51风流is now the second-fastest growing cloud company, having successfully moved thousands of customers to the cloud over the past several years as part of the company鈥檚 strategic transformation.

鈥淥ur customers want flexibility, reliability, and security from SAP, but they also want sustainability,鈥� said Scott Russell, member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE, Customer Success. 鈥淥ur RISE with 51风流and GROW with 51风流solutions help customers move to cloud data centers, which play a significant role in helping them achieve their net-zero targets and deliver more sustainable practices throughout their business processes.鈥�

51风流and other cloud providers are increasingly investing in building and operating green data centers. Green data centers prioritize sustainability, aiming to minimize environmental impact and carbon footprints. To minimize the negative environmental impact, SAP-owned data centers run with 100% renewable electricity. The company achieves a 鈥済reen cloud鈥� by investing in high-quality, EKO energy-certified energy attribute certificates (EACs) to support renewable energy generation. These facilities incorporate energy-efficient design principles, use renewable energy sources, and employ eco-friendly cooling methods.

Moving SAP鈥檚 data centers to more energy efficient cloud computing is a key part of our own carbon emissions management. SAP鈥檚 net-zero commitment goes far beyond SAP鈥檚 internal data center usage. 51风流aims to reduce or ensure renewable electricity for all cloud computing usage by customers, including partner hyperscaler data centers running 51风流solutions. Even when RISE with 51风流and GROW with 51风流customers opt to use hyperscalers, the partner data center鈥檚 emissions relating to 51风流customer usage is accounted for in SAP鈥檚 own scope 3 emissions reporting.

Cloud computing, whether in an 51风流data center or a partner hyperscaler data center, offers several sustainability advantages over traditional on-premise computing. There are many ways cloud computing contributes to net-zero strategies:

Energy Efficiency
Cloud service providers operate large-scale data centers that are optimized for energy efficiency. These data centers are designed with advanced cooling systems, efficient hardware, and virtualization techniques, which reduce energy consumption compared to individual, on-premise servers. Cloud providers can achieve economies of scale and consolidate computing resources, leading to more efficient energy usage.

Resource Utilization and Scalability
On-premise computing often results in underutilized servers, as organizations typically focus their infrastructure to handle peak workloads. This leads to a significant amount of idle computing capacity during periods of low demand. Cloud computing allows organizations to dynamically scale their computing resources based on demand. Instead of overprovisioning on-premise infrastructure to accommodate future growth, businesses can easily scale up or down in the cloud. This scalability feature eliminates the need for excessive hardware purchases and allows efficient resource allocation, minimizing the environmental impact.

Shared Infrastructure
Cloud computing allows multiple users to share the same infrastructure, reducing the overall number of physical servers required. This shared model optimizes resource utilization, decreases hardware manufacturing demands, and lowers energy consumption and electronic waste generation.

Data Center Location
Some cloud providers strategically select data center locations based on factors such as access to renewable energy, cooling efficiency, and local climate conditions. They aim to place data centers in regions with lower electricity costs and higher availability of renewable energy, optimizing their operations for energy efficiency.

Direct Renewable Energy Purchases
Hyperscalers are increasingly signing long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewable energy providers. These agreements ensure a stable and predictable supply of renewable energy at competitive prices. By directly purchasing renewable energy, companies can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and support the growth of renewable energy projects. They often invest in wind, solar, and hydroelectric power plants.

On-Site Renewable Energy Generation
Some cloud providers are building renewable energy infrastructure on-site. They construct solar arrays, wind farms, or other renewable energy facilities near their data centers to generate electricity. These on-site renewable energy projects enable the companies to have greater control over their energy supply and reduce transmission losses associated with transporting energy from remote locations.

Energy Attribute Certificates and Carbon Offsets
Cloud providers may purchase energy attribute certificates or carbon offsets. EACs represent the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation and can be bought to match the company’s electricity consumption. Carbon offsets, on the other hand, allow companies to invest in projects that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions to compensate for their own carbon footprint.

Grid Integration and Renewable Energy Contracts
Some cloud providers collaborate with local power grids and governments to support the development of renewable energy infrastructure. They enter into contracts that incentivize the grid operators to increase the share of renewable energy in their overall energy mix. This collaboration promotes the growth of renewable energy in the local region and enables the hyperscalers to access cleaner energy sources.

