The Rise of Sustainable Enterprises with SAP

CEOs are making sustainability a strategic priority. Investors now integrate environmental, social and governance into investment decision-making.

Sustainability is no longer just the right thing to do, it is a business imperative. Enterprises, large and small, are shifting from a cursory view of sustainability to a more nuanced understanding of what they can achieve and how they can contribute to a more sustainable world. Along with the topline and bottom line, all forward-looking organisations are adding sustainability as the third dimension to driving business success, with the Green Line. Green Line is the measurement of the environmental efforts taken by organisations. This will require companies to openly disclose, among other information, how they are reducing the carbon footprint of their business down to their individual products and services.

 

In order to drive sustainable business practice, it is important to first measure carbon footprint, assess and reduce emissions, increase resource productivity through circular processes, and run safer, sustainable business processes. SAP is uniquely positioned to help firms tackle this challenge and become sustainable enterprises with its suite of technology solutions.

When it comes to sustainability, SAP has a dual role: as an Exemplar and an Enabler. As an exemplar, we lead by example in our own sustainable business operations.

We set our first carbon reduction targets in 2009 – and achieved them 3 years later in 2012. In 2021 we set our goal to be carbon neutral by 2025 and we’ve brought that forward to 2023. At SAP Labs India campus, 95% of our operations are run on green energy sources and our campuses are free of single use plastic. On the other hand, as an Enabler, SAP is helping others become Sustainable Intelligent Enterprises. With 94% of the world’s 500 largest companies running on SAP, our customers generate 87% of total global commerce.

Our sustainability digital solutions are enabling enterprises to manage their own – and the planet’s – limited resources productively and contribute to a sustainable economy. By doing so, we create a multiplier effect for positive impact. For example, with SAP Environment Management, enterprises can measure, calculate, track and report their greenhouse gas emission inventories. Similarly, SAP Product Footprint Management empowers enterprises to measure carbon emissions not just within the organization, but across the entire business network.

Circular Economy program

Recently, SAP launched the Circular Economy program with the mission of making an inclusive, circular economy the de facto approach to material use and waste management for our customers. A circular economy is not just about fixing environmental wrongs. It can bring big opportunities and drive positive impact across industries, sectors, and lives.

What is more, we are embedding sustainability across SAP’s entire solution portfolio. A recent example is the inclusion of product footprint in SAP Integrated Business Planning, so enterprises can monitor the greenhouse gas emissions from their production plants. Another example is the integration of SAP Sustainability Control Tower with SAP SuccessFactors solutions, enabling enterprises to obtain insights into how their organization is faring on crucial aspects such as diversity and inclusion.

We do realise that quick fixes that do not get to the root cause of problems won’t make businesses more sustainable in the long run. Fragmented sustainability strategies won’t help. Sustainable business strategies will. That is why SAP is supporting enterprises in integrating sustainability into the heart of their business processes and changing our reality for the better by moving toward a sustainable world.

With 77% of the world’s transactions touching SAP systems and almost half a million enterprises using SAP software, we recognize both the opportunity and responsibility to deliver digital solutions that enable enterprises to manage their limited resources productively and contribute to an inclusive economy. Together, we can make sustainability profitable and profitability sustainable.

Sindhu Gangadharan

Written by
Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP & MD, SAP Labs India & Head, SAP User Enablement

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Times – ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ET Edge Insights, its management, or its members

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