption, increased resilience, and improved risk management. By integrating sustainability into investment decisions, product development, and business strategy, we ensure that short-term actions contribute to long-term value creation.

We are also committed to long-term ambitions through our DEGREE framework, which includes targets related to climate, resource efficiency, governance, and people. For example, we have clear goals to reduce emissions from our own operations by 90% by 2030, help customers avoid more than 1,000 MtCO₂e cumulatively from fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2030, and reach 3 million people with sustainability and digital skills learning by 2030.

Looking ahead, what do you believe will be the most relevant trends in corporate sustainability over the next five years, and what role do you expect Siemens to play in this evolution?

I see several trends occurring in parallel and accelerating the sustainability transformation. On the one hand, the acceleration of electrification and renewable energy integration, as energy security and competitiveness become increasingly important. At the same time, there is the transition from a linear to a circular economy, driven by resource scarcity and supply chain resilience.

All of this is being accelerated by the growing role of Industrial AI, which will help manage the complexity of these transformations and optimize systems in real time. Siemens is uniquely positioned at the intersection of these trends, with the breadth and depth of our portfolio in industry and infrastructure combined with the world’s largest industrial software business.

By bringing together the real and digital worlds, we aim to help create a future that is more electrified, circular, connected, and increasingly autonomous.