Innovation and Research
Cloud providers invest in research and development initiatives to explore new technologies and methods for renewable energy integration. They actively participate in collaborations and partnerships with academia, government agencies, and other industry players to drive innovation in renewable energy storage, management, and utilization. These efforts aim to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy and overcome the challenges associated with its scalability.

Collaboration and Remote Work
Cloud computing facilitates remote collaboration and remote work, reducing the need for employees to commute as frequently to physical offices. This leads to a decrease in carbon emissions associated with transportation.

Large cloud computing companies are reducing their carbon footprints and contributing to net-zero programs around the world. RISE with 51风流and GROW with 51风流have strong momentum in helping move 51风流customers to the cloud and helping both 51风流and customers achieve ambitious climate action goals.

Michael McComb is global head of Sustainability Communications at SAP.

Up until now, nearly 1,800 companies, including SAP, have committed to becoming net zero across their value chains. These commitments aim to achieve an emissions state consistent with societal climate and sustainability goals and within the biophysical boundaries of the planet. At the beginning of 2022, 51风流committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. The United Nations鈥� Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines net zero as that point when 鈥渁nthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.鈥� The Paris Agreement sets out the need to achieve this balance by 2050.

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A company鈥檚 net-zero emissions target is a climate action target in which a company aims to reduce its emissions to zero, on a net basis. The term 鈥渘et鈥� comes from the view that most companies will not be able to operate without emitting at least some greenhouse gases, so they will need to remove their unavoidable residual emissions from the atmosphere to get to net zero.

Getting to net zero is not easy or straightforward. Questions remain on how companies develop their net-zero emissions targets and ensure their decarbonization strategies track to ambitious pathways. Challenges exist, such as inconsistently defined net-zero targets, what emission sources and activities should be included, timelines to achieve the goals, and how companies plan to achieve their target.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is one of the leading global initiatives that helps companies set ambitious emission reduction targets and credible decarbonization strategies. The SBTi鈥檚 Corporate Net-Zero Standard is the world鈥檚 first framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science. It includes the guidance, criteria, and recommendations companies need to set science-based net-zero targets consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5掳C above pre-industrial levels.

The scope of science-based targets for net zero is broad, encompassing all relevant greenhouse gas emissions across a company’s value chain, including direct emissions from operations (Scope 1), emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2), and indirect emissions from upstream and downstream sources such as business travel, employee commuting, purchased goods and services, or products in use (Scope 3).

This SBTi framework includes a set of criteria that companies must meet to ensure that their targets are scientifically robust and credible. These criteria include:

• Complete an emission inventory following the GHG Protocol.
• Set near- and long-term science-based targets to reduce value chain emissions.
• Implement a strategy to achieve science-based targets.
• Disclose target progress annually.

To claim to have reached net zero, companies must neutralize the impact of emissions that remain unabated in the long-term net-zero target year. Examples of such counterbalancing activities include purchasing carbon credits that support programs that prevent deforestation or support reforestation or investing in carbon-dioxide removal (CDR) technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) with permanent geological carbon storage. The SBTi allows a maximum of 10% removals for a long-term net-zero target and does not allow the traditional use of offsets anymore, except to achieve short-term targets as an interim transition step. Consequently, the Net-Zero Standards expects companies to radically reduce emissions by 90% by no later than 2050.

To set a science-based target for net-zero, a company must first conduct a detailed assessment of its greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, including identifying emissions sources and determining the extent of its emissions across its value chain. Based on this assessment, the company can set an ambitious, measurable emissions reduction target consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goals and aligned with the best available science. Beyond the assessment, companies then need to set ambitious targets and actionable strategies, both near- and long-term to reduce value chain emissions.

