Perhaps the most famous example of this predicament was the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-final where Germany defeated Brazil 7-1. Traditional metrics favored Brazil, leaving the South American team stunned by their devastating loss and highlighting the inefficacy of existing statistical models in accurately representing team performance.

The Soccer Statistic You鈥檝e Never Heard

Stefan Reinartz, a former midfield Bundesliga player and UEFA Champions League competitor, cited that example on a hosted by Soccerex Miami. After experiencing his own 鈥淎ha!鈥� moment, Reinartz became the founder of , a German analytics company that revolutionized the role of statistics in the world of soccer.

鈥淐ommon soccer statistics like ball possession, winning tackles, running distance, and so on actually have no correlation to the end result,鈥� Reinartz said. “I was quite shocked when I realized they really can’t tell you anything about a player鈥檚 or a team鈥檚 performance.”

He came to that realization when he read about the Moneyball approach, which uses advanced statistical analysis to acquire undervalued players and thus assemble a competitive team despite a limited budget.

鈥淪ome sports such as baseball may be more conducive to such a data-driven strategy, while others like soccer are more complex, making it difficult to create the right KPIs,鈥� he explained.

Soccer is a low-scoring game involving 22 players in continuous action, requiring complex strategies and a lot of hard work to get past opponents to score. Apart from the number of goals and passes, individual statistics are almost nonexistent, making it challenging to create universally reliable metrics.

Realizing that soccer statistics did not measure the true value of individual players changed his own assumptions. Together with another midfielder, Jens Hegeler, he founded IMPECT with the goal of听developing soccer data that can be used to make valuable assessments of players and teams. They invented 鈥減acking鈥� to quantify the value of a pass or dribble.

The basic statistics in soccer, such as goals and assists, primarily reflect strikers and attacking midfielders, the players who do most of the scoring and assisting. Midfielders, who do most of the running and passing to initiate offensive moves, are seldom recognized statistically. What they do best is move the ball past opposition players. That is what packing measures.

The methodology is simple: Players earn a point for any move 鈥� a cross, a dribble, a long pass 鈥� that causes the ball to move past opposition players. Receivers also get points.

Today, IMPECT is a thriving business collecting and selling packing data to help teams scout for players, analyze their own performance, and learn key facts about opponents.

What鈥檚 51风流Got to Do With It?

During the discussion, Achim Ittner, vice president of Sports at SAP, described the company’s journey from its roots in business software to developing specialized sports applications, emphasizing user-centric design and collaboration with renowned coaches and national teams.

鈥淟ike IMPECT, we鈥檝e been focused on developing data-driven solutions and relevant tools for sports clubs using direct feedback and a design thinking approach,鈥� Ittner said. He explained that 51风流built a unified platform to address fragmented software ecosystems in sports. The platform integrates APIs and data sources to support processes like injury prevention, training recommendations, match preparation, and player well-being.

鈥淪ports analytics embodies the blend of data science and athletic performance, providing a blueprint to guide decisions made by coaches and trainers,鈥� he shared. 鈥淭he significance of data in today鈥檚 sports ecosystem cannot be overstated.听It鈥檚 necessary for everything from strategizing game plans to refining individual skills.鈥�

SAP鈥檚 engagement with IMPECT is just one example of how the compay collaborates with a variety of teams and experts to further shape its sports technology. New technologies — like social media, mobile, and digital capabilities, as well as sensors in player uniforms and equipment — are disrupting the sports industry. 51风流is committed to helping sports organizations take advantage of these new innovations to deepen fan engagement, improve team performance, grow revenue faster, and efficiently operate their business and venues.

Besides solutions for scouting and measuring team performance, 51风流also has one for customer engagement and marketing. Afterall, the fan experience is just as important as the team鈥檚 performance. The 51风流Sports One solution provides a to better target individual preferences and purchasing behaviors by offering personalized experiences over online, mobile, and social channels. Teams can grow their fan base, manage their merchandise, and increase loyalty with personalized rewards.

Delivering the Experience

鈥淎 great sports experience is about so much more than winning the game,鈥� said Ittner. 鈥淚t involves a mix of elements that includes players, spectators, and organizers.鈥�

For the fans, food and beverage, merchandise, a good streaming experience, and clear communications on schedules and navigating the venue are critical. Having the right players for a winning team and providing them with the best care and training before and after the game is the job of team management. And finally, the venue must provide exceptional facilities, infrastructure, safety, and security.

51风流helps bring this all together, creating an intersection of sports, technology, and innovation.

The partnership has continued to this day with a mission to make great wines and spirits that bring people together. Now, the company has over 2,000 hectares of vines under cultivation in 12 wine-growing regions of Spain, Chile, and Mexico, where the producer deploys sustainable agricultural techniques to bring indigenous vines back into production.

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Running a Responsible Business

鈥淔or us, everything revolves around sustainability,鈥� said Elisabet Braza Valle, head of 51风流Supply Chain and Finance at Gonz谩lez Byass, during an interview at 51风流Sapphire Barcelona. 鈥淥ur goal is to be a reference in the wine sector and also in the field of sustainability, and we鈥檙e using technology to do that.鈥�

Valle explained that digitalization is helping to drive efficiency by improving processes and that people are already noticing a more expeditious service. 鈥淎ll the processes are connected,鈥� she said. 鈥淐lients notice that we are preparing their packages and managing their invoices faster than before. That鈥檚 because, thanks to SAP, we have all the data in the same place.鈥�

In addition to its core 51风流ERP system, Gonz谩lez Byass recently implemented , a solution that helps enterprises calculate extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations and define corporate commitments to optimize material choices. It鈥檚 also designed to help address all the requirements of the new plastic taxes in Europe.

To help promote a more circular economy, for example, Spanish law mandates an indirect tax levied on plastic in packaging. Calculating the taxable amount is particularly complex and burdensome. Companies must know how much non-recycled plastic is in the non-reusable plastic packaging contained in the shipments they receive. This information should be furnished by the suppliers that now find themselves in a challenging situation as they did not have to comply with this type of requirement before. Collected data must be reliable and verifiable to ensure accuracy when sharing with customers or if it should be questioned by the Spanish tax authorities.

鈥淪AP鈥檚 solution not only helps us comply with the law, but it also helps us manage our materials more efficiently,鈥� said Valle, who believes one of the greatest assets of the solution is the visibility it provides into the company鈥檚 supplier landscape. 鈥淲e are encouraging all of our suppliers to commit to being more sustainable, and we assess them every year. We also work together to improve our environmental behavior.鈥�

Valle cited several examples of collaborative engagement, such as reducing the weight of glass bottles and using recyclable packaging materials. The company has already substituted some materials with more sustainable alternatives and is buying cardboard boxes and wood sourced from certified forests.

鈥淲e have all the information about our materials in 51风流Responsible Design and Production, so we can see how much plastic we are using and how much of it is recycled. That determines the amount of tax we pay,鈥� Valle explained. 

All these improvements are part of the company鈥檚 People and Planet program that is designed to ensure a nature-friendly, energy-efficient foundation for future generations. The efforts are paying off.

Simplifying a Complex Landscape

According to its sustainability report for 2022, Gonz谩lez Byass already reuses or recycles 99% of the waste it generates and 79% of the energy it consumes comes from renewable sources. Water conservation efforts include using rainwater for irrigation, underground irrigation, and satellite-controlled irrigation.

Gonz谩lez Byass has already reduced carbon emissions by 20% and is committed to a 55% reduction by 2030. Besides managing its own regulatory obligations in Spain, the company must also be compliant with other regulations in the EU and the UK that impact its business. For example, recycling glass packaging waste is mandatory in all EU Member States. In Spain, this process is driven by Ecovidrio, a non-profit entity managing the Collective System of Extended Producer Responsibility (SCRAP).

鈥淥ne of our next projects is to set up Ecovidrio in the 51风流Responsible Design and Production solution, where we manage all our tax declarations and reports,鈥� Valle said. 鈥淎nother critical report is the declaration for the Ministry of Ecological Transition. Technology is helping us become a global reference in the sector because now we鈥檝e integrated all relevant information needed for compliance.鈥�

Four of its wineries have received the Wineries for Climate Protection certification, the first of such credentials specific to the wine industry targeting environmental sustainability. The certification recognizes sustainability activities in wineries in four key areas: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing water, reducing waste, and increasing energy efficiency.

Valle is confident that with the aid of technology Gonz谩lez Byass will not only be a leader and a reference in the sector, but, most importantly, it will secure its place as an exceptional winemaker for posterity. After all, since its most iconic wine , it鈥檚 a good thing Gonz谩lez Byass is doing everything to continue producing the best wines and spirits for future connoisseurs. 

According to a听 by the American Journal of Public Health investigating the effects of green buildings on employee health and productivity, employees who moved from conventional offices to buildings rated for Leadership Energy Environmental Design (LEED) reported a reduction in absenteeism, depression, and stress levels as well as an increase in their sense of happiness.

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council () in the late 1990s, LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability, providing third-party verification that a building was built to address energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a holistic rating system that looks at the big picture, factoring in all critical elements that work together to create the best building possible for the people who work there and their visitors.

Hybrid Air Conditioning, Rooftop Greenery

51风流understood this concept from the early days of its global expansion. As the company grew and acquired facilities, it committed to creating workspaces that combined efficiency with employee well-being. Designed with sustainability in mind, 51风流Americas headquarters in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, for example, was awarded LEED Platinum level in 2011, receiving high points for energy efficiency, water management, and innovative design.

The building is one-third more energy efficient compared to conventional buildings by using intelligent design features. The building’s sensor system is integrated with exterior shading devices that automatically adjust the lighting and help control the temperature level in the facility. A hybrid air conditioning system produces ice to cool the building during the overnight hours when energy demands and electric rates are the lowest.

The building saves 2 million gallons of water and 2 million kilowatt hours of power per year and reduces 51风流carbon footprint by 85,000 tons. Floor-to-ceiling glass exteriors and a green roof, planted with native and regional vegetation, integrate the office with the natural environment surrounding it.

Lush Forests, Natural Beauty

Another 51风流building that received LEED certification early on is the 51风流Labs Latin America location. The Gold certified location is surrounded by lush, subtropical forests in the south of Brazil, embodying the idea of an exceptional workplace. Every single workstation in the building has an external view, giving employees a sense of communing with nature, a feeling intensified by the natural light and the swathes of local vegetation and running water in the internal courtyards. Built solely from sustainable materials, including wood, metal and glass, the building uses recycled water and its temperature is regulated by the building automation system.

鈥淲e even made sure to position the staircase centrally and keep the elevators off to the side, so people automatically take the stairs,鈥� quips Dennison John, managing directors of the location. Built in three stages, between 2006 to the present, 51风流Labs Latin America is not only one of the greenest buildings operated by 51风流worldwide, it is one of the greenest on the entire continent.

鈥淎t SAP, we are enablers and exemplars of sustainability,鈥� says John. 鈥淏esides providing employees with a healthy environment, our goal is to show customers how we as a company are reducing our carbon footprint. With over 200 customer visits per year, we have ample opportunity to demonstrate the environmental advantages of a green building and showcase the natural beauty around us.鈥�

Nap Zones, Neighborhoods

Another LEED Gold certified building is the 51风流Labs India location in Bangalore. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became increasingly important to provide a workspace suitable for flexible working, prompting a complete overhaul fully focused on sustainability.

During the two-year transformation period, traditional workspaces with dedicated desks were transformed into activity-based work areas and free seating to maximize team collaboration and social interaction. Dedicated home zones for teams, known as neighborhoods, were created based on SAP鈥檚 4C design principles to enable collaboration, communication, concentration, and community.

One of the objectives of the renovation was to reflect the vast diversity characterizing India. The campus environment highlights the architecture and culture of India in many aspects.听 The building is designed around three primary courtyards, which connect all elements and people both vertically and horizontally. The workspaces intercept with social spaces and discussion pockets, all with easy access to the courtyards.

The entrance of the building leads to a colossal solarium that connects all floors to a large-scale digital wall used for demos, coffee corner sessions, customer engagements, and employee all-hands meetings. The solarium offers a view of the beautifully manicured landscape surrounding the building. Like their Brazilian colleagues, instead of using the elevators, people prefer to use the iconic staircases to move between floors.

Almost 95% of 51风流Labs India campus operations run on green energy sources. seventy percent of the car fleet runs on electric vehicles, and charging stations on campus for employees aim to help them make responsible choices and create a cleaner environment.

According to 51风流Chief Sustainability Officer Daniel Schmid, 51风流is aiming for a minimum of LEED Silver standard for new buildings worldwide.

鈥淭he buildings in Newtown Square, Bangalore, and Brazil are among the pioneers in green building design worldwide. Besides reducing energy costs and emissions, we create a truly welcoming environment for our employees. This is one of the ways that we role model our strategies on our journey to net zero,鈥� he says.

In the meantime, with many LEED certified buildings worldwide, 51风流has become a true enabler and exemplar of sustainability for people, planet, and profit.

For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit听.

Pioneers in Circular Solutions

The German giant recently relaunched its brand to reflect its strategic vision to become the leader in circular economy solutions, hence the circular logo with a triad of people, steel, and technology in the center. Three elements 鈥� circular mindset, pioneering partnerships, and sustainability solutions 鈥� are needed to bring the strategy to life.

鈥淥ur mission is to transform the industry, so we can produce steel without emitting CO2,鈥� says Gunnar Groebler, CEO and chairman of the Executive Board of Salzgitter AG. 鈥淐urrently, about two tons of CO2 are emitted per ton of steel produced in the traditional way. We aim to replace coal with hydrogen, reducing emissions to virtually zero. We鈥檒l be delivering green steel as of 2025.鈥�

Steel is the world’s most important engineering and construction material. It is used in every aspect of our lives, from cars and cargo ships to surgical scalpels and spoons. It鈥檚 also one of the most sustainable materials because it can be recycled endlessly.

Salzgitter AG is in the process of redefining its business model, moving from the linear approach to a circular one that reduces, reuses, and recycles energy and materials 鈥� and, most importantly, continuously rethinks the process.

True circularity requires joint product lifecycle planning and holistic processes in full collaboration with partners and suppliers across the entire value chain. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been in a classic relationship with our customers, which ends when the product is handed over. We鈥檙e working with them to take back the products after use, so we can reuse them or reintroduce the material into the production cycle,鈥� Groebler explains.

Partnerships across the Value Chain

The company and its subsidiaries have been producing steel for over 150 years. Peiner Tr盲ger, for example, is already melting around 1 million tons of crude steel from steel scrap in one of its electric steelworks in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient manner. Its high-quality products are a clear testimony that steel can be recycled without any loss of quality.

