Thales deploys an energy usage and efficiency plan

Thales is a low-energy intensive company compared to other industrial players. This can be explained by our activities (tertiary, light industrial, laboratories and data centres) and our long-term commitment to energy efficiency.

The focus of the Group’s actions has been on electricity, which accounts for the majority of its energy mix (around 86% in 2024, a level comparable to 2021). A significant milestone has been reached: since 2022, 100% of the electricity consumed in France comes from renewable sources, and in 2024, nearly 90% of the electricity consumed worldwide is now from renewable sources. 

The proportion of renewable energy used by Thales has increased from 16% in 2018 to 72% in 2024.

In addition, 26% of the gas consumed by the Group comes from biogas, further increasing the share of low-carbon energy in its global energy supply.

In line with Thales’s technology-driven DNA, the plan includes four prongs: 

1. Standardisation of good practices and raising awareness of more eco-responsible actions among employees;
2. Self-production and energy efficiency;
3. Real estate footprint optimisation;
4. Strengthening of sustainable mobility initiatives.

This plan is part of Thales's Strategy for a low-carbon future, which aims for a 50.4% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions between 2018 and 2030 (a 57% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 emissions between 2018 and 2024).

Outside of France, the Groupe deploys energy efficiency plans for its operations in ten other countries – Germany, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the United Kingdom and Singapore - which, together with France, account for over 90% of its energy consumption.

The plan for France in detail

Standardisation of best practices across the Group and raising awareness among employees

Adoption of four best practices across the Group

• Regulation of temperatures of tertiary activity buildings between 19°C (heating) and 26°C (air conditioning)
• Regulation of temperatures of data centres and data rooms
• Switching off lighting and neon signs, equipment and ventilation at night and outside working days, as well as in unoccupied areas, in strict compliance with on-site Safety and Security rules.
• These best practices will be deployed across the Group and in compliance with local regulations where the Group is present.

Actions to raise awareness among employees:

• Publication of a guide on good practices to adopt
• A communication and education plan to reduce energy consumption in the workplace

Self-production and energy efficiency

More than 130 projects are already being rolled out in France, and over 150 when including projects currently being launched.

Installation of photovoltaic panel farms on sites suitable for this type of equipment, along with many additional initiatives:

• Projects already rolled out in Toulouse and Cannes
• Projects underway or completed for La Ciotat, Brest, Etrelles, Ymare and Gemenos since 2023
• Additional projects are under consideration for the coming years
• Energy metering plans (smart control systems), for example at Gémenos, enabling automated energy monitoring
• Large-scale replacement of lighting with LEDs already underway at several sites (La Ciotat, Meudon, car parks, workshops, etc.)
• Optimisation of HVAC installations and intelligent temperature control (Meudon, Élancourt, Châtellerault: variable speed drives, BEMS, optimisation of distribution pumps)
• IT initiatives such as server free-cooling, cooling optimisation, and introduction of PODs, for example in Toulouse

Heat recovery, especially in data centres

• Projects already in place in Toulouse, Blagnac
• In Elancourt, heat recovery from data centres will allow us to heat all the buildings on the site and drastically reduce - and eventually end - local gas consumption

Local initiatives on all sites

Optimisation of data centres, replacement of energy-consuming equipment, replacement of lighting with LEDs, installation of new types of equipment (biomass, heat recovery, heat pumps, etc.)

Real estate optimisation : the Connect project

The Connect project is an investment plan covering four expansion and transformation projects in the Paris region. It concerns the optimisation of the real estate footprint of 12 sites, representing 20% of employees in France. Underway since 2021 and with an end date scheduled for 2027, it aims, among other things, to improve the carbon footprint and energy management of the sites concerned.

Sustainable mobility Initiatives

Between 2023 and 2026, the entire Thales global vehicle fleet will switch to electric and/or hybrid engines**.

*Scope 1 & 2 and Scope 3 business travel
**On an exception basis, fuel-powered vehicles could be included in the policy based on each country’s energy mix