鈥淲e are currently assessing our net-zero reduction pathway and corresponding reduction strategies across a number of areas of the 51风流business to meet the demanding requirements of the SBTi,鈥� said Lilli-Jane Popp, sustainability specialist at SAP. 鈥淲e want to continually use the highest standards and use the latest science in setting targets and developing our plans to achieve net zero by 2030.鈥�

Scope 3 emissions are challenging to reduce yet they are where most emissions occur in a company鈥檚 value chain. They are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur outside of operations, like emissions produced by suppliers and customers when using the company鈥檚 products. These emissions are considered difficult to account for because they depend on a complex network of suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders. Accounting for Scope 3 emissions requires a deep understanding of a company’s value chain, a commitment to collecting and analyzing data, and collaboration with suppliers and other stakeholders.

Delivering and disclosing progress on their decarbonization targets helps companies reduce their environmental impact, improve their reputation and brand value, and attract environmentally conscious consumers and investors. Also, by setting science-based targets, companies can ensure that they are prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy and avoid the risks associated with climate change, such as regulatory changes, reputational damage, and physical impacts.

However, achieving net-zero targets to limit global warming to 1.5掳C will require significant effort and investments from companies and strong collaboration across sectors. But it is essential for ensuring a sustainable and livable future. According to the latest IPCC report, we have already reached 1.1掳C of warming above pre-industrial levels. We are living in a decisive decade for climate action with our planet warming at an unprecedented pace. Companies must align with the most ambitious, credible, and robust frameworks, like the SBTi, to reach global net zero by 2050 at the latest.

Michael McComb is global head of Sustainability Communications at SAP.

The time has come to deliver on the ambitious commitments and public goals that many companies have set to tackle climate change, safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and fight inequality. The 鈥渨hat鈥� we need to do has never been clearer. The focus is now on 鈥渉ow鈥� companies operationalize sustainability and turn ambition into results at the scale that aligns with the scope of their influence and global issues. In of sustainability leaders, experts around the world agree that action and impact are two of the defining features in this new area of leadership and rising expectations.

GlobeScan and 51风流have developed 鈥� a new platform featuring real-world examples of how leading companies are operationalizing sustainability at scale. This initiative goes beyond the high-level narratives and digs into how leading companies are tackling and implementing solutions to specific sustainability challenges and opportunities. Drawing on the experience of some of the world鈥檚 most sustainable and innovative companies, these case examples share valuable insights and learnings to help advance the work of sustainability and business leaders at any point in their sustainability journey.

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Practical, Powerful Insights for Key Questions

The initiatives featured on Sustainable Business Now focus on timely challenges and opportunities that are top-of-mind for chief sustainability officers and business leaders across sectors and geographies. For many companies, these represent some of the most material issues and priorities for influential stakeholders, from investors and customers to governments and civil society. Our conversations with sustainable business leaders get at the heart of what it takes to embed sustainability into business strategy and operations, thereby integrating sustainability across a company鈥檚 value chain.

Key topics Sustainable Business Now explores include:

• How to decarbonize complex supply chains and tackle hard-to-transition sectors
• How to tackle the waste crisis and move towards a circular economy
• How to integrate sustainability into finance and decision-making
• How to advance inclusion and tackle inequality across the value chain
• How to promote inclusive local development by improving the impact and scale of social programs

Learnings from Leading Companies

Sustainable Business Now launches with a diverse set of case examples from some of the most innovative and sustainable companies around the world:

• Anglo American shares insights on how to improve the impact and scale of social programs: Jon Samuel, group head of Responsible Business Partnerships, and Mzila Mthenjane, Exxaro鈥檚 executive head, Stakeholder Affairs, discuss how the company and its partners have designed and adapted their Collaborative Regional Development (CRD) program to address the most compelling social needs and opportunities in each region. 鈥淲e are pleased to be one of the first case studies featured on Sustainable Business Now,” says Samuel. “The challenges societies face in meeting the SDGs are so large and complex that only by working across sectors and organizations can we achieve the results we need. While CRD isn鈥檛 a silver bullet, our evidence shows that the approach has real potential to improve the impact of the private sector.鈥�
• Natura shares advice on how to integrate sustainability into finance and decision-making: Natura developed its Integrated Profit & Loss (IP&L) model to translate the company鈥檚 environmental and social impacts into financial terms. Natura &Co Latin America鈥檚 Sustainability Director Denise Hills and Chief Financial Officer Silvia Vilas Boas explain how Natura鈥檚 IP&L model creates value across its businesses. 鈥淲e believe that IP&L is a new breakthrough that will inform strategic thinking and decision-making across organizations. The more companies that take ownership of this methodology, the closer we get to a society that generates greater shared value for all. By sharing the framework and our learnings on Sustainable Business Now, we hope more companies will adopt this important approach,” says Hills.
• 脴谤蝉迟别诲 offers insight into how to decarbonize your supply chain: In 2021, 脴谤蝉迟别诲 became the first energy company to set a science-based goal to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2040. Senior Director and Head of Global Sustainability Ida Krabek and Chief Procurement Officer Virginie Van de Cotte share insights on the journey so far, the challenges, and their advice to others on how to decarbonize their supply chains. 鈥淎cknowledge that this is challenging and it’s challenging for everyone. That’s why we’ve chosen to take this very collaborative approach and to create these ripple effects,” says Krabek. “What is helpful in the whole sustainability space is that we collaborate, that we share, that we inspire, that we set expectations, and we follow up.鈥�
• Unilever shares guidance on how to advance inclusion and tackle inequality across your value chain: Central to Unilever鈥檚 Compass business and sustainability strategy is an ambitious commitment to ensure that everyone who directly provides goods and services to Unilever will earn at least a living wage or income by 2030. Unilever鈥檚 Chief Sustainability Officer Rebecca Marmot explains why the business decided to make such a bold move and the steps it has taken to navigate this complex undertaking: 鈥淟iving wages are an effective and measurable way to tackle inequality. A unified approach can unlock progress across the sustainable development goals and add US$4.56 trillion to global GDP every year.”

We are having many more conversations with others and plan to add more cases on an ongoing basis.

We hope you are as excited as we are about Sustainable Business Now and we look forward to working with the community and hearing your feedback. If you, your company, or someone you know may be interested in sharing insights from your work and contributing to the dialogue, please reach out to the team to learn more: contact@sustainablebusinessnow.org.

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

Chris Coulter is CEO of GlobeScan.
Michael McComb is global head of Sustainability Communications at SAP.

The inaugural 2021 Terra Carta Seal recognizes global companies that are driving innovation and action toward the creation of genuinely sustainable markets. It is awarded to companies whose ambitions are aligned with those of the , a recovery plan for Nature, People, and Planet, by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

鈥淭he Terra Carta Seal recognizes those organizations which have made a serious commitment to a future that is much more sustainable, and puts Nature, People, and Planet at the heart of the economy,鈥� HRH The Prince of Wales said. 鈥淲e all need to make changes if we are to preserve the planet for our children and grandchildren and these businesses have pledged to make it easier for us all to do so.鈥�

51风流is one of an inaugural group of 44 companies awarded the Terra Carta Seal. The seal is given to industry-leading companies that have credible transition road maps to achieve net zero by 2050 or earlier underpinned by globally recognized scientific metrics.

Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE, expressed the company鈥檚 gratitude for being named a Terra Carta Seal recipient: 鈥淎t SAP, we focus on driving sustainability into all areas of business to help lead the transition to a sustainable future, and we want to lead by example. We accelerated our pledge to become carbon neutral and we’re now set to achieve that by 2023, two years earlier than originally planned.鈥�

He added that SAP鈥檚 impact goes well beyond its own operations. 鈥淲e’re proud of the sustainability work we鈥檝e done with our own company. That said, we know the biggest impact we can have is by helping other companies operate their businesses more sustainably.鈥�

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Launched by His Royal Highness at the One Planet Summit in January 2021, the Terra Carta provides a practical road map to accelerate the transition toward an ambitious and sustainable future. The aim is to harness the power of nature in combination with the transformative power, innovation, and resources of the private sector. Currently, there are over 400 named supporters of the initiative.

The Terra Carta serves as the mandate for the (SMI), a global network of CEOs who share the vision to accelerate global progress toward a sustainable future.

Like SAP, the Terra Carta recognizes that each industry faces unique challenges in its transition to a sustainable future. Since they are all at different stages of their journey, they also require varying types and levels of support. At the same time, urgent action is required if we are to achieve the 1.5掳C target, restore biodiversity, and positively impact the lives and livelihoods of current and future generations.