鈥淚 worked in the utilities industry for over 20 years, so I’ve witnessed the move from lignite, or soft coal, to offshore wind 鈥� a massive transformation. Seeing what was possible within a decade or so is highly motivating for me,鈥� says Groebler. 鈥淚 realize that by driving this transformation at Salzgitter AG, we are ultimately moving the entire industry to a more sustainable way of production.鈥�

He is amazed at how many companies are redefining their role from being customers to partners.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all transforming together,鈥� he explains. 鈥淥ur customers need to fulfill their own targets. Take the automotive industry: not only do they have to decarbonize the vehicle itself, but they also decarbonize its use throughout its lifetime. Considering that steel is a prominent part of the vehicle, our automotive partners expect us to decarbonize steel.鈥�

Groebler thinks a lot about the expectations of society. Today, Salzgitter AG emits roughly 1% of the German CO2 footprint, about 8 million tons per year. The good thing is that most of it is generated in one spot, making it easier to manage reduction efforts, versus the effort that goes into reducing emissions generated by combustion engines in cars, which are all over the place. With the strategy and funding already in place, Groebler is confident Salzgitter AG can reach net zero in the next 10 years.

Sustainability Tools and Solutions

Groebler is also very mindful of how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are impacting brand reputation. Sustainable business practices play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving resources, and companies that actively pursue them benefit from increased trust and loyalty among customers and consumers, creating opportunities for improved market share.

鈥淚f you consider the way ESG is developing, we need to look at environmental data in the same way we look at financial data. We鈥檙e experts in steel production, but not in handling data,鈥� says Groebler. 鈥淭his is where 51风流comes into play. 51风流helps us really consolidate the in an easy way.鈥�

Salzgitter Group is achieving greater ESG transparency with the data analytics and business logic functionality in . Along with and , the company uses to gain deeper insight into its environmental data and maintain safe and sustainable operations.

There have been some highly visible changes since Salzgitter Group embarked on its journey to circularity. Six massive wind power turbines, each 150 meters high, have reshaped the skyline over the steelworks. A lot of development is happening behind the scenes. Hydrogen production will not take place exclusively on-site, so the biggest challenge is sourcing it from other locations and creating the necessary infrastructure. During the transitional phase, the company will use a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen before switching exclusively to hydrogen.

Groebler is highly optimistic: 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a sweeping cultural change within the Salzgitter Group. Employees are engaging proactively, from an employee cooperative to finance a photovoltaic system to our local tree-planting campaign 鈥� our sustainable business approach has a positive, far-reaching impact everywhere in our organization.鈥�

Together with customers and suppliers, technology partners like SAP, and its people, Salzgitter AG is clearly leading the way to a circular future.

For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit听.

In 2020, the EU identified green hydrogen as a cornerstone of a climate-neutral energy system to be in place by 2050. At that time, hydrogen accounted for consumption and was primarily used to produce chemical products, such as plastics and fertilizers. Ninety-six percent of this hydrogen was produced with natural gas, resulting in significant amounts of CO2 emissions.

The other aspect driving this strategy is the need to reduce the dependency on imported fossil fuels. Diversification and access to new forms of renewable energy such as hydrogen will make the region more resilient.

The European Commission resolved to produce 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen and import 10 million tons by 2030. While green energy can be produced anywhere, countries with high availability of solar and wind energy such as Brazil offer more favorable conditions for efficient and affordable production. With its hydroelectric plants and policies favoring renewable energy as a substitute for fossil fuels, Brazil is a promising candidate for strategic green fuel trade partnerships with Europe.

However, Brazilian companies trading green hydrogen nationally and exporting it to regions such as the European Union must provide transparent proof of origin based on certification schemes.

The Public-Private Partnership between 51风流and GIZ

In order to validate the general requirements and develop concepts for a software to support the green hydrogen certification for Brazil and Germany, 51风流has formed a public-private partnership with the (GIZ). To help Brazilian suppliers prove their hydrogen is truly green, the project will evaluate and summarize certification rules and test digital solutions as well.

鈥淭his cooperation aims to promote sustainable hydrogen projects in developing and emerging countries,鈥� said Sabine Bendiek, chief people and operating officer and member of the Executive Board at 51风流SE, after signing a Letter of Intent (LoI) outlining the understanding between all parties. The LoI was later countersigned by GIZ Brazil at a delegation ceremony attended by the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck.

“One of SAP鈥檚 first collaborative aspirations with GIZ is to develop a pilot project to digitize the hydrogen certification processes for Brazilian companies. We鈥檙e excited to work with GIZ on this project, which will eventually allow certification data to be exchanged and evaluated along the value chain in a tamperproof, cost-efficient, and traceable manner,鈥� said Bendiek.

The GreenToken by 51风流solution, for example, can provide supply chain transparency right back to the origin of any material using a blockchain based chain of custody for trust based on recognized standards such as ISCC PLUS, ISCC EU, and REDcert2. This unique digital twin on a blockchain approach can provide transparency into ESG (environmental, social, and governance) facts such as commodity origin, child labor, and recycled and/or sustainability status across company borders.

Building the Green Hydrogen Economy

鈥淏razil has the ideal conditions to become a global player in this area, including the infrastructure needed to create a relevant domestic market and become a major exporter of green hydrogen. This makes Brazil an excellent partner for countries like Germany that intend to import green hydrogen,鈥� said Dr. Markus Francke, GIZ vice country director in Brazil. 鈥淎s Brazilian hydrogen companies are looking to sell their products in domestic, European, and other markets, this project will help prepare them for the requirements of region-specific certification processes.鈥�

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the results of the partnership are expected to benefit small and medium enterprises as well as large companies in Brazil.

While decarbonizing the economy, the development of a green hydrogen industry in parallel can boost economic growth and resilience, creating local jobs in countries that produce green hydrogen such as Brazil. The new partnership between 51风流and GIZ will contribute significantly to developing the hydrogen economy in Brazil by creating the necessary proof points through reliable certification for Brazil, Germany, and 鈥� and through its compliance to European directives 鈥� the European Union Member States.

Despite its usefulness and in alignment with the aims of organizations such as the and the , governments, businesses, and civil society听are cooperating on ways to curb the waste and pollution it causes.

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A First Step听听听听

As part of international efforts to fight climate change, for example, the European Union (EU) launched the , an action plan for transforming the economy from a linear one to a circular one that designs out waste and pollution. One key measure in tackling plastic pollution is the plastics tax applied to single-use plastic, plastic packaging, and microplastics.

Rather than a regional tax, however, the EU has mandated a national contribution from each of the 27 member states based on the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging waste it generates. The tax design varies greatly state by state, with some focusing on packaging in general and others on single use only. Some have different taxes for domestic or foreign-sourced plastic products. In short, member states are allowed to implement the tax in their own way, with their own rules and regulations.

The result is a an extremely fragmented landscape. Dealing with it requires the right strategy, tools, and expertise, especially in the areas of compliance and international supply chains. On January 1, for example, the Special Tax on non-reusable plastic containers took effect in Spain, imposing 鈧�0.45 per kilo of non-reusable plastic.

鈥淭his new tax presents a number of challenges for companies, not only because they will have to pay the designated tax, but because they will have to address this new process within the organization,鈥� says Maria Monasor, 51风流sustainability principal EMEA South and a spokesperson for 51风流Spain. 鈥淥ne of the greatest issues is the amount of information that needs to be collected and analyzed, all coming from different sources and, in many cases, from different countries, hampering collaboration.鈥�

Last April, the government in the UK introduced the first (UK PPT) to be implemented globally. The UK tax is 拢200 per metric ton of plastic packaging either produced听in or听imported into the UK that does not听contain听at least 30% recycled plastic.听Like their European counterparts, UK companies face two key challenges: getting the data to prepare their tax return and processing it to make tax decisions.

A Practical Solution

As has been the case with many challenges in recent times, technology has become a fundamental element in helping companies resolve their issues. is a cloud solution created specifically to facilitate the design of products for a circular economy and to help address the entire process involved in the new taxes.

Besides working to simplify manual reporting processes through automation, 51风流Responsible Design and Production allows companies to access data on logistics and materials, including details on the composition of packaging. 鈥淲ith this tool, companies will be able to calculate and submit reports in relation to the Spanish tax on plastics and reduce the risks of non-compliance,鈥� says Monasor.

The Ultimate Goal

In the long run, 51风流Responsible Design and Production can enable organizations to increase their sustainability KPI measurement and management capabilities as well as gain better visibility into material flows across all business processes. Improved traceability helps increase the accuracy of plastic tax payments and mitigates compliance risks. The solution can also implement changes to regulations and taxes and optimize the choice of materials for packaging to help reduce those taxes and boost circularity, which is the ultimate goal of the tax.

Despite all efforts to date, about 90% of the plastic currently produced worldwide is not recycled. 鈥淭he EU plastic tax and the UK PPT are harbingers of the worldwide movement reinforcing the polluter pays principle alongside extended producer responsibility,鈥� says Stephen Jamieson, global head of Circular Economy Solutions at SAP.

By disincentivizing the use of unsustainable materials, governments are incentivizing the market value of recyclable plastic, fostering a sustainable circular economy that will have global repercussions. Estimates indicated that plastic tax contributions would provide the EU with approximately 鈧�7 billion of additional revenue each year.

These efforts are only the first steps on a long, arduous journey. While most nations agree on the necessity to curb plastic, many are hesitant about the supply chain disruption it can bring to their economies. The ones that are embarking on the journey are pioneers whose efforts will provide valuable lessons for the ones that follow. The is to facilitate the process of transforming from a linear to a circular economy and to enable cooperation between nations, organizations, and their partners, no matter how fragmented the landscape. 51风流Responsible Design and Production fills that role by enabling companies to meet their sustainability commitments, comply with legislation, and develop more circular processes.

鈥淭oday, bathrooms are where we go to rejuvenate ourselves. It鈥檚 also where our customers can make significant contributions to preserving water, our most vital natural resource,鈥� said Alp Gu虉ldu虉r, IT director and digital leader at Eczaciba艧i Building Products. Speaking at the , he added that the group鈥檚 products are designed to be both stylish and sustainable.

Market Leadership

Turkey鈥檚 first and largest producer of ceramic sanitary ware, Eczaciba艧i Building Products, began producing VitrA-branded ware in 1958, adding faucets, bathroom furniture, bathtubs, shower trays, and a range of accessories along the way. The company designs many products in-house and also collaborates with renowned international designers and studios. Eczaciba艧i Building Products鈥� plant in Boz眉y眉k, Turkey, one of the world鈥檚 largest under one roof, is the first in its industry to receive TS EN 16001 Energy Management System Certification. VitrA is also the first and only brand in Europe to receive a Type-III Environmental Product Declaration for ceramic sanitary ware.

In faucets, Eczaciba艧i Building Products places among the top 10 producers in Europe. Its Artema brand is the only one from Turkey to achieve an A rating of the European Water Label, and it鈥檚 also the first from any industry to receive the Turkish Standards Institute鈥檚 Double Star rating, meaning products greatly exceed the benchmark.

鈥淎s Turkey’s first and largest manufacturer and exporter of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware, we play an important role in society,鈥� said G眉ld眉r.

According to the , the market trend is positive, thanks to factors such as the growth of the construction industry and a rise in infrastructure projects. Increased preference for ceramic sanitary ware is another factor fueling the industry growth.

But there are some challenges associated with production, including the volatility in the price of raw materials and stringent regulations. At the same time, systems and processes must be updated to meet the needs of digitized customers.

Customer Experience

To help address these challenges, Eczaciba艧i embarked on a massive digital transformation program called Vitramax. 鈥淥ur goal was to provide unique and seamless experiences for our customers and other stakeholders by being a technology and data-driven organization,鈥� said G眉ld眉r. 鈥淲e wanted to establish ourselves on social media and digital sales channels, and we鈥檝e done it. In the past, reacting to social media took about 48 hours; now, we can react in less than two.鈥�

After an intense greenfield implementation using agile methodology, Eczaciba艧i now runs as the background for its core 51风流business solutions, and is the backbone of its customer experience solutions. Thanks to its digital strategy, the company is now present on marketplaces in many different countries. Customer feedback is used by the innovation department to improve products and services, leading to higher quality.

The transformation project enabled Eczaciba艧i to completely revamp processes resulting in greater agility and efficiency and a reduction in costs. Most importantly, the system provides full visibility on all aspects of the business.

鈥�51风流S/4HANA provides us with the platform to run our business,鈥� said G眉ld眉r. 鈥淏est of all, we don鈥檛 need to double check data accuracy, an activity that took up a lot of our time in the past.鈥�

Sustainability

Improving operational efficiency allows the company to focus on other important areas such as protecting the environment and using resources carefully. Eczaciba艧i signed the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative based on CEO commitments to implement universal sustainability principles and support UN goals, back in 2006.

As a member of the compact, Eczaciba艧i is continuously investing in innovation in all production, design, and management stages to ensure sustainable practices. It is also committed to uphold the 10 principles of the compact, which involve the protection of human rights and the environment, fair labor practices, and the prevention of corruption.

When companies like Eczaciba艧i take steps to become more efficient and sustainable, it can only result in a better world for all.

Community Centered

Today, Gibson is at the forefront of firefighting activities in a subtropical place where the听summers are typically long, hot, and humid.听In this part of Brazil, fires have been increasing in frequency and intensity due to changes to the climate and in agricultural practices. Gibson is a member of , a volunteer organization working in alignment with the local municipal firefighting agencies to protect the听environment听through the听prevention and control of forest fires.

鈥淎 lot of our work revolves around educating people about the need for an ecologically balanced environment,鈥� he explains. 鈥淲e also provide support to communities and wildlife affected by natural and environmental disasters.鈥�

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The best way to fight fires is to prevent them from breaking out in the first place. That requires round-the-clock vigilance, especially during hot, dry periods. Early detection is critical. A forest fire usually begins when grass and dry undergrowth are ignited, generating a ground fire, which is easy to control. If it grows into a wildfire, it can leap into the treetops, leading to a crown or canopy fire where the flames spread rapidly. Crown fires are considerably more difficult to control and can easily grow into a conflagration, which is practically impossible to extinguish.

Fires break out on a monthly basis even during the rainy season. There is a constant struggle for resources, manpower, and equipment. Gibson鈥檚 goal is to hire a few full-time workers because, as passionate as they may be, volunteers have day jobs and other obligations, making it difficult for them to drop everything whenever a fire breaks out.

鈥淚f we get there in the first 10 minutes, we can usually nip a fire in the bud before it spreads. After 15 or 20 minutes, it鈥檒l be impossible to control. So, early warning is critical,鈥� he says.

But it鈥檚 not just about sending people out to the fire. The group needs someone to man the phone at all hours, as more and more requests are coming in. He himself is constantly monitoring a vast territory on his laptop. Besides being passionate, volunteers must be flexible in order to respond to sudden calls. His team of four includes a yoga teacher, an artist, a carpenter, and a gardener, people who can drop the tools of their trade to dash out on a call.

The hours are long; volunteers come home tired and dirty. The day doesn鈥檛 end after the fight. 鈥淚 used to spend hours collating the data 鈥� location, territory covered, number of people involved, type of vegetation burned, resources used. Every detail needs to be recorded. In the meantime, I鈥檇 be doing my laundry and preparing my equipment for the next day,鈥� says Gibson, describing his daily tasks.

Data Based

When it comes to data, though, things have gotten better. A dedicated team at 51风流Brazil developed a geo-referencing, image recording, and real-time data platform that鈥檚 helping Brigada Carcar谩 fight forest fires, rescue bees, and plant trees in a broad reforestation program.

