SAP’s long-term commitment to help organisations take action in creating a circular economy is reflected in the company’s sustainability software solutions and programs within and outside the SAP ecosystem.
Multinational software enterprise SAP has announced at the the World Leaders Summit, part of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), that it will be investing $2.2 million to the LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition in a bid to accelerate the fight against climate change. As part of the voluntary global coalition, SAP will be supporting tropical and subtropical jurisdictions to significantly reduce deforestation and carbon emissions along with governments and leading private companies.
SAP for Sustainability at Scale
Sharing about SAP’s latest sustainability partnership, Luka Mucic, CFO and member of the Executive Board of SAP said:
“We are committed to being part of the solution to climate change. As we accelerate our transformation to be a net-zero company, we continually look for ways to avoid, reduce, and, if needed, compensate emissions. No company or country alone, however, will turn the tide on climate change. So, it is also our priority to collaborate. That’s why we’re excited to join forces and accelerate action as part of the LEAF Coalition. We’re confident that our investment will support nature-based solutions benefitting the environment, biodiversity, and local communities.”
The LEAF coalition has also announced during the World Leaders Summit that it has mobilised its initial goal of $1 billion funding to help tropical and subtropical forest countries and states reverse deforestation as well as support them in achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. US non-profit Emergent serves as LEAF’s administrator coordinator to provide a platform for the financial transactions to these programs. Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, and Vietnam will be part of the first wave of jurisdictions for purchase agreement discussions with the coalition’s corporate participants.
“Sustainability directly links to SAP’s purpose of helping the world run better and improving people’s lives,” stated Daniel Schmid, SAP Chief Sustainability Officer. “This means creating positive economic, environmental, and social impact. To live up to this ambition, SAP provides customers with products and services that help meet their sustainability opportunities and challenges. We also lead by example and strive to be a role model for sustainable operations and investments.”
On Becoming a Net Zero Company
SAP has been an exemplar of championing technology innovation while integrating sustainability across its business initiatives, within and outside the organisation. The enterprise Giant’s sustainability intiatitives have been recognised by Terra Carta, a charter that provides the foundation of a recovery plan to 2030 embedding Nature, People, and Planet at the core of value creation. SAP is among the 44 organisations that received the inaugural 2021 Terra Carta Seal for their exemplary transition business plans to becoming net zero on or before 2050.
The software giant has pledged to embed sustainability in its strategy, vision, and operations on top of helping organisations manage their green line with programs like Climate 21 to help them become intelligent, sustainable enterprises. Following its raised commitment in 2019 of 1.5° C science-based emissions reduction targets aligned with a net-zero future, SAP pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2023 including all direct, indirect, and selected categories of value chain carbon emissions.
Recently, SAP announced that it is doubling down its sustainability efforts by transitioning its 27,000 vehicle fleet to electric cars by 2030, a massive corporate strategy to bring the company closer to its climate ambitions. The company has also released new sustainability software solutions such as SAP Responsible Design and Production, SAP Product Footprint Management, and Feather by SAP.
In a recent Harvard Business Review webinar attended by SAP CEO Christian Klein, SAP Asia Pacific Japan President Paul Marriott and Global Plastic Action Partnership Director Kristen Hughes, SAP highlighted that technology has a critical role in helping companies embed circularity in their business processes to help address pressing environmental and social challenges.
“You can solve the sustainability, transparency and the circular process through a lot of the digital transformation that is already happening,” Marriott stressed.