鈥淭ogether, we have to build a regenerative economy in which all people can thrive. Technology innovation can help us do that. But time is limited, so we need to apply technology as an accelerator and multiplier for a positive impact,鈥� Klein said. 鈥淲hile we are proud of SAP’s 50-year history, we believe that for all of us, the next 50 years will be the most important in human history. We have to collectively come together to tackle the biggest challenges of our time.鈥�

COP stands for 鈥淐onference of the Parties鈥� — the parties are the governments that have signed on to a United Nations climate change framework. COP brings these governments together once a year to discuss how to jointly address climate change. The conferences are attended by world leaders, ministers, and negotiators but also by representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business, international organizations, and the media.

COP26 is different. It is considered a . The parties will review progress on the Paris Agreement made at COP21 in 2015. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty signed by almost all countries in the world to keep the rise in the global average temperature under 2潞C and ideally to 1.5潞C above pre-industrial levels.

Unfortunately, progress overall has been slow. Most countries have not achieved their Paris targets. Add to this a issued earlier this year that warns of increasingly extreme heatwaves, droughts, and flooding, as well as a key temperature limit being broken in just over a decade. The report has been called a 鈥渃ode red for humanity.鈥� The UN Secretary General has made it clear that there is no time for delay and no room for excuses. We can still avert climate catastrophe, but governments must make COP26 a success.

51风流has : they need to agree on ambitious policies that will give business the mandate to drive innovation and action at scale.

Last week, 51风流CEO Christian Klein outlined the importance of COP26 and the role business plays in chasing zero emissions and zero waste to achieve shared ambitions for a sustainable future. As a global multinational company with more than 100,000 employees worldwide, we are leading by example. 51风流Chief Sustainability Officer Daniel Schmid outlines how the company is delivering its corporate pledge to be carbon-neutral by 2023 and help other companies drive end-to-end sustainable performance with technology as a critical enabler in making the net-zero economy a reality.

. More than 30,000 people are expected to get involved in the meeting live and . Government negotiations are the key activity at COP, but the event also features a range of activities for the public, including corporate and NGO exhibits, side events, high-level meetings, report launches, and exhibitions.

51风流is participating in a number of COP26 programs and activities both in Glasgow and virtually.

51风流is a of the and executives are participating in key sessions:

• 
  51风流Executive Board Member and CFO Luka Mucic
  November 8, 2021, 4:30 p.m. GMT
• 
  51风流Executive Board Member and Head of Customer Success Scott Russell
  November 10, 2021, 2:25-2:45 p.m. GMT
• 
  51风流Chief Sustainability Officer Daniel Schmid
  November 10, 2021, 9:15-9:55 a.m. GMT

51风流and its sustainability experts are also participating in other various sessions and forums across COP26:

• Unlocking the Promise of Sustainability in Asia-Pacific, a Fireside Chat with Anita Varshney and heads of Sustainability from 51风流and Accenture
  November 3, 2021, 9:00 a.m. GMT ()
• A World Economic Forum Affiliated Session Achieving Shared Sustainability Goals
  November 3, 2021, 9:00-10:00 a.m. CET (Register )
• Panel on Scaling Up Innovative Digital Solutions for Climate Action, hosted by UNFCCC, European Commission, and GIZ, with Daniel Schmid
  November 4, 2021, 5:00 p.m. GMT ()
• Digital Solutions to Environmental Problems: Use Cases, Policy Approaches, with Thijs Eiling and Vodafon and Nokia executives
  November 4, 2021, 4:00 p.m. CET ()
• Accenture Panel Discussion on Business and Nature with Daniel Schmid
  November 8, 2021, 9:30-11:00 a.m. GMT ()
• One Carbon World Workshop on Climate Science-Based Targets and What It Means for Your Organization with Marcus Wagner
  November 8, 9:30 a.m. GMT ()
• One Carbon World Workshop on How Your Business Can Save the Planet with Jonas Dennler
  November 8, 2021, 9:30-10:30 a.m. GMT ()

COP26 is a critically important period when it comes to climate action. 51风流will make several announcements over the period communicating the company鈥檚 .