鈥淭he platform helped us modernize our entire service structure and enables us to generate the essential data for monitoring and analyzing occurrences in real-time,鈥� says Marcio Amorim, co-founder of the non-profit organization dedicated to protecting people, wildlife, and nature.

鈥淲e鈥檙e experiencing a completely new reality thanks to the technology. Previously, we relied totally on the manual input of data, which led to errors and was not providing the visibility needed for preventive action. We were using outdated maps. Now, we鈥檙e tracking and tracing everything using GPS coordinates on our mobile devices. We can capture images of the damage, measure the impacted territory, and identify the species and number of animals killed and wounded.鈥�

Based on 51风流Business Technology Platform (51风流BTP) and , the application enables Brigada Carcar谩 to achieve three goals:

• Prevent forest fires through improved monitoring capabilities and relevant data analysis.
• Salvage and reestablish apiaries in partnership with Cresan, a local NGO dedicated to preserving and protecting the 130 species of native bees throughout the region.
• Revive and replant forests impacted by fires 鈥� tasks include analysis of charred lands and tree remnants and the management of nurseries for growing native species for reforestation.

Whereas some of the analytical tasks may have taken several days to complete, now they are done in a matter of minutes.

Future Focused

Pif Paf, a leading Brazilian producer of meat and poultry, and Grupo LPJ, the 51风流implementation partner that got the application up and running, were keen to help 51风流develop the application.

Like SAP, whose purpose is to run better and improve people鈥檚 lives, these companies are equally focused on improving life for people and the planet. Pif Paf has its own recipe for maintaining continuous sustenance in the world鈥檚 fifth largest country. A member of the Global Compact, with over 1,000 food products for national and international consumption, the company has been a leader in the humane handling of animals on farms and their journey to slaughter.

At the forefront of the fight against forest fires since 2014, Brigada Carcar谩 was called out a total of 310 times since 2020, playing a prominent role in protecting the region鈥檚 natural and cultural heritage.

鈥淭hanks to the 51风流application, we are much better prepared,鈥� says Gibson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also able to exchange data and best practices with other parts of the country and even other countries like Portugal that are suffering from extreme conditions conducive to forest fires.鈥�

For nature and communities, whichever way you look at it, it鈥檚 a win-win for all.

One company with extensive expertise in ESG reporting is , the world鈥檚 largest brewer. The company鈥檚 strategy for growth through the digitization of its ecosystem 鈥� which includes 200 breweries, 6 million customers, and over 2 billion consumers, generating over 10 million weekly transactions 鈥� involves a lot of data.

The Right Data

鈥淏rewing requires the best ingredients, which requires a healthy environment. We are an agribusiness. We see the far-reaching implications of climate change in our operations and sourcing regions,鈥� said Ezgi Barcenas, chief sustainability officer, Anheuser-Busch InBev. 鈥淲ith operations in over 50 countries, we鈥檙e looking at many metrics. Just inside our walls, we have 400 operating practices for tracking efficiency, water, energy, maintenance, and sourcing, to name a few.鈥�

Barcenas explained that as the company looks at its supply chain, it must think through the environmental and social impact up- and downstream, from the smallholder farmers down to the half million SMEs that are its customers selling its products around the world, all the mom-and-pop shops as well as the big chains.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of data,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow add all your research and innovation data, security data, and ideas about the future of packaging and logistics. The point is, sometimes you need better data, not more. You need to ask yourself: is this data useful for making decisions? Does it help drive the right actions through the business?”

Another data-heavy company participating in the discussion was Schneider Electric SE, a French multinational specializing in听digital automation and energy management for buildings, data centers, infrastructure, and industries. By 2025, thanks to its energy and sustainability services and green product innovations, it will have and avoid 800 million tons of CO2.

鈥淲e need to triple our speed to avert climate disaster. Reporting scope 3 emissions is extremely important, because we can only track what we measure and we can only improve if we measure,鈥� said Michael Lofty, senior vice president, Power Products, Schneider Electric. The good news is that about 70% of Schneider Electric鈥檚 revenue already comes from green solutions. The company invests heavily in innovation. 鈥淎ny innovation coming from Schneider Electric is a sustainable offer,鈥� he explained. 鈥淓ach product is more sustainable than the one before it, and metrics are key proof points.鈥�

At Schneider Electric, the main challenge was to get suppliers on board the sustainability journey. The company launched a Zero Carbon Project to help 1,000 suppliers responsible for 70% of its upstream carbon emissions become more sustainable. 鈥淭his is a movement and it鈥檚 a must-have movement, because we are only as strong as our smallest supplier,鈥� said Lofty. The project aims to quantify supplier emissions to establish a baseline and identify key sources of emissions. This enables data-driven prioritization of intervention and road map creation.

ESG Reporting

Most people assume that ESG investing is designed to reward companies helping the planet. According to a by the Harvard Business Review, however, ESG ratings that underlie ESG fund selection are based on materiality, an accounting principle stating that all items likely to impact investors鈥� decision-making must be recorded in detail in a business鈥檚 financial statements using听.

Some businesses are already linking materiality to their own fortunes and that of the planet. A revealed that a significant minority of respondents say sustainability is already financially material to their businesses and a larger group believes it will be imminent in the near future. Companies like Anheuser-Busch IN Bev and Schneider Electric are finding ways to make that link pay off with the help of data.

鈥淥ne change we鈥檝e seen over the last few years is that investors have a better understanding of which data is material to the business, and they ask more questions around it,鈥� said Barcenas. 鈥淲e鈥檙e increasingly trying to provide more context around our data.鈥�

Providing accurate data is the only way to really demonstrate the impact of the changing world on a company鈥檚 profits and losses. Having one global framework and mandatory reporting would certainly help address the data challenge, but that won鈥檛 happen in the near future.

鈥淲e still need to progress on some of the standards and regulations before we can make them mandatory,鈥� said Gunther Rothermel, senior vice president, head of Sustainability Engineering, SAP. 鈥淲e need to look at the common denominator underlying the regulations and cover that level first, and then grow this common denominator as the regulations mature and become accepted.鈥�

Companies like SAP, he said, with products that also need to meet standards, will, at least for now, have to serve numerous frameworks. In the meantime, 51风流solutions help organizations of all sizes and industries achieve their zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality goals through ESG data transparency across crucial business processes, business networking, and a large ecosystem of partners.鈥�

鈥淲e believe that embedding sustainability at the core of business strategy can help drive operational efficiency, innovation, employee engagement, supply chain resilience, risk mitigation, improved sales, and other strategic business benefits,鈥� said Rothermel.

Having the right data proof points will help companies better understand the return on their sustainability investment (ROSI) and the materiality underlying investor decision-making, resulting in shareholder returns and long-term benefits to the environment and society.

For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit .

At the beginning of the last century, Panasonic Founder Konosuke Matsushita decided to address the huge untapped market for convenient, high-quality household appliances. Over the decades, Panasonic has changed every aspect of people鈥檚 lives with new inventions, from promoting safety with bicycle lamps and eliminating the drudgery of household chores with washing machines to providing entertainment and information through state-of-the-art radios, televisions, and other modern devices.

The interesting thing about traditional companies is their ability to reinvent themselves over and over again to succeed in times of change. Panasonic has proven its ability to do so, surviving and thriving through wars, economic depressions, and workforce changes. But traditional companies can have downsides as well.

Tackling the Legacy

鈥淎fter excelling and reinventing ourselves for over 100 years, we鈥檝e now reached a plateau,鈥� said Hajime Tamaoki, executive officer and group CIO at Panasonic Holdings. 鈥淥ur founder believed that enterprises should contribute to society by enabling material prosperity and helping people live fulfilling lives. If we cannot grow, we cannot contribute to society. Our goal now is to jump-start a new period of growth through the PX: Panasonic Transformation program.鈥�

The PX symbolizes the company鈥檚 determination to not only improve its IT infrastructure, but to position IT at the core of its management strategy and utilize IT to trigger major business and management changes. This is not the company鈥檚 first transformation; the big difference today is the magnitude of change. 鈥淭his is the biggest change the company has ever seen and the most challenging in our history,鈥� said Tamaoki, explaining that operational excellence is the core theme. 鈥淧anasonic is a major conglomerate, a collection of many different businesses, each with its own legacy. Supporting the digital transformation of each business and collectively raising the level of IT across the entire group are among the most pressing issues for our company today.鈥�

One of the main issues is waste in the supply chain. Some of that waste is caused by processes that the company deemed necessary in the past, such as responding to urgent customer demands that might deviate from product specifications and require logistical activities such as delivering in half-empty trucks. 鈥淲e are standardizing our supply chain processes to drive efficiency and putting those changes into an environmental context, so people can better grasp the need for change,鈥� he said.

Aiming to expedite the transformation of its entire value chain, Panasonic selected to support its intelligent, sustainable enterprise vision. The project endeavors to transform Panasonic鈥檚 business models and processes and includes strategies to improve the employee experience 鈥� all of which are directly connected to growth of the group鈥檚 overall business.

Engaging Employee Hearts and Minds

鈥淲e want to create sustainable happiness for human beings. That requires constant communication about our goals to increase value to customers and refine internal operations,鈥� he said, adding that he had just returned from a company-wide meeting. 鈥淭his time, change is being driven from the top down by our CEO. But no matter how brilliant the leader may be, we all know that the shop floor is where change really takes place.鈥�

According to Tamaoki, it鈥檚 not enough to simply tell people to 鈥渃hange the process.鈥� Employees are busy doing their jobs. It鈥檚 the company鈥檚 job to simplify and standardize processes, and then help people learn how to work differently. 鈥淣o one wants the company to go bankrupt. They want to get back on the growth track, they want to do the right thing. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e connecting operational efficiency to the bigger picture of the environment.鈥�

With over 1 billion customers worldwide, Panasonic has a very broad reach. The company is very serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Back in 2017, Panasonic embarked on a program to reduce energy use and expand its power generation and storage businesses to ensure that, by 2050, the energy it creates exceeds the energy it uses. To hasten this process, the program has been revamped as Panasonic Green Impact and is contributing to society and the environment by taking a head-on approach to scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions generated by the Panasonic Group and its stakeholders. As part of this effort, the new technologies and businesses in hydrogen energy, for example, and expanding its portfolio around battery-based, eco-conscious vehicles and products related to air quality and air conditioning.

Rising to the Next Level

The Economist recently published a special report on the state of the economy in Japan, stating 鈥�.鈥� A mainstay of the Japanese economy for more than a century, Panasonic symbolizes the wealth of the nation. When Tamaoki was a college student back in 1989, Panasonic was ranked among the world’s top 20 companies by market capitalization; as of January 2022, it ranked around 750th. Joining the company to help rebuild the electronics industry, which has long been in decline, is his contribution to making the world a better place. Like many Japanese, Tamaoki grew up watching television on sets from National, one of the older Panasonic brands.

鈥淚鈥檓 very attached to Panasonic. It is no exaggeration to say that the company and brand created by Konosuke Matsushita holds an important place in the hearts and minds of Japanese people. If the company loses its luster, the Japanese economy will not be revitalized,鈥� he said.

Such a turnaround cannot be achieved without a massive digital and cultural transformation. In this context, technology plays a key role. 51风流is helping the company to reinvent itself once again to remain relevant for the next 100 years 鈥� and beyond. 鈥�51风流is a management and business operation platform centered on the latest cloud-based ERP, and it is a very important solution for realizing our strategy and vision,鈥� said Tamaoki.

Consumer behavior is behind this ever-growing conundrum — as retailers offer better and more affordable mattresses, consumers replace them more and more frequently.

鈥淐hanging consumer behavior is one of the ways to fix this problem,鈥� said听, chief creative officer for Ingka Group, IKEA Retail, at the London Design Festival鈥檚 SAP-sponsored panel discussion about . 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough to educate consumers to adopt circular behavior patterns. They also need the facilities and infrastructure to actually behave with a circular mindset. So instead of discarding old furniture and mattresses in landfill, customers can return them to us for creating new materials out of low value waste.鈥�

When asked what鈥檚 the next step after circular economy, Engman responded that circular economy is not about phases. It鈥檚 a mindset that will change the world. 鈥淲e鈥檙e moving into a future where waste is the raw material. It鈥檚 about designing from the bottom up, and thinking in components,鈥� he explained.

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Democratic Design

At IKEA, the concept of sustainability and circularity isn鈥檛 a new idea. IKEA was quite sustainable from the beginning without even knowing it. The company鈥檚 purpose has always been to create a better everyday life for the many people. This vision goes beyond home furnishings; it鈥檚 about having a positive impact on entire communities.

鈥淲e鈥檙e a low-price company. Being low price means you have to be low cost, which means adopting non-wasteful behavior in everything you do,鈥� said Engman. 鈥淚t begins with designing processes that generate no waste whatsoever. For example, IKEA鈥檚 flat packaging contains zero air, because we don鈥檛 like shipping air. That doesn鈥檛 make sense.鈥�

Common sense is in the IKEA DNA. With over 1 billion customers per year, the company sees an opportunity and a responsibility to design for change and not for production, because design and sustainability go hand in hand. The company handles resources as carefully as possible to increase affordability.

Changing people鈥檚 mindset to consume more sustainably begins with making products that are affordable. People need to understand where materials come from and why things cost what they do. Cost is a crucial part of the design, along with four other design principles that are applied to every single product the company produces.

is a tool used to develop and evaluate the products in the IKEA range. It has five dimensions including function, form, quality, sustainability, and low price. When there is a balance between all five, the design is considered to be democratic, meaning it improves the everyday life of many people.

Collaboration and Innovation

Regarding the role of collaboration in the circular economy, for Engman it鈥檚 based on curiosity and generosity. He cited听 as an example. This unique initiative was established by Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee, and H&M to help people bring their innovative ideas to life. Driven by a collective of creatives, makers, manufacturers and design industry experts, it focuses on the merits of local design and production.

The first batch of products from Atelier100 include听a vase made from London clay excavated from below the River Thames, handcrafted in ceramicist and artist Alison Cooke鈥檚 West Hampstead studio, and a floor light using a free-standing London cobblestone for weight and balance, produced in Mitre & Mondays鈥� Islington workshop.

For Engman, innovation and sustainability go hand in hand, and require collaboration for long-term success. Wood, the most ancient material used for furniture, is critical to the company鈥檚 product line. Using it sustainably requires a special relationship with nature. 鈥淚n Sweden, where I come from, nature is in your face. You learn from an early age how to embed nature in your daily life and how to forage to fill your pantry,鈥� he said.

Responsible wood sourcing is at the heart of IKEA鈥檚 business, and the company has been using its size and reach to improve forest management across the world. Partnering with a variety of stakeholders to increase the volume and availability of wood from responsibly managed forests is key to IKEA鈥檚 own supply and goes well beyond. IKEA was one of the founders of Forest Stewardship Council () in 1994, which unites stakeholders from around the world to improve forest management on a global and national level. In FY20, more than 98% of the wood used for IKEA products was FSC-certified or recycled.

