SAP's 'Client Zero' Approach to Its Sustainability Tech
Just because a business provides solutions it does not mean it is exempt from the challenges its products help to solve.
This is particularly the case when it comes to corporate sustainability.
Sustainability can be a tricky thing to implement, particularly for global businesses the size of SAP.
The German software giant boasts more than 100,000 employees around the world and it is estimated that an eye-watering 84% of all global commerce is generated by its customers.
This puts SAP in rarefied air, giving the company a global influence stronger than almost any other entity.
With this influence, SAP understands it has an opportunity to help its network along the road to sustainability, especially by using itself as a test case for its sustainable technology.
This year, the business has been testing its own IT solutions to the limit in an attempt to achieve its sustainability goals, sharing the lessons it's learned with its customers.
“Sustainability is an essential element of SAP’s purpose to help the world run better and improve people’s lives,” says Matthias Medert, Global Head of Sustainability at SAP.
“As both an exemplar and enabler, we aim to make our targets and purpose a reality.
“At the same time, by testing our IT solutions to the limit, we share the lessons learned along the way with the product development teams to continuously improve the SAP Sustainability portfolio.”
Sustainability challenges to overcome
Data collection, data management and regulatory compliance are just some of the hurdles SAP and its clients face in the quest for sustainability.
The enterprise manages enormous volumes of data that encompass ESG metrics, material flows and carbon footprints, which place significant demands on its IT infrastructure.
Frequent regulatory changes, particularly like those prompted by the European Commission's Omnibus regulation, necessitate rapid adaptation for accurate reporting and compliance.
Sophia Leonora Mendelsohn, Chief Sustainability and Commercial Officer at SAP, explains that the company's systems are being put to the test to "keep pace with regulations without losing all our bandwidth to it".
Without robust data insights, making informed sustainability decisions becomes challenging for companies. SAP is addressing this challenge by refining its IT solutions that foster sustainability.
How SAP runs SAP
Central to SAP’s approach is the integration of sustainability solutions into key platforms like SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition and SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP).
This integration guarantees a solid data foundation and allows flexible data set integration across diverse business domains, including procurement, finance, supply chain management and product design.
Sustainable decision-making is facilitated by specific tools such as SAP Sustainability Control Tower, SAP Sustainability Footprint Management and SAP Green Ledger.
"By implementing SAP Sustainability Control Tower and SAP Green Ledger across our reporting ecosystem, we aim to elevate sustainability management to the same standard as financial reporting,” says Dr Christopher Sessar, Chief Accounting Officer at SAP.
“These powerful tools will not only streamline and automate our ESG regulative compliance efforts but also generate actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making, accelerating our journey toward measurable sustainability outcomes and long-term environmental value creation.”
What SAP is learning
Early lessons from Matthias highlight the necessity of consistent emissions data collection and expanding the project’s scope beyond just carbon footprint data.
The IT architecture supporting these efforts is organised into three key layers: the collection of raw data from various resources, processing and standardisation of this data, followed by planning and reporting to deliver valuable insights.
“Sustainability data is business data," Sophia says. "The companies that treat it that way will be able to demonstrate real results in regulated and competitive markets.”
