Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have for organisations. Its a fundamental part of doing business, growing and staying competitive.
Businesses are now expected to:
significantly cut their environmental footprint
keep a close eye on carbon emissions
make sure their supply chains are acting responsibly
meet the latest regulatory requirements
Without the right tools though:
your sustainability data gets fragmented and hard to make sense of
your reporting is inconsistent and uneven
compliance becomes a real challenge
decision-making is opaque and unclear
That's where SAP sustainability comes in. It provides the tools and smarts to track, manage and improve your sustainability performance across the entire business, using real-time data and streamlined processes to get a handle on how you're doing and where you need to improve.
When reviewing ESG strategy, compliance or operational performance the goal is pretty simple:
get a clear picture of your environmental impact
make decisions based on solid, reliable data
drive actual sustainable outcomes for your business
SAP sustainability is all about using SAP solutions and processes to:
measure and manage your environmental impact
track your sustainability metrics with the same level of rigour you'd apply to financial data
make sure you're complying with regulations and reporting on performance
It's all about areas like:
your carbon footprint
energy usage
waste management
sourcing materials in a way that won't harm the planet
In a nutshell, SAP sustainability is about helping organisations like yours to understand and reduce their environmental impact as part of your broader corporate sustainability ambitions.
In most organisations, you'll see:
data being collected from across the business
sustainability metrics getting calculated and reported on
actions getting taken to cut down on impact
performance getting tracked over time
For example:
you might track how much carbon emissions come from production
analyse how your operations are impacting the planet right across your value chain
keep an eye on how much energy you're using
set targets and track progress
This lets you share verified carbon and material data securely with partners and suppliers.
This means you get:
crystal-clear visibility
sensible, structured reporting
measurable progress towards reducing impact
SAP has a range of solutions that can help with sustainability.
a central hub for tracking and managing sustainability performance
makes it easy to get a handle on sustainability data across the business
helps you spot trends over time
helps calculate the carbon footprint of your products
lets you track emissions throughout your entire supply chain
helps you make better, more informed business decisions
helps you manage regulatory requirements and compliance
lets you track and manage safety and environmental risks
helps you make circular economy initiatives a reality
supports you in creating more sustainable products and packaging
These solutions offer end-to-end sustainability management.
A typical sustainability process flow might look something like this:
Data gets collected from across the business
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Sustainability metrics get calculated in SAP
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Performance gets tracked in SAP systems across the whole process
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Reports get generated for stakeholders
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Actions get defined to cut down on impact
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You track progress and continuously improve over time
This ensures:
you get accurate measurements
you get transparent reporting
you're always looking for ways to improve
Even structured sustainability programs change over time.
As time goes on:
regulations shift
data volumes grow exponentially
business processes become more complicated and harder to manage
And without governance:
data starts to get out of sync
reporting becomes less accurate
measuring impact gets a lot tougher
Sustainability requires a constant watchful eye on progress and tweaks to keep improving.
Application management services (AMS) support with:
keeping data accurate & consistent
making sure systems are in good working order
optimising reporting and making it more effective
help organisations drive continuous improvement
AMS ensures that:
sustainability systems stay aligned
the metrics you use stay reliable
SAP consultancy helps organisations develop a clear strategy for their sustainability goals with defined priorities for social responsibility and responsible business conduct.
They work with organisations to:
align systems with ESG requirements, including doing the right checks for human rights
make reporting a whole lot better
get sustainability data integrated into the day-to-day running of the business
The OECD Guidelines cover all the key sustainability issues. 52 countries have signed up to the OECD Investment Declaration on responsible business conduct. The OECD has dealt with more than 700 cases related to responsible business conduct.
And that all adds up to making sure that sustainability delivers real business benefits.
Modern SAP landscapes are built around:
S/4HANA for handling day-to-day operations
SAP's sustainability tools
SAP BTP for data integration
SAP Analytics Cloud for getting insights from data
What that gives you is:
a connected ecosystem for sustainability
real-time insight into the impact on the environment
compliance and reporting that's scalable
All these tools help companies across all sorts of industries. In OECD countries, private businesses drive 70% of GDP, so they play a crucial role in sustainability outcomes. And companies account for 85% of technology investment in OECD countries, making digital capability a key driver for making progress.
When it's working well:
sustainability data is up-to-date and accurate
reporting meets all the regulatory requirements
you have a clear idea of the environmental impact
your actions are driven by data
systems are completely integrated
The end result is a business that's in touch with - and capable of measuring and managing - its sustainability performance.
SAP sustainability
Using SAP to manage environmental and ESG performance.
ESG
Environmental, Social and Governance metrics.
Carbon footprint
Measuring the amount of carbon we're spewing out.
Sustainability reporting
Tracking and reporting on how we're affecting the environment.
AMS
Ongoing support and optimisation to keep systems running smoothly.
What is SAP sustainability?
A set of tools to help manage environmental impact and compliance.
How does SAP support sustainability?
It tracks data, generates reports and makes it easier to make decisions.
What is SAP Sustainability Control Tower?
A platform to keep an eye on your sustainability performance.
Why is SAP sustainability important?
It helps with compliance, visibility and operational improvement.
Can SAP track carbon emissions?
Yes, with tools like product footprint management.
SAP sustainability's not just about ticking boxes on a report. It's about taking action, having accurate data, clear insight, and continuous improvement that create real long-term value for society and business resilience for future generations. Do that and sustainability becomes something you can really manage, not just measure.