Technology is another key element in the circular mindset. 鈥淚n the U.S. we introduced IKEA Kreativ, a new part of the IKEA app that helps people design their space using virtual and mixed reality,鈥� said Engman. 鈥淭hey take pictures of their rooms and scan them into the app where they can move around old and new furniture. People can try things out virtually instead of buying things and sending them back if they don鈥檛 fit.鈥�

Although IKEA鈥檚听听solution is still in the development phase, IKEA鈥檚 numerous innovative partnerships and sustainable initiatives are examples of how to change behavior, production and processes to create the circular mindset that will drive the economy of the future.

For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit .

.

Paying a High Price

Everyone suffers from climate change, but some regions suffer disproportionately from its negative consequences. Africa contributes only three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the least of all regions. Yet increasing temperatures, extreme droughts, and floods threaten human health and safety, food and water security, and socioeconomic development in Africa.

African leaders meeting recently at the called on their counterparts from wealthier nations to increase funding for projects to help them adapt to climate change. This topic was already addressed at the COP26 meeting last year, where world powers for developing countries to around $40 billion a year by 2025, but .

“If we want our continent to thrive, we have to adapt to climate change — and to achieve this, financing needs to start flowing at scale,” said Ghana President Nana Afuko-Addo at the summit. The African Development Bank has already committed half the amount needed for the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program, but African leaders are looking for the world’s big CO2 emitters to step in.

These discussions will be the focal topic at the 27th Convention on Climate Change this month in Egypt. With a volatile geopolitical backdrop dominating world dynamics since early 2022, leaders at COP27 have their work cut out to around climate.

In the meantime, businesses can play a key role in improving people’s lives.

Harnessing the Power of People

By 2050, Africa will be home to some of the world’s largest cities, including Lagos and Kinshasa, and a $29 trillion economy. The continent boasts the largest youth labor market in the world and is at the forefront of digitalization and cloud technologies. Tech-savvy young people equipped with the right skills and vision can dramatically impact productivity and sustainability, making education and vocational training vital to success.

While connectivity has improved over the last decade, its reach varies. About 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, and frequent power outages keep the existing supply unstable. Political, economic, and social instability exist in many countries, but the most significant problem remains the high unemployment rate across the entire continent.

“In a world where one employee may be supporting ten family members, sustainability and compliance to environmental, societal, and governance factors may seem a luxury,” says Cathy Smith, managing director of 51风流Africa. “African enterprises don’t want their growth to be hampered by restrictions from outside their region. At the same time, they realize the need for greater efficiency, lower costs, and less waste in running their business. It’s common sense.”

Africa is vast and diverse. Whereas some countries like Kenya, Ruanda, and Nigeria have digitally savvy populations striving towards digital transformation, others depend on traditional industries such as mining and oil and gas, where change happens at a slower pace. Small and midsize businesses remain the backbone of most economies on the continent.

Businesses have never been a more critical player in responding to significant global volatility, disruption, and conflict. Still, regional enterprises must develop at their own pace based on their strategic objectives and customer needs.

Understanding Human Needs

Like elsewhere, consumer behavior shifts have impacted the African continent since COVID-19. As opposed to many Western countries, where consumers focus more on sustainability, African shoppers are more concerned with household spending. According to a on South African Consumer Outlook, brand loyalty has weakened as consumers more frequently select the lowest-priced product to meet their needs and budgets.

“It’s very critical for consumer goods companies to ensure their portfolio accommodates the changing circumstances of shoppers,” Smith says. “Our job is not to mandate how those companies manage their green lines. Our job is to help them move beyond disconnected, piecemeal approaches and use technology’s power to build inclusive, sustainable, and resilient value chains.”

That said, shifts in consumer behavior toward sustainability are not impacting Africa. According to by De Beers Group, sustainability considerations are now on par with price and design for consumers when purchasing diamonds. While there is undoubtedly a dark side to how people have acquired their sparkling stones, the upside is that the industry creates high employment levels and contributes significantly to the GDPs of the countries producing them.

As quoted in the report, De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver says the research provides important insights on how sustainability factors influence consumer attitudes toward diamonds. A tipping point is happening: sustainability is no longer a trend; it’s already one of the critical considerations in diamond purchases.

Finding the Right Balance

For business leaders, it is a matter of weighing the pros and cons and finding the right balance to benefit people, profit, and the planet. In addition, government policies need to align all relevant parties. Consistent collaboration among governments, businesses, and partners can help maintain the sense of urgency required to ensure the well doesn’t dry.

This approach will help African enterprises of all sizes in all industries chart a sustainable path for the future.

For more information on how 51风流helps companies record, report, and act on their sustainability goals, visit .

Expo 2020 brought together over 200 participants 鈥� including 192 countries and various organizations, businesses, and educational establishments. The mega event attracted over 20 million visitors despite being postponed for 18 months due to the global pandemic that has disrupted the world鈥檚 economy and the lives of millions.

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A Differentiator

Initiated in 1851 in London, World Expos are a gathering of nations dedicated to finding solutions to the day鈥檚 most urgent issues by engaging the hearts and minds of visitors. World Expos, which attract more visitors than the FIFA World Cup and Olympics combined, are governed by the and serve as a platform for countries to display their most recent technical, scientific, cultural, social, and economic achievements.

Famous innovations launched at World Expos include the steam engine, which characterized the industrial age to come, followed by the introduction of many gamechangers including the washing machine, the telephone, television, the x-ray, the diesel engine, the first touchscreen gadgets, and the first humanoid robots.

Hosted and organized by Dubai, several things set Expo 2020 apart:

• Marking a turning point in history, Expo 2020 aspired to be the of its kind.
• It was the most inclusive ever 鈥� the helped people of determination, as people with special needs are referred to in the United Arab Emirates, navigate easily.
• Its customer experience and supply chain infrastructure secured the first for a World Expo.

Sustainability

The event was 100% ecological thanks to the sustainable use of water and energy and a minimal carbon footprint. An astonishing 90% of the material used during the construction process is being reused to build public buildings. In addition, Expo 2020 Dubai had its very own metro station, carrying as many as 44,000 passengers per hour.

From recycling to promoting natural solutions, the idea was to inspire visitors to protect the Earth for future generations. Besides having an entire district dedicated to , Expo 2020 also hosted theme weeks focused on topics such as water, climate, and urban and rural development.

鈥淥ne of the most exciting moments at Expo 2020 was the ,鈥� says Deirdre O鈥橰eilly, 51风流head of Expo 2020, whose tiny team of eight hard workers was instrumental in the overall success at the event.

The sustainability week served as a major call to action in association with the United Nations to advance the SDGs. Global leaders, policy-makers, business leaders, and key players from the SDG campaign were present at the event to encourage everyone, including businesses, organizations, and individuals, to drive positive change.

鈥淥ur focus on sustainability does not end with Expo. We must ingrain it in our daily lives if we want to end extreme poverty, inequality, and climate change by 2030,鈥� says O鈥橰eilly, who encourages everyone to take action by creating their own .

Inclusion

One key achievement of Expo 2020 was the PODway app, which was designed to help people of determination navigate the site easily, highlighting accessible features in pavilions and accessible services for events. The app supports people with mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive, and sensory-access needs as well as features wayfinding and transportation options. It also includes an 鈥楽OS鈥� button for immediate contact and appropriate support 鈥� underpinned by geotracking of a person鈥檚 position on-site.

The organizers hailed the app in a recent , quoting Dina Storey, director of Sustainability Operations, Expo 2020 Dubai. 鈥淓xpo 2020 Dubai is committed to celebrating diversity and promoting inclusivity, and the PODway app ensures that each and every visitor with differentiated needs can make the most of the incredible experiences Expo has to offer,鈥� said Storey.

Experience

What all visitors, organizers, and suppliers will surely recall is their flawless experience, which included registering for the event, buying tickets and passes, getting food and vouchers, and accessing the wide world of merchandise that was available in the 192 country pavilions. A unique, behind-the-scenes framework struck a balance between the system architecture and the use of the latest technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain.

The entire event ran on SAP鈥檚 technology and expertise, helping Expo 2020 Dubai deliver personalized experiences to millions of visitors from around the world, achieved by collecting and analyzing masses of data. This previously impossible feat was possible thanks to AI, which was used to measure and improve customer experiences by finding patterns across an overwhelming number of data points, unleashing more value for the customer and promoting brand awareness and loyalty.

Over 1,200 point-of-sale entities were connected through , establishing a smooth end-to-end customer experience, and over 55,000 receipts were printed daily using .

Besides managing the transactions of 20 million visitors and the virtual Expo online experience of 174 million, the streamlined digital experience also facilitated the work of 25,000 suppliers delivering goods and services around the site. 51风流Ariba solutions听made up the real-time, unified digital procurement and payment platform for Expo 2020鈥檚 global supplier base.

鈥淥ur work with 51风流is an example of what can be achieved with the invaluable support of our technology partners to host one of the most digitally advanced World Expos ever,鈥� said Dubai Chief Technology Officer Mohammed AL Hashmi.

The impact of Expo 2020 will last long after the gates closed as it morphs into , a smart, sustainable city providing an ecosystem that embraces technology and digital innovation. Expo 2020鈥檚 motto of 鈥渃onnecting minds鈥� is already helping to create a better future based on innovation and collaboration between nations, cultures, and institutions.

鈥淭here is no life on earth without the sun, and it鈥檚 there for everyone,鈥� said Anselma W枚rner, COO and one of the three cofounders of Exnaton, a Swiss company that develops software for communities trading renewable energy in local neighborhoods.

W枚rner was explaining how her company created a smart energy system at the recent听听in Munich, Germany. 鈥淲e have a new generation of prosumers 鈥� people who consume and produce their own energy 鈥� who are using new connected technologies and renewable power like solar to exchange energy through the grid.鈥�

Sun Powered

Humans have always depended on the sun for light, heat, and food, and its all-encompassing power has influenced cultures and religions around the world. Although advances in technology have decreased our dependence, the importance of solar energy in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint is a reminder that we still depend on it for survival. That鈥檚 why the cofounders picked the name 听for their enterprise. Looking for a word that connects 鈥渆nergy鈥� and 鈥渆xchange,鈥� they hit upon the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten (pronounced Echnaton) who raised the status of the sun above that of all other gods and created an early monotheism that briefly became a state religion.

The goal of Exnaton is to help integrate prosumers into the grid. Currently, the legal framework is very complex, and there is no clear ROI for them. There are no feed-in tariffs or policy mechanisms designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers.

鈥淎t the moment, there is no value for the community, and we want to change that,鈥� said W枚rner, who is responsible for fundraising, data science, and recruiting at Exnaton. 鈥淲hat most people don鈥檛 realize is that renewable energy is not always produced when it鈥檚 needed most. So, when it is available, prosumers should be able to sell their energy directly.鈥�

People who own solar panels could actually sell a lot of energy to other households, if only they had the means. W枚rner and her team believe it should be as easy to sell to other consumers as it is to sell any other products on the market. 鈥淧rosumers are faced with fragmented solutions, complex regulations, and frustrating user experiences. What they need are simple solutions, trusted local providers, and proactive community and user groups,鈥� she explained.

Community Centric

Enter Exnaton鈥檚 EnergyCommunity software add-on for听 solutions, which won an听听in the Partner Paragon category together with Best Practice Consulting (BPC) and is now available on 51风流Store. This user-centric extension enables utility companies to empower prosumers to buy and sell energy within their local communities and also track all relevant data.

Here鈥檚 how it works. Any prosumers in the community can sell their solar energy to any consumers in the grid. The EnergyCommunity tracks their energy data and informs them exactly where the energy is coming from and how much CO2 it is generating. The utility company can easily bill these energy exchanges with their regular 51风流billing system thanks to the integration offered by Exnaton in working with the 51风流system integrator BPC. At the same time, the utility company can sell additional hardware installations to members of the community, making it an attractive option for all parties.

鈥淭he EnergyCommunity makes it easy to exchange energy within the community. Participating in their local community creates a closer bond between people, and the platform provides a new customer channel for the utility company,鈥� said听the technology expert, who has a PhD in Information Systems. 鈥淎t the end of the day, with Exnaton鈥檚 energy sharing software-as-a-service platform, energy suppliers can offer their customers more independence.鈥�

Exnaton is responding to the challenge faced by prosumers who currently have no possibility to sell their extra energy directly on the market and the one faced by utilities companies as they realize they must offer new models as they transition to renewables with a decentralized approach. A number of utility companies are already running the solution in communities across Germany, Austria, Luxemburg, and Switzerland, and the goal is to expand to other European countries where there is a strong regulatory framework. More importantly, the solution enables energy companies to equip their customers for a sustainable future.

Future Focused

Over 733 million people on the planet still don鈥檛 have access to affordable, sustainable energy, which is why providing energy is goal seven on the list of the听. For Exnaton, goal seven is its core business, but at the same time, it is equally committed to goal 11, developing sustainable cities and communities; goal 12, enabling responsible production and consumption; and goal 13, taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.

The good news, according to the recent听听report, is that renewables overtook fossil fuels as the number one power source in the European Union for the first time in 2020. Renewables generate 38% of electricity, compared to 37% for fossil fuels. Also, at least two million people in the EU are already involved in more than 7,700 energy communities, and engagement is rising. Energy communities have also contributed up to 7% of nationally installed capacities of renewables, estimated at 6.3 GW.

For W枚rner and the team at Exnaton, producing energy where it is consumed decreases the dependence of the region on imported resources. Energy from the sun is practically limitless, and it more than covers the entire demand of the planet. With advances in technology and solutions like the EnergyCommunity, households and small businesses benefit from electricity powered by the sun, making renewable energy accessible and cost effective. What could be more natural, sensible, or sustainable?

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Delivering sugar to the table has its own challenges. One company that has been hitting the mark decade after decade is U.S. Sugar, a family business located in the center of Florida. One of the largest agricultural operations in the state, the company owns 230,000 acres of land where sugarcane farming and refining operations run 24/7.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been growing sugarcane for 90 years, and we鈥檝e been innovative from the start,鈥� says Carl Stringer, a company executive who has a dual task as vice president of IT and Employee Benefits at U.S. Sugar. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been an early adopter of high-tech in our operations, thanks to our 270-square-mile area of a privately owned Wi-Fi network.”

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Technology

U.S. Sugar is operating in a volatile market. The company supplies about 10% of the of sugar produced in the United States annually 鈥� a commodity whose price can vary depending on weather conditions, agricultural supply cycles, government policies, and currency rates.

Today, all commodity businesses are facing numerous challenges, from climate change and carbon emissions to COVID-19 lockdowns, along with operational risks in their supply chains. That鈥檚 why digitalizing, automating, and increasing efficiencies across the business are crucial to their success. Soft commodities like sugar, meaning that it is grown rather than mined, face additional challenges that are specific to agricultural businesses. Climate is one of them.

鈥淲e aim to process the freshest cane in the world, so we must always harvest at the optimal time. That requires complete flexibility,鈥� explains Stringer. 鈥淥ur growing season can include hurricanes, unexpected frosts, and flooding.鈥�

The company relies on technology to maintain agility in every aspect of their business. U.S. Sugar is a longtime member of the 51风流Agribusiness Industry Advisory Council. Stringer is deeply appreciative of the collaborative engagement. 鈥�51风流knows that agriculture is underserved by technology,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to develop many apps simply because there鈥檚 a lack of digital farming tools. Being part of the council allows us to shape the technology based on our needs and our expertise in agriculture.鈥�

Together with SAP, U.S. Sugar and other members of the council are integrating key agricultural processes such as planting, fertilizing, irrigating, and harvesting with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) elements of their supply chain such as automatic ordering through direct links to suppliers.

