PREMIUM Project 2026-2027: Schneider Electric

The Project:

Is sustainability reporting still a driver of change, or is it becoming just another compliance exercise?

The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has entered a new phase following the Omnibus reforms, changing the reporting landscape and prompting companies to reconsider what sustainability reporting means for their business. But how are organisations responding? Are they seeing new opportunities to improve transparency, inform strategic decisions, and drive sustainable transformation, or are they focusing primarily on meeting regulatory requirements?

In this project, you will work with Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, to investigate how companies and other stakeholders perceive the future of sustainability reporting. Through desk research and interviews with relevant stakeholders, you will explore the challenges, opportunities and strategic implications of the CSRD changes, uncover emerging good practices, and examine what these developments mean for businesses in practice.

Your challenge is to go beyond the headlines and legal requirements to understand how organisations are navigating this changing landscape. What can companies learn from one another? Where do they see the greatest value, and what concerns remain? Your findings will help build a more balanced, evidence-based picture of the future of corporate sustainability reporting.

You will then translate your research into clear, engaging English-language content for a public-facing marketing report. Working with Schneider Electric's Sustainability Advisory and Marketing & Communications teams, you will help turn complex research into insights that businesses can understand and use. Schneider Electric will manage the professional design and publication of the report, with you and Maastricht University acknowledged in the final publication.

This is your opportunity to combine research, critical thinking and communication on a real business challenge. Whether your interests lie in sustainability, business, law, economics, politics, or communication, you can bring a valuable perspective to the question of how regulation shapes corporate behaviour and whether reporting can contribute to meaningful change.

Can you uncover what sustainability reporting is really worth to businesses in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape?

The Client:

Schneider Electric is a global energy technology leader in electrification, automation and digitalisation. We support customers in making energy use safer, more efficient and more sustainable across buildings, data centres, infrastructure and industry. 

Within Schneider Electric, SE Advisory Services provides sustainability and climate advisory support, helping organisations translate regulatory requirements and environmental ambitions into practical strategies, credible disclosures and measurable action. Our multidisciplinary teams combine expertise in sustainability reporting, climate strategy, risk, data and communications. 

For this project, the students will collaborate primarily with our Sustainability Advisory team and internal experts in marketing and communications.