Digitalization is an enabler for efficient and sustainable farming processes. 鈥淔arming is still far behind when it comes to digital capabilities,鈥� says Stringer, whose goal is to increase efficiency in all areas to balance the huge costs of fuel, labor, and soil amendments that are typical for the industry. That鈥檚 why 51风流technology is a key enabler when it comes to automation, quality management, and the management of assets including the company鈥檚 800 vehicles.

Environment

One of company鈥檚 main challenges is educating the public about the sustainability of their operations. Conservationists around the world are concerned about sugarcane farming because, in some countries, sugar mills produce wastewater, emissions, and solid waste that impact the environment. Also, there are questions as to whether the energy needed to produce sugarcane is high in comparison to other crops such as potatoes or wheat.

Fortunately, the U.S. Sugar mill and refinery in Clewiston, Florida, is a zero-discharge facility with no water or waste leaving the property. Florida鈥檚 sugar industry has been a trailblazer in sustainable best practices as it relates to environmental restoration. U.S. Sugar often stands as a model for its sustainable practices, with a proven track record of more than 90 years farming the land around Lake Okeechobee.

鈥淲e are keenly committed to preserving the natural beauty of the Everglades,鈥� says Stringer. 鈥淐lean water is fundamental to this ecosystem and to our farming business. Every drop of water flowing off our land is measured and regulated and cleaned. In fact, we go beyond meeting regulations, ensuring that our environment is the cleanest it鈥檚 been in our lifetimes. The water today is as clean as rainwater.鈥�

The best way to counter misperception is to educate and inform. The company regularly conducts tours of its operations, inviting schools, local community residents, and other interested parties to visit and see for themselves. Thousands of Floridians tour U.S. Sugar鈥檚 farming operations each year.

U.S. Sugar is also self-sufficient when it comes to energy. Cane stalk waste is repurposed to generate steam and electricity, replacing the need for purchased electricity or fossil fuels to power its sugar processing facilities. The company has even rebuilt a historic steam-powered locomotive to transport cane and visitors around its operations. All farming and factory operations run on sophisticated machinery that is 100% integrated into the business. This enables U.S. Sugar to manage water, crop, and postharvest logistics more holistically, which in turn allows the company to compete more effectively in the face of volatile worldwide commodities prices.

鈥淭echnology is a key enabler because it delivers deep insights into all business and operational areas,鈥� says the head of IT. 鈥淲e can respond in real time thanks to the intelligent integration of sensors, control systems, and dashboards.鈥�

Philanthropy

Besides caring for the environment, Stringer points out that the way to remain relevant in the future is to build the necessary skill set today. The company employs around 2,000 people who have their own special stake in the company: they own it along with two other primary stakeholders, the and the Mott Children鈥檚 Health Center.

Charles Stewart Mott, the industrialist and philanthropist, established his foundation in 1926 to support non-profit educational organizations around the country. Today, the foundation funds numerous educational and environmental efforts to promote a just, equitable, and sustainable society.

The good work does not stop there. U.S. Sugar is currently exploring ways to become even more efficient through circular production models. One is to make better use of bagasse, the dry, pulpy, fibrous material that remains after crushing sugarcane stalks to extract their juice, and the soil matter that is extracted from the cane during the clarification process, commonly known as mill mud. These two elements are comingled in a proprietary method and then returned to the cane fields as an efficient and eco-friendly compost. Bagasse can also be听burned as fuel in the sugarcane mill or used as a source of cellulose for manufacturing animal feeds.

As someone responsible for people and IT, Stringer sees beyond the monetary value of digitalization. It increases user satisfaction and engagement, decreases resistance to change, and strengthens the relationship between IT and the business. Connecting people and technology and caring for the environment is what enables U.S. Sugar to remain faithful to its tradition of innovating for a sustainable future.

During two decades at SAP, she rose through the ranks to become the first woman to lead 51风流Labs India. Today, Gangadharan is among the leading voices in the world of technology and is widely regarded as a “technology humanist.”

Q: What is a technology humanist, and what makes you one?

A: I am passionate about using technology to serve people. Throughout the pandemic we witnessed the power of technology to make things better.

For example, the second COVID-19 wave took everyone in India by surprise, crippling the entire healthcare system. There was an acute shortage of medical oxygen. The reason for the shortage was not a lack of oxygen, but the inadequacy of the distribution network to get it from the point of manufacture to the hospitals. This entire supply chain was severely disrupted at multiple levels due to the sudden rise in demand across the country.

At 51风流Labs India we decided to use our greatest assets — our technology and our employees who have the finest minds in the country — to help the government. About 80% of India鈥檚 oxygen suppliers already run on SAP, so we worked together to create an oxygen supply chain dashboard — literally over one weekend!

I believe 51风流Labs India really stepped up to save lives.

What influenced you during your formative years to pursue a career in technology?

I grew up in India at a time when the tech craze was engulfing the country. I was inquisitive, I loved mathematics, and I was fascinated by the incredible possibilities of technology.

My home city, Bengaluru, was transforming into a tech center with specialized labor for global technology markets. After getting a degree in computer science, I got a job as a developer in 1999 just after the inauguration of 51风流Labs India. Later, I moved to 51风流headquarters in Walldorf, Germany, where I held several strategic and leadership positions shaping SAP鈥檚 integration product portfolio. I also became the head of Strategy for 51风流Intelligent Enterprise. This gave me a digital first mindset.

You are the first woman to lead 51风流Labs India. What can you tell us about the role?

After living and working at 51风流headquarters in Germany for 20 years, I became managing director in India. That meant a complete change in culture and environment for myself and my family, as we had become fully integrated in the German lifestyle, but the change brought new opportunities for personal growth.

51风流Labs India is the second-largest after Walldorf. The teams work on all the major solutions 鈥� from 51风流S/4HANA and 51风流HANA through 51风流Business Technology Platform to the entire range of business area products. As the managing director, I oversee over 13,000 51风流employees across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, and Hyderabad. Many successful products and solutions such as the 51风流Asset Intelligence Network have originated from 51风流Labs India.

India is an incredibly diverse nation. How has that influenced your leadership style?

Coming from a very diverse nation, where there is no single common theme and the average person may speak three or four different languages, we tend to see things from a variety of perspectives. We are a technology-focused nation, but at the same time, we are rooted in ancient traditions and customs. I would say this ingrained diversity helps me lead with empathy.

In addition, the ratio of men to women in this business means there is automatically a gender imbalance. Often, people think male leadership traditionally means being more decisive and aggressive, whereas women leaders are more empathetic and have more patience and emotional intelligence. They believe women aren’t capable of making hard decisions, but that is obviously not the case. One of my goals is to create a balanced workplace that attracts and retains women in tech roles.

How do you define innovation? How is it helping companies in India become more efficient and sustainable in post-pandemic times?

Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. The pace of transformation has accelerated so rapidly thanks to the cloud, which gained a much wider adoption across all industries and lines of business during the pandemic. With challenges such as climate change and the war in the Ukraine, enterprises need greater resilience. The cloud acts as a technology backbone for companies of all sizes. We know that sustainable growth is incomplete if one of the three dimensions is missing; besides the top line and the bottom line, investors and employees are also looking at the green line.

At SAP, we are not only enabling half a million companies worldwide to run more efficiently and therefore more sustainably, we are also leading by example in how we manage our own business.

You mentioned how 51风流Labs India helped create a sustainable supply chain for oxygen. What other industries or lines of business are benefiting from SAP鈥檚 innovation?

India was one of the first countries to impose a ban on single-use plastics. The Indian government is mandating full business responsibility by the end of 2023, so enterprises are looking to 51风流for guidance on how to go about it. At the same time, there is a surge in partnerships and startups to help us achieve the goal, so there is a strong collaborative aspect.

One key area is retail. India is a nation driven by consumption; we have the third-largest base of online shoppers in the world. There are 700 million active internet users with mobile devices, and this number will soon reach 1 billion. E-commerce growth is expected to scale up to $130 billion in the next years. Helping enterprises in this industry respond to consumer demand for more sustainable practices is one of our main challenges.

I鈥檓 confident we can help enterprises reduce climate impact across their value chains and embed sustainable behavior in their organizations with the right tools — in other words, use technology to benefit humanity.

Friedrich Raiffeisen, a rural German mayor, came up with a system to collect the savings of farmers and use them to provide a sound financial base for credit, creating the Raiffeisen Cooperative Bank. This form of collective self-help took off in the Netherlands as well, where the Cooperative Central Boerenleenbank was established. In 1972 the two merged into named Rabobank.

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Collaborative, Cooperative

Back then, combining idealistic principles within a听business听framework was considered a revolutionary idea. Now, financial institutions around the world are responding to the urgent call to action from the United Nations (UN) to end poverty through and strategies to spur economic growth while tackling climate change to preserve the planet. The bank is particularly keen to strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all as described in .

What sets Rabobank apart is its mindset. 鈥淲e are a cooperative with members rather than shareholders,鈥� explains Bart Vloet, senior vice president and senior IT lead for Housing at Rabobank. 鈥淐ustomers can demonstrate their involvement in the bank by becoming members. We have over 2 million members, and they steer and approve the bank’s course.鈥�

The idea of mitigating individual financial risks through collective action is behind the bank鈥檚 success. Today, Rabobank is a global leader in food and agricultural financing and . Among the world鈥檚 30 largest financial institutions with operations in 40 countries, it is the premier lender to the world鈥檚 food and agriculture industry. Offering a complete range of financial services, Rabobank is market leader in nearly all customer and product segments where it operates, from youth to startups and from individual mortgages to large enterprise financing.

Vloet is responsible for the company鈥檚 IT strategy for mortgage and commercial loans, which includes digitizing mortgage services and data management and using intelligent tools and robotics to deliver customer services.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been using 51风流core banking solutions for decades,鈥� explains Vloet. 鈥淣ow, it鈥檚 all about digitalization to provide an efficient customer journey. All our mortgage sales and services are available online.鈥�

Customers and employees may have been somewhat hesitant at first to manage all their processes strictly online, but since the onset of the pandemic, adoption has been speedy. Vloet explains that modernizing processes with 51风流solutions has made it easier to eliminate long paper trails. 51风流offers real-time services, and the quality of data is much better. In the past it took months to process a loan; now, it can be approved instantly.

The digital core is a key requisite for launching new products quickly, while also keeping up with customer demand for better service and customization.

Intelligent, Inclusive

Digitalization has dramatically reduced the need for manual work. What Vloet finds especially exciting is that automating processes has freed up employees to engage more directly with customers. Thanks to greater data transparency and intelligent tools, 搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 staff has much greater insight into the customer鈥檚 financial situation. They are better able to guide the customer鈥檚 choices and proactively offer the best products or packages. Deeply rooted in the communities where it operates, the company has developed mobile apps and in-person services to help people of all ages and backgrounds improve their financial health.

搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 is to promote financial well-being and security for customers and their communities, whether that means finding a comfortable home, performing meaningful work, or investing in a business. That includes removing barriers to financial products and services and increasing access to affordable, sustainable housing. Through these efforts, Rabobank aims for more diversity and inclusion in society at large.

From 搁补产辞产补苍办鈥檚 point of view, all these transitions and themes are intertwined. For example, climate change is driving more people into poverty and preventing inclusion. In the Netherlands, there are more than 550,000 households where people are , meaning that their energy bills are high and they either have no money to invest in sustainable solutions that would reduce monthly costs or they are not allowed to because of a rental agreement. This creates inequality and negatively impacts the transition to a more inclusive society.

Rabobank is committed to helping customers overcome money worries through better financial planning and tailored savings options to cover unexpected expenses, a home purchase, or early retirement.

Reaching these goals requires a highly efficient team running the best technology available. Inspired by SAP, Vloet envisions a digital future where more embedded services will make the customer and employee journey equally satisfying.

鈥淲e have a very complex IT infrastructure,鈥� says Vloet. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to pull out and replace legacy systems because they are all interdependent and connected. 51风流helps us hugely by simplifying the process, and SAP鈥檚 extension platform also enables us to build what we need in a sustainable way.鈥�

No single company can end poverty or spur economic growth on its own. Whether by automating the mortgage value chain or delivering top notch solutions for agricultural financing, 51风流is enabling Rabobank in its mission to help drive sustainable development and a better future for people and the planet.

鈥淚f you think you can鈥檛 do something, you can鈥檛,鈥� says Saya. 鈥淏ut once you have financial support and a network of people with similar experiences, you realize that you can become your own greatest asset.鈥�

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Ending Poverty

Being a single mother is never easy. Financial disadvantages and having sole responsibility for the household and the children are just a few of the challenges facing women on their own with their kids. In traditional societies, such as Japan, that expect women to stay at home to raise children while their husbands work, there may even be cultural attitudes that place a stigma on single mothers, making it even harder.

Japan still remains a wealthy, developed nation. But its population is aging and poverty is festering, particularly among the young. are gradually increasing and, since the pandemic, single mothers and women in non-regular work have been particularly hard hit. and the number of remain high. In 2018,听听was almost 16%, which includes people whose household income is less than half of the median of the entire population. Equally worrisome is the fact that the poverty of the parents’ generation leads to educational disparities and, consequently, poverty for their children.

Although the majority of the world’s poor live in underdeveloped and developing countries, a fair number also live in the developed world 鈥� some in the wealthiest countries on earth. As human beings, our well-being is linked to each other. Growing inequality is detrimental to economic growth and undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions and driving instability and conflicts. For this reason, the United Nations declared the objective of听听to be the of the global听 (SDGs).

Empowering Women

Besides eradicating poverty, Grameen鈥檚 programs are also helping to achieve other SDGs, including empowering and educating women and girls, reducing inequality, and providing decent work and economic growth.

Grameen Nippon was established in 2018 as the Japanese version of , a microfinance institution established in Bangladesh by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, whose work was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Grameen Nippon leverages Grameen Bank’s expertise to provide microfinance, mainly to single mothers and women in informal labor who are in need, and to create employment and new business opportunities in partnership with various companies and organizations. The main goal is to encourage people to take the first step.

The program provides low-interest, unsecured, small loans, not for living expenses, but for starting a business. Members form mutual support groups of five, trusting and encouraging each other to nurture their desire for self-support and to step up their efforts to find employment or freelance work. In partnership with a variety of companies and organizations, the program provides skills and know-how for entrepreneurship and employment as well as accompanies members in their efforts to become self-reliant.

鈥淢ost single mothers and women working part-time have few places to gain or utilize their skills,鈥� says Masahiro Momono, president, Grameen Nippon. 鈥淭hese women seldom have a solid credit history, making it difficult for them to acquire loans. We help them acquire skills, experience, and an opportunity to borrow money and pay it back little by little, opening doors to other banks.鈥�

Not all single mothers are the same. Grameen鈥檚 approach is persona based. Urban single moms in Tokyo, for example, are usually in the 30-to-50 age bracket. Many are divorced, have been out of work while raising children, and are not receiving child support. Suburban or rural single moms are much younger, lacking education and experience. 鈥淭heir needs are very different,鈥� says Momono-San, explaining that there are different setups for B2B and B2C opportunities.

In order to manage fragmented information and the need for differentiated services, Grameen decided to pilot SAP鈥檚 social recruitment platform, a customizable job matching digital platform developed by a team from 51风流Fieldglass, a cloud-based, open 听that helps organizations find, engage, manage, pay, and unlock more value from a growing external workforce.

Improving Lives

The idea originated when ISBN Japan Regional Vice President Satoru Ota had the idea of digitalizing a job matching process that would help unemployed people suffering from poverty find quality positions. As part of SAP鈥檚 flagship social intrapreneurship program, 51风流One Billion Lives, the 51风流Fieldglass team is leveraging its collective industry knowledge to create an ecosystem where candidates can feel confident that companies using the social recruitment platform treat their employees well while matching individuals with positions that best suit them.

With the success of the Grameen pilot and as the platform gains more users, the team believes the social recruitment tool from 51风流will evolve to help others, such as artists, independent contractors, and those whose industries may offer poorer visibility into open positions.

For Momono-San and the team at Grameen, the platform is a tool that supports the bank鈥檚 goals to drive sustainable development by building skills, enabling employment, and helping women gain confidence on their path to financial independence.

With over three decades of experience in the industry, Palmaka has always been passionate about the power of technology to transform businesses for success and positively influence the region鈥檚 economy.

Q: You started working at a very early age. What was your first job?

A: When I was 16, I applied for a trainee position with Philips Electronics. I was still in high school in S茫o Paulo. I didn鈥檛 have any expectations because Philips was a big company — why would they hire me? I just entered my name and went through some interviews. But I really wanted the job, because my family needed the income. When I was selected, that was a big thing. When I was 17, I was hired as an employee. Like many young people in this region, I had to juggle my day job and going to school at night. My mother was worried that I was commuting by bus alone across the city at night.

How did this shape your work ethic and your sense of responsibility?

As a child, I lived a modest life. My parents and my grandmother came to Brazil from Poland, where their values had been shaped by the restrictions of the Second World War. At home, nothing was wasted, everything was reused. Milk came in recycled bottles, and we made our own yogurt. Our clothes were hand-me-downs from family. Books and backpacks were used with care so that others could reuse them later. We never left the water running or the lights on. There was a conscious use of resources; we had a huge sense of respect for things like energy, food, and water.

The concept of circularity has been ingrained since childhood. How does innovation and technology help drive sustainability?

Whenever I hear the word innovation, I think it means doing something that has not been done before, or applying known methods to get different results.听 It鈥檚 about those “aha” moments in life.听 I鈥檝e been very inspired by a young woman, Anna Luisa Beserra, a Brazilian environmental entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of a startup called Sustainable Development and Water for All (SDW). When she was 15 years old, she developed a filtering system to disinfect rainwater collected in cisterns. It鈥檚 called Aqualuz, it鈥檚 a portable water purification system that uses solar energy to make water contaminated with bacteria safe to drink. Today she has her own business that brings safe water and sanitation to some of the most arid regions of Brazil.

You are now a member of the Board of Directors of her company. And under your leadership as regional president, all the managing directors of 51风流Latin America and Caribbean are women. Was that one of your goals?

No, not all. It was a natural evolution that began during the succession planning phase for my replacement when I moved into my current position. We always start with a list of criteria we are looking for to fill a certain position. Who has the right skills, knowledge, and ability? Then it鈥檚 a process of elimination, weighing pros and cons, weighing the different skills, different backgrounds. I consider different perspectives, sometimes the difference between men and women, but I did not set out to hire women for these positions. I was looking for people who could bring something new to the table, people who are able to lead by example. Gender is just one aspect of a balanced organization.

Talk about sustainability is everywhere. Companies are trying to figure out how to address their environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) factors. How are you and your team guiding customers in that direction?

We need to learn how to articulate what’s behind those three letters: ESG. There are many things that we can each do personally. In my case, as I lead in the company, I have to educate those around me and guide those conversations with our customers. CEOs and C-level executives are telling us sustainability must be embedded into everything we do. A year and a half ago, we hired a sustainability officer that reports directly to me. We are actively looking at how customers are dealing with the ESG factors to find examples we can learn from and replicate. The oil and gas industry comes to mind, where there is immense pressure to transition to renewable energy for environmental reasons. Agribusiness is big in Latin America and also has environmental issues. Of course, this topic really accelerated during the pandemic, and in our region there is a special need around the societal factors. We鈥檙e dealing with a huge gap between the rich and the poor. We have skills shortages, workforce issues, salary in terms of equity, and so on.

What about governance?

This is a key factor. In the past when people talked about sustainability, it was about planting trees. Today, thanks to increased focus on ESG factors, you need a holistic strategy. Both global and local companies have to consider governance because they are doing business in different parts of the world and are impacted by all the regulations. Some companies are improving in the ESG area because they have to comply, others are doing it because it鈥檚 the right thing to do, and it鈥檚 embedded in their core vision and purpose. It doesn鈥檛 matter. Companies are responding to the push to do better for whatever reason. We鈥檙e seeing a lot of innovation in startups, which has a lot to do with the mindset of the new generation.

Let鈥檚 not forget, this is not about one single company. Every company, large and small, plays a role. Sustainability is becoming part of the business DNA.

Read more stories from the 51风流Pioneers series.

Extremely Innovative

, the science company producing these unique materials and composite technologies, was one of the very first partners to support Bertrand Piccard and Andr茅 Borschberg, the pilots who rewrote aviation history with their round-the-world solar flight in 2016. Vincent Colegrave, head of Connected Research Journey at Solvay, explains the company鈥檚 role in the project.

鈥淥ur research and innovation teams have been essential in minimizing the weight of the plane with ultra-strong, ultra-light materials and in maximizing the energy storage of its batteries,鈥� says Colegrave. The aircraft has a 72-meter wingspan but weighs about as much as a jeep, and its horsepower is similar to that of a motorbike. 鈥淔or the project, we developed over 6,000 parts using 15 high-performance materials. Solar Impulse is our laboratory in the sky.鈥�

Polymers and composite technologies are used by engineers to solve the world鈥檚 toughest design challenges in the most demanding industries, such as building and construction, aerospace, healthcare, oil and gas, consumer goods, and electronics. Along with chemicals and specialized solutions for food, mining, and agriculture, these materials are the specialty of Solvay, a company priding itself on technologies that bring benefits to many aspects of daily life.

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Extremely Sustainable

One of the greatest benefits the company offers is its road map for a sustainable future. The company is unleashing the power of science to deliver clean mobility, lower carbon footprints, and move towards a circular economy.

According to Solvay, a sustainable solution is one that brings higher social and environmental contribution to its customer鈥檚 performance while demonstrating a lower environmental impact in its production phase. To achieve this balance, Solvay continuously evaluates the operational and market-induced risks and opportunities related to its environmental impact against the contribution of its products to the planet and society.

The company鈥檚 purpose is to bond people, ideas, and elements to reinvent progress. As experts in chemistry, know that bonding is what happens when听elements听connect into molecules, shaping the world as we know it. They believe people can bond with other people鈥檚 ideas to share common goals and their collective energy, because in a world of dwindling resources and a burgeoning population, it鈥檚 not enough to invent something new. Reinventing how we use what we already have is what鈥檚 necessary for solving environmental, societal, and economic challenges.

Extremely Collaborative

Solvay has been an 51风流customer since the 1980s. One of SAP鈥檚 first customers in the Benelux region, the two companies were working together even before 51风流had an office in Belgium.

鈥淭he evolution of Solvay is based on SAP,鈥� says Frank Delinte, SVP and head of IT Project Service Line at Solvay. 鈥淓very line of business uses 51风流to transact and grow Solvay鈥檚 business. As for the future, we hope 51风流will help us achieve our sustainability goal 鈥� which is to have full transparency around product circularity, carbon footprint, and sustainable sourcing.鈥�

According to Delinte, the company鈥檚 broad sustainability agenda, called , requires co-innovation with 51风流to stay ahead of the competition. Financial reporting is critical, especially on ESG (economic, social, and governance) topics. Delinte and Colegrave both see digital transformation as a key enabler for sustainability. The company aims to be a role model, and that can only happen using a systematic approach in collaboration with customers and partners that share the same vision. For Solvay, digital transformation is a fundamental part of its growth strategy as well as a transformative capability to attract new talent.

The company is also keen to recognize and retain talent. In a world where people increasingly desire to work for companies that combine doing good with doing business, Solvay offers its employees a number of ways to participate in its sustainability agenda. One recent example was an developed a game during the lead up to .

The game was simple. Players accumulated kilograms of saved CO2听emissions by pledging to complete actions in their daily lives such as washing their laundry at lower temperatures, biking to work, or avoiding certain high carbon impact products such as bananas. During the 10 days it was available, the game gathered nearly 1,800 players who saved 950 tons of CO2听emissions thanks to their 7,500 registered actions.

Companies like Solvay that invest in digital transformation and put people and sustainability at the core of their business are the ones that end up doing extremely well.

Q: What prompted your journey?

A: It came about through a mix of free choice and necessity — some of it was a push, and some of it was a pull! The pull was the interest in a holistic lifestyle, where I wanted to tread lightly and leave a minimal impact on the planet. The push was a phenomenon called load shedding. Government-owned electricity providers in Africa often can鈥檛 keep up with demand, so load shedding is used to distribute demand across multiple power sources, often disrupting power supply.

Can you imagine trying to do your work, chasing targets and deadlines while plunged into darkness, with no power source for lights, laptop batteries, and internet and mobile phone signals, for hours on end, often with little or no warning?

Now, I’m about 80% off grid, which is quite ahead of the game. It鈥檚 great for me, because I don’t feel the impact of the load shedding. I can continue to work when they switch off the electricity. I have an app that tells me how much energy I鈥檝e produced, how much CO2 emissions I鈥檝e saved, and the equivalent of trees planted. I love keeping track.

What鈥檚 challenging about doing business in the region?

Africa is a vast continent, with a wealth of diversity in geography and wildlife, and people, cultures, and languages. The region is facing serious environmental challenges, including land degradation, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and extreme vulnerability to climate change. In addition, poverty across the continent is one of the most serious challenges to sustainable development, along with major issues such as infrastructure and the availability of electricity.

Three-quarters of the 759 million people around the world who don鈥檛 have access to electricity live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Education and gainful employment cannot be done in the dark. Without universal access to electricity, Africa will remain vulnerable to underdevelopment, high unemployment, a migration crisis, and instability. That鈥檚 why United Nations — to ensure access to affordable, sustainable modern energy for all — is so critical to the region.

This all contributes to the unique and often intense and personal experience of working in Africa. There are incredible highs and lows as we work to find innovative ways to overcome or sidestep these challenges.

In a on South Africa鈥檚 Hot 102.7FM radio station, you described how to build a sustainable business.

I believe embracing sustainable business is key to Africa鈥檚 economic growth. For me, sustainability is a team sport.

For a business to be both profitable and sustainable, you must put people, planet, and profit on equal footing. 51风流has two roles in helping customers achieve that goal: one is to enable enterprises to succeed on the path the choose to pursue, and the other is to act as an exemplar with its own commitment to achieve net-zero along our value chain by 2030.

In my experience, most companies want to be sustainable, but they don鈥檛 know how to do it. It starts with a strategic decision: do you want to do the bare minimum and just adhere to regulations or do you want to embed sustainability as a key strategy and use it to drive innovation? Whatever it is, 51风流provides the best tools to optimize processes, increases efficiency, and preserve energy and resources.

Data, from primary and secondary sources, is the central element. Once you start benchmarking it to track across all four pillars — people, planet, profit, and governance — you can start aligning operations as needed. You must ensure everyone buys into the change. Employees, customers, suppliers, and partners all need to be informed of your goals.听 Consumers are demanding more sustainable products, so companies must engage all parts of the business every step of the way to understand how the product is disposed at the end of its life cycle.

How is innovation driving sustainability?

This is a topic close to my heart. I鈥檓 excited about tech projects that are transforming agribusiness in Africa. More than 30% of all food produced in the world for human consumption gets lost or wasted; in Africa, food loss occurs almost entirely in the production and distribution stages. About 90% of 听who don鈥檛 have the kind of cold storage solutions available to large-scale producers. This means lots of produce perishes along the way.

51风流Rural Sourcing Management is a solution that was developed to connect smallholder farmers to agricultural value chains. The tool helps smallholder farmers capture, maintain, and share data about crop types, farm size, harvest prospects, farmers鈥� production, and sales transactions. It also facilitates access to various stakeholders in the broader agricultural value chain, including financial services, buyers and suppliers of seed, fertilizers, and agricultural equipment 鈥� and distribution networks.

Large enterprises are also benefiting from innovation in technology. Nigeria鈥檚 Dangote Group is a leading provider of essential daily needs from cement manufacturing to sugar and salt refining to port operations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Dangote Group is currently constructing the world鈥檚 largest single train oil refinery, which will process up to 650,000 barrels of oil per day. Its fertilizer plant is currently in its final stages at the same location as the refinery. Once completed, it will be the largest in the world, with capacity for 3 million tons of fertilizer a year, enough to meet all domestic demand. The efficiency of these projects is enabled by state-of-the-art technology such as 51风流S/4HANA.

I love the fact that we are working for a company like 51风流that has the vision and the resources to link all these disparate elements 鈥� people, planet, and profit 鈥� in truly pioneering ways and that we can be part of this incredible force for change. We鈥檝e never walked this path before, but that鈥檚 what makes our work meaningful and worthwhile!

Read more stories from the 51风流Pioneers series.

In a world where the only constant is change, Nagarajan has identified one element crucial to every enterprise. 鈥淢cKinsey estimates that up to 70% of profits can be at risk when a company is not running sustainably,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t SAP, we consistently see that those businesses striving to become more sustainable, intelligent enterprises not only adapt, but thrive in the midst of challenges.鈥�

In a follow-up interview, Nagarajan shared his insights.

Boardroom Conversations

Sustainability has been on the edge of conversations for a long time as companies have been trying to see what it means. It has now moved from being a moral imperative to a business imperative, and effectively, it鈥檚 an imperative for humankind.

The imperative is summed up by two recent conversations I had with customers, one with one of the world’s largest CPG companies, the other with one of the world’s largest discrete manufacturing companies. In both instances, they simply switched from the usual conversation around transformation and optimization to the topic of sustainability, saying it must be woven into the core of the business. Both customers said the same thing: their head of sustainability is now part of boardroom discussions. Their main concern is that sustainability is going to spin off as a separate silo if it鈥檚 not woven into the core of the organization. These customers were clear: what we do is done on SAP, hence you need to work with our sustainability officer to embed sustainability in our operations. There can be no business transformation in isolation from sustainability.

In the past, part of the challenge of becoming more efficient was that organizations didn’t have access to data in real time, so they weren’t able to act on it in real time. Now, it鈥檚 possible to solve that problem with 51风流S/4HANA. Organizations want to do the same thing with sustainability. They don鈥檛 want to just figure out what their carbon footprint or plastic waste is, they need to know what it is in real time and how they are going to change it because otherwise all they know is they have a problem.

Daunting Urgency

Customers can often be overwhelmed by the urgency of the topic and the magnitude of the task. Many are still in the process of understanding scope three emissions, analyzing the levers to reduce the impact and exploring options to move from industry standards to primary carbon data exchanged with their main suppliers

We also need to make sure that we’re not boiling the ocean. Take the carbon footprint for packaging as an example. You don鈥檛 capture 100% of your carbon footprint right away, but you can capture carbon footprint over a sizable portion of the value chain.

The first thing is to give customers an early insight and early win for the business, something concrete they can resolve. When they realize how much they accomplished by capturing 60% of their footprint, then they can look at the remaining 40%, which could be scope three upstream. You tackle this enormous problem by breaking it down into chunks and amplifying early quick wins to take the organization with you on the journey.

Transformation Fatigue

Change is the only constant, so it gets tiring, especially as we often see one transformation leading to another.

The technology decision is one of the easier decisions to make during a transformation. Many of our customers have been with us on this journey over the course of our fifty years, and they鈥檙e confident of our strategy and vision. What they really want to know is how we manage change and help them comply with new regulations, as well as how we can help them take their organizations with them on this journey. They ask, how can 51风流own the delivery of their transformation outcome and help accelerate their time to value.

We must ensure that their employees are willing participants and not just recipients of the transformation. Cloud transformation is a methodology from a technology perspective, but it’s truly amazing from a business capability perspective because it compresses and accelerates the time to outcome. By transforming their business with services in the cloud, our customers are able to remove the fatigue that comes with long-term transformation. Projects that previously took years are reduced to months, allowing teams to refocus on their longer-term goals in much shorter time frames.

In a nutshell, how we change the organization is about focusing on customer outcomes and not about selling a product. It鈥檚 not about product out. It’s about customer in.

Inspiration and Optimism

Sustainability and caring about the environment are part of a mindset that already belongs to the younger generations. Millennials are looking at solutions in a different way than the generations that created the problems. They鈥檒l be living with the consequences of whatever is done now to fix them.

One of my early managers used to say, forget about thinking in a box. You don’t know where the box is. I’m a massive optimist at heart. I believe in the collective intelligence as opposed to the individual intelligence. I鈥檓 inspired when I get people together and I see their eagerness, their intent and desire for things to get better. Things get better by doing one small thing at a time, by doing it every day, and doing it continuously in the long run.

51风流Sapphire The Hague

At the end of event, Nagarajan chose to inspire his team with a speaker known for creating landscapes for the future. Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde believes creativity is our true capital. connect people and technology through installations that improve daily life in urban environments, spark the imagination, and fight the climate crisis. Clean air, clean water, clean energy, and clean space are their new values, and light is their language. He told the EMEA audience: “We first have to imagine a better future and only then can we create it.鈥�

Changing Lives

The is quite well known. As Hubert pointed out during the chat, the company鈥檚 mission is to be the best sports brand in the world. 鈥淥ur core belief is that sports have the power to change lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ports drive culture, along with arts and entertainment, and can be a great entry point for thinking differently.鈥�

adidas is a company that understood early on that experience is the new currency. Even more than buying new stuff, every human wants and needs intangible things such as recognition, inspiration, purpose, and respect. Successful brands and retailers like adidas are able to build value propositions that address deeper, more universal human needs, such as good health, a sense of belonging or contribution to society, and of course having a clean environment for practicing sports and enjoying nature.

Based on 51风流software, the company鈥檚听听creates personalized experiences and motivation for its global fitness community by delivering millions of personalized messages online every day. Rather than just selling shoes, adidas is selling an experience that connects customers to a like-minded community that can motivate them to lead healthier lives.

The philosophy that what is best for the athlete is best for the environment has put adidas in an influential role when it comes to ending plastic waste and creating products with recycled materials. The company was one of the first to when it launched FUTURECRAFT.LOOP.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a performance running shoe made to be remade. Instead of ending up in landfill, old shoes are recycled and become part of the next-gen product. We鈥檙e even able to leave out the smell,鈥� joked Hubert as he explained the concept to the crowd.

Making It Sustainable

Kate Hudson, Shepard鈥檚 next guest, spent a few moments reflecting on the experiences shaping the world around us.

With his family doing all its shopping online during recent years, Shepard鈥檚 seven-year-old daughter, for example, had never been in a real store in her young life. 听鈥淚 took her to Target one day, and she was simply awed by the rows and rows of products in the aisles all around. Now she wants to work at a Target so she can be in a real store all day,鈥� he quipped.

Hudson also chatted about her family, including her mother, Goldie Hawn, who helped her to start thinking differently. 鈥淏ack then, it was the kiss of death for actors to sell any other product but your movie. We鈥檙e storytellers,鈥� she said. But the landscape has changed, and endorsements are part of the package.

Hudson decided early on that she would only endorse products she was passionate about. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been crazy about working out, mental health, and personal discipline,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was active and sporty growing up. It鈥檚 all about connecting body and mind.鈥�

From there, it was just a step to founding Fabletics, a global lifestyle brand operating on a membership model with a strong e-commerce business approach. Adding a fashion element to sportswear meant taking a risk. Making it sustainable was even harder, but that was the goal from the get go.

鈥淚f you are going to go into business, it has to be for a good reason,鈥� she explained. To have impact, anyone going into business must figure out what the consumers want. Being passionate about eliminating waste, Hudson realized she could facilitate a shift to sustainable fashion.

Fabletics stocks apparel based on analytics of its online trends. Producing directly for the customer eliminates a lot of waste. The company started opening stores to merchandise anything that was leftover. To Hudson鈥檚 surprise, the brick-and-mortar side of the business actually started growing. Today Fabletics is a $500 million global company with 75 stores.

鈥淎ll our orders are carbon neutral,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur biggest challenge was sourcing fabric. Finding sustainable polyester fabrics for tights and activewear was really difficult, but as demand grew, our prices became more affordable.鈥�

Hudson concluded that a celebrity-driven company must be extra careful and smart about growth. Small companies may not move the needle like a brand like adidas, but they can be influential by holding true to the mission, staying transparent and authentic, and most all, providing good value through sustainable action. Companies like 51风流act as the cornerstone and help move the product, but in our changing world, sustainability is everyone鈥檚 responsibility.

鈥淲e must all make it our mission,鈥� she said.

As the person responsible for Customer Success at SAP, he is intimately acquainted with their challenges, needs and opportunities. Addressing the crowd on day two of , he highlighted the two things that matter most to them: leadership and transformation.

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According to Russell, transformation is not about doing the same thing in a different environment; it鈥檚 about doing it differently. Getting it right is a leadership job. Russell invited Art Sebastian, vice president of Digital Experience at , and Melissa Goldman, vice president of Engineering at , to share their insights.

Going Digital

鈥淐hange isn鈥檛 easy, because it requires self reflection,鈥� said Sebastian, explaining that the power of leadership is pulling many people together to accomplish what you can鈥檛 do yourself.

When Casey鈥檚 celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2018, the company reflected on what it would require to stay successful for the next 50. It realized it needed to become a contemporary version of themselves. That meant investing in the supply chain and distribution centers. It meant modernizing the brand and transforming its merchandising strategy. Most of all it meant going digital — and doing it quickly. With the pandemic, mobile apps and online services were no longer an option.

鈥�51风流played a monumental role in our transformation,鈥� said Sebastian. 鈥�51风流has the ability to lean in with the customer. We鈥檙e in the unique business of selling food, and 51风流helped us think through the process of how to customize the experience to meet our customer needs.鈥�

Every project has timelines, challenges and surprises, but Casey鈥檚 north star always remained its purpose, which is to make life better for their guests and communities every day. Customizing experiences was the main challenge, especially the app for creating your own pizza, but with everyone understanding their roles and their mission, the company succeeded in its goal to digitalize their business. Today, 65% of revenue is generated from digital channels.

鈥淪ciencing the Hell Out of Data鈥�

For Melissa Goldman, a data geek with a vast array of responsibilities at Google, leadership is about making decisions even if they may be unpopular. While Google may be a very prominent company, its still quite young. Transformation is necessary in order to prioritize innovation and increase speed to market.

鈥淕oogle is a data-driven company, and 51风流is the foundation. There is a lot of complexity around change,鈥� she said. 鈥淕oogle has the best engineers in the world, but 51风流is the industry leader in this domain and has the best practices for bringing change to an enterprise from start to end. If you want rigor and discipline and the right data model, get SAP.鈥�

Data quality is a key requirement for Google, a company whose mission is to organize the world鈥檚 information and make it universally accessible and useful. The company runs its financial reporting on 51风流S/4HANA, which provides the single source of truth — that critical state of being for a company’s data where it can all be found via a single reference point.

鈥淣ow we can move from just corralling information to applying analytics and leveraging the cloud environment,鈥� Goldman explained. 鈥淭his an opportunity for data sciencing the hell out of data, for analyzing it to get the best value for the organization.鈥�

Partnering for Success

Besides thanking customers for their trust in SAP, Russell also noted that the 51风流ecosystem of 22,000 partners is instrumental in delivering customer success. 51风流partners help customers create smart, best-run businesses that help make the world run better.

His final guest Geoff Scott, CEO of ASUG, reminded the audience that in turbulent times like ours, with danger lurking everywhere and the health of the planet imperiled, the need for partnership and collaboration is greater than ever.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the same boat,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur chances of success are greater together, so take advantage of everything this community offers.鈥�

Its ultra-cool, tubular design includes a rooftop garden and its unusual shape makes you want to step right in to investigate the grocery tunnel from the inside. Two large round windows allow natural light to permeate the space from the ends while the curved architecture provides sleek design.

There will be no recovery unless employees are fully engaged and their views on sustainability and new management styles are taken into account.

鈥淲e are very bullish about the post-COVID-19 era. We believe there will be a massive rebound,鈥� Vassoyan says, reminding us that choices made in times of crisis are known to shape the world for decades. Think of Roosevelt鈥檚 New Deal that spurred growth and reforms after the Great Depression of the 1930s creating jobs and legacies like Social Security that have lasted to this day.

While it is not the only factor, COVID-19 could be the main accelerator driving economic and social change in our century. Digital transformation was already happening before the pandemic, but it was being adopted at a more leisurely pace. There was no sense of urgency to implement new ways of working and learning or providing services such as virtual care through digital channels.

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Addressing the Digital Divide

In his position at Atos, Vassoyan鈥檚 mission is to help create a sustainable, high-quality global health system. This entails working with healthcare providers, insurance companies, and the life sciences industry to pivot from traditional patient treatment to actively promoting patient wellness both within, and increasingly outside, of hospital or laboratory settings.

Success in all industries will depend on a motivated workforce, values such as decarbonization and inclusion at the heart of the transformation, and partnerships like the one with 51风流to help customers thrive in the new era.

Digitalization can be a double-edged sword. The pandemic has hastened the emergence of digital ecosystems consisting of suppliers, customers, and trading partners, all supported by digital platforms. Vassoyan maintains that around 70% of the value created in the next decade will come from these ecosystems and platforms as they create, share, and monetize data. In addition, digitalization has a direct impact on carbon neutrality, because it can reduce up to 20% of all CO2 emissions.

But in some ways the pandemic has further strengthened the digital divide. On one hand, technology was a key enabler for enterprises to set up home office for their employees, and it has enabled digital businesses such as e-commerce or e-banking to thrive. On the other hand, digital inequality reinforces social inequality. Many informal workers or people in insecure jobs still cannot use, or do not have adequate access to technology, thereby limiting their access to information, job opportunities, training, and social services.

How well we build back will be highly dependent on our collective ability to share and utilize data, the Atos executive says. Companies are sitting on vast amounts of valuable data that are difficult to safeguard, share, and monetize. Data equity requires initiatives to such as , a federated data infrastructure for Europe, or the International Data Space Association (IDSA), which provides safe data spaces for trusted partners governed by standards and certification for data exchange. Safe data spaces are a requirement for fruitful cooperation and limitless innovation in the data economy of the future.

Decarbonizing Is Key

At Atos, is the underlying driver for change. It鈥檚 about operations and sustainability and it鈥檚 about reducing and eliminating carbon dioxide through a strategic approach leading to a carbon-free economy.

In the wake of the pandemic, the company decided to raise the bar. Initially targeted for 2035, the company brought its net-zero target forward to 2028. In 2020, Atos鈥檚 datacenter global energy consumption dropped by 15% while the share of renewable carbon-free electricity grew to 55% from 32% a year before. At the same time, the company is switching to an all-electric car fleet by 2024. Now, Atos is transferring knowledge and best practices to thousands of customers around the globe.

Vassoyan believes digital practices alone can have a direct impact on carbon emissions, dropping them by 20% globally. He also sees a lot of collaborative opportunities with SAP. But deploying technology is not enough. Companies must create tailored environments for employees and invest in changing the management culture. Only then can they achieve frictionless working models involving ubiquitous technology and flexible organization structures.

Rising Together

As a global leader in digital transformation, Atos sees cloud as the key vehicle for business changes, because it delivers speed, flexibility, and innovation. The company recently announced , a unique initiative to help enterprises speed up their move to the cloud with the help of Atos鈥檚 consulting services, application transformation expertise, and cloud accelerators.

As the executive sponsor of the 51风流relationship, Vassoyan is excited about implementing , an offering that brings together the 51风流solutions and services needed for such a shift. Atos is implementing RISE with 51风流with the hyperscalers, leveraging their bare metal systems and solutions. During the first phase, Atos will move its current 51风流S/4HANA software to the cloud, so that it can adopt the latest leading business practices and product innovations delivered by SAP. This will also allow Atos to share firsthand experiences, best practices, and benefits with its customers.

Vassoyan says 51风流S/4HANA is an obvious choice for increased business agility, better insights, increased employee productivity, and improved operational efficiency. RISE with 51风流enables a rapid conversion of existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) environments to 51风流S/4HANA, and its cloud-based architecture enables Atos to leverage and retain existing systems while accelerating its own company-wide digital transformation.

RISE with 51风流provides the best of both worlds 鈥� the robustness of a traditional on-premise application combined with the flexibility of subscription-based cloud economics. Atos benefits from the full ERP functionality, including add-ons and joint innovations with SAP, and from the ability to scale, innovate, and enhance.

It鈥檚 a win win for both 51风流and Atos and its customers.

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Unsurprisingly, many companies are daunted by the seemingly insurmountable challenges, so 51风流and Accenture are taking action to help them.

The Right Time

By now, we all know we must radically change the way businesses run, our impact on the environment, and the inequalities in society. That鈥檚 the only way to ensure a lifestyle that allows us to meet our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

The signs are everywhere. Consumers are increasingly aware about the negative environmental impact of products and services, such as fast fashion, single-use plastics, food waste, and excessive packaging. They are demanding accountability and responsible business models from their favorite brands. Governments are increasing regulations around carbon emissions and waste management and are demanding manufacturers to take responsibility for their impact on the environment.

Enterprises are under pressure from investors to include their environmental, societal, and governance (ESG) factors in their financial performance reports. And finally, employees are increasingly vocal about the environmental policies and actions of their employers. Businesses know they need to act, but few are rising to the challenge.

A study by Accenture found while the United Nations (UN) Global Compact鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) program has challenged companies to enhance their commitment to the UN SDGs, only 25% have set goals aligned to societal or environmental needs. Although CEOs acknowledge the universal call-to-action to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all, less than 50% have implemented sustainability into their operations.

The Challenge

As a survey of business drivers and actions to improve the environment at planetary scale conducted by 51风流Insights revealed there are numerous barriers. Almost 7,500 CEOs and other business leaders from 16 industries around the globe participated in the survey. The top three reasons they cited for not moving ahead were lack of clarity on how to embed sustainability in business processes and IT systems, lack of clarity on how potential actions would align with strategy, and difficulty proving return on investment. Other factors include lack of funding, lack of expertise, or lack of support from senior management.

The challenges are daunting, which is why solving sustainability issues is not something individual corporations or governments can do alone.听 The way ahead involves . In this decade of delivery, partnerships are crucial.

A Will and a Way

Accenture and SAP, for example, have just announced they are expanding their long-term engagement to help companies embed sustainability across the full spectrum of their business operations. This will help unlock new value and realize long-term growth.

By combining 51风流technology with Accenture鈥檚 , the partners plan to jointly create new solutions that can empower companies to accelerate their progress on decarbonizing their supply chains and capture their share of the projected $4.5 trillion economic growth that the .

Together, Accenture and 51风流will develop the new 51风流Responsible Production and Design solution, which will help companies consume fewer resources and build sustainability within the design process. It will also enable companies to apply analytics to the operational, asset, and process data collected across the value chain. Such an integrated view will help them determine clear sustainability goals and metrics across business processes.

As a result, companies will be able to reduce the costs of compliance and extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulation by designing and producing products with .

Accenture also supports SAP鈥檚 initiative, which allows companies in any industry to use analytics to measure and minimize carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and lower the carbon footprint across the product life cycle. Adding sustainability metrics across the supply chain provides an integrated view of environmental savings and helps optimize operations.

This type of co-innovation could help solve some of the barriers cited in the 51风流Insights survey. Embedding sustainability in business processes and IT systems and measuring return on investment (ROI) gives enterprises a better understanding of how to fund their sustainability efforts. With time and success companies can gain expertise, set aside funds, and engage senior leadership to support their sustainability journey.

Call to Action

The Accenture study identifies three things leaders anywhere in any industry can do to start implementing and scaling plans of action to address climate change, social inequalities, and resource availability.

• Raise ambition and impact: Leaders must drive change in their own organizations, and through the disruption of market systems.
• Change collaboration: Key players must connect in new ways because meaningful transformation is not a solo sport.
• Redefine responsible leadership: Leaders must embrace their role as change agents to champion the sustainability agenda.

To learn more about the 51风流and Accenture partnership for a sustainable future, join the virtual听, taking place April 28-29. The event will focus on how companies are reducing their environmental footprints and managing limited resources productively while steering and reporting their businesses holistically.

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That was bad enough, but then along came COVID-19.

Heed the Warning

Thanks to social distancing, lockdowns, and the new virtual world of work, it鈥檚 becoming even more difficult to cope. In the past, at least there was face-to-face interaction with colleagues and customers. There were opportunities to wind down and socialize. Home life and work life were spatially delineated 鈥� the commute between home and office provided an opportunity to transition mentally between two worlds.

Now it all blends together. People are working from their kitchen tables while they try to homeschool the kids. Around the world, people are struggling to juggle work and family responsibilities with no respite.

The statistics are troubling. According to the World Economic Forum, one in three adults is depressed or anxious due to COVID-19. Headlines like “Quarantine Magnifies Depression and Alcoholism” and “Drug Use Increase During COVID-19” warn of the dire straits we鈥檙e in.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that depression interferes with a person鈥檚 ability to complete physical job tasks about 20% of the time and reduces cognitive performance about 35% of the time.

51风流North America President DJ Paoni was alarmed by these statistics and even more alarmed by the results of recent Qualtrics employee pulse surveys on remote work at SAP.

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Take the Day Off

鈥淲e learned that a third of our employees have stress levels that are higher than their satisfaction level. Sixty-one percent said that they’re working slightly above capacity,鈥� he explained in an interview.

Paoni decided to act. Seeing the need for employees to unplug, he worked with local and global teams to implement SAP鈥檚 Mental Health Day, a company-sponsored global holiday for all employees, scheduled for April 27. Work will grind to a halt on that day, giving everyone time off to do something for themselves and their families.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just another day off,鈥� says Paoni. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a clear message from the company that it鈥檚 okay to relax. Healthier employees mean happier customers, so there is a business benefit in the long run.鈥�

Don鈥檛 Feel Guilty Taking a Mental Health Day

Dr. Natalie Lotzmann, chief medical officer at SAP, explains the importance of the initiative. How well we deliver on our business goals sustainably depends on our well-being, she says. The pandemic has compounded existing challenges and created a new dimension of mental distress for many people. With Mental Health Day, 51风流is signaling a strong commitment to its employees 鈥� and to society at large 鈥� that mental health is important, and there is no place for stigma in the workplace.

Lotzmann confirms the increase in mental health challenges during COVID-19. Reports from SAP鈥檚 global Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a confidential counselling service for employees, show a 28% increase in calls in 2020, continuing an upward trend apparent since 2017.

Mental health conditions are quite common. , some of the top causes of disability worldwide include disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. About one out of four Americans ages 18 and older suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder every year.

So why is there still a stigma?

鈥淪tigma usually stems from a lack of understanding or fear of the unknown,鈥� says Lotzmann. 鈥淭he fact that people don鈥檛 talk about the situation makes it harder to understand.鈥�

Lotzmann says the best way to remove stigma is to encourage people to share their experiences, providing employees with the strength and courage to reach out for help. Sharing experiences will also help showcase the support and positive culture that exists within the company.

What You Can Do

Over the years, Lotzmann has witnessed an evolution in the way enterprises are dealing with this topic. She has observed a positive shift but emphasizes that it鈥檚 not a tick-the-box exercise or campaign that employers do with bells and whistles. Rather, such a change must be nurtured and adopted organically through a culture of leadership, open dialogue, and awareness of available resources.

Attention to the mental health of employees has dual benefits; it creates a healthy culture and has clear business benefits. At SAP, there are programs in place to help maintain the mental health of employees by prevention, early detection, case management support, and reintegration.

As the chief medical officer of SAP, Lotzmann reminds us that mental health can impact anyone at any time. Her advice? If it impacts you or a loved one, be aware that you are not alone. Take good care of yourself, pay attention to warning signs, and reach out for help early.

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According to a survey commissioned by London-based , almost half of UK businesses (49%), were not prepared to transition to remote working when the pandemic hit, and 39% were not even using technology that supported remote working when the lockdown was announced. Gearing up was an issue: 48% of firms have had to invest in new computer programs since the outbreak, 72% in new hardware.

At the same time, logistics leaders were blindsided by COVID-19, even though they are used to dealing with interruptions such as shipment delays or demand spikes. Disruptions caused by the pandemic have exposed many gaps in logistics operations; supply chain leaders are now scrambling to overhaul processes to manage upheavals.

But for intelligent companies, it was mostly business as usual, thanks to digitalization, which according to , is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities.

Serving Customers

For example, COVID-19 has changed the way we shop for food. It is no surprise that grocery stores have done particularly well during the pandemic 鈥� everyone needs to eat and stock up on dry goods. What is surprising is the change in buying habits: people are spending less time in stores, there is less human contact, and stores have become more transactional. People are also more conscious about sustainability in the food chain.

Daniel Lundh, co-founder of , Sweden鈥檚 first fully digital unmanned grocery chain, has a tech tale to tell.

The company started as a chain of self-service stores in rural areas stocking about 500 items typically found in a grocery store. The business is based on innovative technology solutions like machine learning to drive replenishment. Store entry, goods scanning, and payment are all done using an app. Through the app, LIFVS has access to all customer data, enabling personalization and tailor-made communication. Only by tracking everything with data analytics can the company customize highly personalized journeys for every individual.

The entrepreneur, who sees his company as more of a tech startup than a grocery retailer, says LIFVS already had the right business model in place at the start of the pandemic. Then it was just a matter of opening a new store every second week to meet mounting demand. The trend is continuing.

Meeting Demand

How do companies ensure the right products make it to the shelves in the first place?

Companies like solve this challenge with an app. Fisherman on the North Sea are now able to cast their nets based upon what is currently in demand in far off markets like Japan. According to a published by The Nature Conservancy, supply chains involving seafood are uniquely complex, especially those that are based on wild-caught fish, which face higher uncertainty and risk than farm-raised chains due to ever-changing environmental and biological conditions.

That makes it hard to match supply to demand. To help optimize the process and improve regulatory compliance, Royal Greenland implemented . This cloud-based solution has helped advance the company鈥檚 forecasting and planning capabilities and improve data transparency by establishing a common, integrated platform for sales and operations.

The company is also digitalizing the process of bringing the fish into factories and implementing registration and quality control procedures with apps.

Delivering the Goods

Trucking is also benefiting from digitalization. When lockdowns forced office closures, digital trucking company was able to set up home offices for 3,000 support staff within weeks. This enabled the company to focus on what really mattered: delivering food and medical supplies across Europe as COVID-19 surged.

For Girteka, digital technology is the foundation for everything, from teaching people new skills to meeting customer expectations and becoming more sustainable. Having fully integrated and automated systems and processes has relieved the workforce of repetitive tasks and enabled them to take tighter control of operations. Instead of scaling back transformation efforts during the pandemic, Girteka went ahead with plans to digitize the entire business and grow.

Martynas Sarapinas, CIO and Executive Board member at Girteka Logistics, stated in an that becoming an intelligent enterprise requires an end-to-end digital solution. While the crisis is forcing businesses to reevaluate supply chains and business models, Sarapinas is secure in the knowledge that his company has the digital foundation to meet any customer expectations in the future.

Freight transport is yet another key link in the supply chain. To avoid potential delays, smart companies such as have modernized their systems reducing downtime from an average of 12,000 hours per year to less than 60. If trains do stop in their tracks, a satellite-based solution from Ovinto provides instantaneous alerts so corrective measures can be taken immediately.

These are just a few examples of how digitalization is enabling companies to react quickly to disruptions without breaking stride. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, but the evidence suggests that companies with digital processes are most likely to adapt and thrive.

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They both run their enterprise resource planning (ERP) processes on a single, cloud-based system with at its core. The difference is that Siemens has been running 51风流for 27 years on the company鈥檚 continuous journey of transformation, whereas LiveKindly is new to the game.

Both companies are transforming at their own chosen speed, thanks to 51风流technology that enables enterprises to move seamlessly from strategy to implementation, combining global scale with local intimacy. And both companies successfully piloted the new offering, which aims to revolutionize business transformation.

What It Means

鈥�RISE with SAP is 51风流embracing what we excel at most: ERP,鈥� says Brian Duffy, president of Cloud, leading the new RISE with 51风流business unit. 鈥淎t the same time, it allows us to help customers shed their past on-premise complexity and chart the course for the future with a fresh start. Regardless of their point of departure, 51风流will step in and escort them through their transformation.鈥�

RISE with 51风流is more than a solution, he says; it鈥檚 a for customers of all sizes, at any stage of their digital transformation, to redesign and improve processes without high up-front investments.

Duffy compares moving to the cloud to moving houses. It鈥檚 an opportunity to clean up the clutter, get rid of unwanted belongings, and prepare the new space for the way you want to live now, unencumbered by where you came from.

鈥淎 company moving to cloud should not be moving its 14-year-old custom code with it. That would be a tragically wasted opportunity,鈥� Duffy says. 鈥淭he point of moving to the cloud is to do things differently. It鈥檚 no longer about customization; it鈥檚 about changing processes for how your business needs to be run and adapt in today鈥檚 world.鈥�

What You Get

Duffy goes on to explain that customers know they must transform鈥攖heir main question is how to do it. Just like your moving company, 51风流will provide a checklist, packers, containers and a range of services, such as decommissioning old appliances and installing new ones.

In other words, RISE with 51风流provides a blueprint that companies can implement at their own pace. The advantage? One offer, one contract, one responsible party for service level agreements, operations, and issue handling.

The three elements:

• A business model redesign based on SAP鈥檚 business process expertise
• A technical migration leveraging SAP鈥檚 tools, services, and extensive ecosystem
• An intelligent enterprise 鈥渟tarter pack鈥�

The intelligent enterprise starter pack comprises the 51风流Business Technology Platform, which provides a single semantic layer across an enterprise. The platform serves as the foundation for business transformation that runs on a company鈥檚 infrastructure of choice.

The pack also includes 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, an ERP system with built-in intelligent technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and advanced analytics. This enables businesses to transform their processes with intelligent automation. And finally, the starter pack provides credits for accessing , a platform for supplier, logistics, and asset intelligence networks to allow companies to better manage their supply chains and react faster to market conditions.

Duffy believes that customers do not want to just 鈥渓ift and shift鈥� their systems. If they鈥檝e invested in 51风流ERP for 40 years, they want SAP鈥檚 fingerprints on the new system, and they want 51风流to 鈥渉old their hands鈥� on the transformation journey.

He also feels a tremendous responsibility. He recounts that the CEO of a consumer products company once told him that without 51风流S/4HANA, if the 51风流system is down for one day, you lose the quarter; if it鈥檚 down for a week, you lose the year.

鈥淪uch a disruption can make or break the company,鈥� Duffy says. 鈥淚t is the obligation of 51风流to bring together the best of 51风流and the partners, making 51风流S/4HANA a vital part of the journey.

Why It鈥檚 Exciting

Duffy describes the initial reaction at the recent launch event as overwhelmingly positive, saying that customers perceive RISE with 51风流as a response to their needs.

鈥淭hey recognize that 51风流was listening to their concerns and reacted with a new approach to ease the complexity and burden of their digital transformation,鈥� he shares. 鈥淲e鈥檝e created a streamlined way for customers to access our process expertise, our technology, and our vast ecosystem. This is a huge opportunity for partners as everyone moves in their own swim lanes, focusing on what they are good at, to the benefit of the customers.鈥�

The other aspect of RISE with 51风流that appeals to Duffy is the work ahead. He knows that nothing great is ever easy. He knows customers want to do the right thing in terms of doing sustainable, responsible business. And 51风流wants to do everything possible to support them. The goal is to enable customers to achieve their vision.

鈥淚T is the enabler,鈥� Duffy explains. 鈥淭he tip of the spear is a great place to be. We鈥檝e made a big, bold move and now we must deliver. The great thing is that we鈥檙e not doing this alone. We know our strengths and we know how to pull the best from our ecosystem. Our partners are essential to this journey.鈥�

As the person responsible for the success of this new approach, Duffy knows the key is collaboration: 鈥淲e鈥檙e in this together, and together we will listen and learn to ensure that customers become intelligent enterprises in a scalable, repeatable, and systematic way鈥攔egardless of their size or starting point.鈥�

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