Yet a curious trend has emerged: many companies are pursuing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals more discreetly, a phenomenon known as 鈥済reen-hushing.鈥� In fact, found that while some companies have pulled back, about 84% are either maintaining or strengthening their climate commitments, even as they become less vocal about them. This demonstrates that despite shifting political winds, businesses recognize that sustainability initiatives remain fundamentally good for business.

A comprehensive and conducted by Economist Impact confirms this shifting landscape, revealing growing confidence in procurement鈥檚 capacity to deliver on ESG performance indicators. While risk factors are rising, so is readiness鈥攁 shift that is especially encouraging for procurement executives overseeing ESG performance. The data shows approximately 90% of respondents report strong internal collaboration between procurement and other departments, up from 75% last year.

The external picture is equally promising: over 90% of executives report that deeper supplier partnerships are yielding benefits, particularly in driving innovation and sustainability outcomes. For procurement leaders, the data tells a clear story: collaboration may be the new currency of success.

Collaboration: The silent engine of progress

Procurement鈥檚 strategic influence is expanding through tighter integration with internal stakeholders. As teams become more embedded across business functions, they鈥檙e unlocking new value through improved orchestration and proactive planning. Specialized business partner groups that bridge strategy and execution are helping meet cross-functional needs.

This enhanced collaboration has yielded key benefits, including cost savings (74%) and improved digital adoption (61%). However, a gap remains between these immediate gains and longer-term value drivers like innovation and agility. As procurement operations continue to digitize, talent development must adapt. AI proficiency and ethical technology have emerged as the top skill priorities for procurement hires over the next 12-18 months (68%), followed by sustainability expertise (55%).

Enabled by digital tools that deliver 鈥�360-degree visibility,鈥� procurement executives are seeing alignment between category strategies and broader enterprise objectives, helping them spot risks, understand market shifts, and manage supplier performance more effectively.

Supplier partnerships: Accelerating ESG progress and innovation

Forward-thinking procurement organizations are now partnering with suppliers to introduce solutions like recyclable packaging, greener materials, and low-emission logistics. These collaborations are accelerating decarbonization efforts while helping future-proof supply chains.

Despite decreased governmental prioritization of sustainability in some regions, smart companies continue pursuing ESG goals when they align with business objectives. Nearly half (48%) of executives report improved sustainability performance from closer supplier ties, and 38% cite more supplier-driven innovation.

Many procurement teams are navigating uncertainty around their ESG approach, questioning whether to lead sustainability initiatives boldly or keep their efforts under the radar amid regulatory shifts. Regardless of this strategic tension, the value of supplier collaboration remains undeniable, particularly as these efforts often improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

Procurement can strengthen this momentum by investing in platforms that track emissions, monitor regulatory developments, and support compliance. Many organizations are expanding efforts to address Scope 3 emissions鈥攖ypically the most challenging to measure鈥攚ith increasing sophistication around supplier data collection and performance expectations. This shift reflects increased accountability across the value chain and reinforces procurement鈥檚 pivotal role in advancing ESG objectives.    

While public sentiment and political consensus may fluctuate, regulators continue to advance mandatory disclosure requirements and climate accountability measures. Preparation is especially urgent as new policies鈥攆rom the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive to Germany鈥檚 Supply Chain Due Diligence Act鈥攊mpose stricter requirements on businesses.

Even if some regulations face delays or deprioritization, they are not disappearing. Organizations that act now will be best positioned to lead when enforcement inevitably intensifies.

Meeting elevated standards through supplier collaboration

The evolution of procurement鈥檚 influence rests on one fundamental capability: collaboration.

Internally, effective collaboration drives digital adoption, reduces costs, and breaks down organizational silos. Externally, it powers sustainability initiatives and fosters innovation. Without it, even the most sophisticated ESG strategies risk faltering. Poorly structured collaboration leads to critical data gaps, duplicated effort, and supplier fatigue. Today鈥檚 procurement executives must ensure their ESG and risk management approaches don鈥檛 overburden suppliers, or they risk disengagement precisely when long-term innovation is needed most.

Increased collaboration is consistently cited as the primary driver of accelerated ESG progress. Maintaining this momentum requires balance: bold action tempered by operational pragmatism, and clear expectations paired with tools that support supplier compliance and success.

Procurement鈥檚 moment of opportunity

Procurement is uniquely positioned to translate sustainability ambitions into measurable, scalable outcomes. By fostering collaboration across business units and with suppliers, it can shape the future of responsible business.

Even when ESG ambitions are pursued discreetly, the business case for action remains compelling鈥攂oth for organizational performance and broader societal benefit. Companies that maintain sustainability initiatives despite changing political priorities position themselves advantageously for the future while capturing immediate operational benefits. Procurement鈥檚 ability to embed sustainability considerations into core decisions consistently and collaboratively will define its impact in the years ahead.

solutions can integrate seamlessly with and to help businesses better track, manage, and reduce their environmental impact across the supply chain. These solutions can enable organizations to incorporate sustainability metrics into procurement decisions, improve transparency with trading partners, and help ensure compliance with evolving environmental regulations.

Many of the insights above were explored during the following Economist Impact webinar, 鈥淢easuring up: Balancing risks and goals for strategic procurement.鈥� To delve further into these topics and hear expert perspectives, . For those eager to continue the conversation and engage directly with leaders in the field, the upcoming 51风流Connect event鈥擮ctober 6-8 in Las Vegas, Nevada鈥攐ffers an excellent opportunity to join on-site and gain deeper insights into strategic procurement, ESG initiatives, and innovation. .

Baber Farooq is senior vice president and head of Market Strategy for 51风流Ariba.

While it鈥檚 relatively straightforward to control and reduce a company’s direct emissions, mitigating those that arise along the whole supply chain requires a lot of time, collaboration, and data sharing. One major challenge companies face is outdated tools, such as spreadsheets or questionnaires, and disconnected processes to collaborate with their network. Furthermore, the lack of standardized carbon footprint calculations and exchange methods has led to a variety of different approaches to collect and report on data, resulting in many organizations relying only on industry averages rather than actual numbers.

Managing carbon to accelerate a net-zero future makes measurability critically important. That is where technology and innovation can make a real difference. With 51风流Sustainability solutions and our ERP-centric, cloud-based, AI-enabled approach, we support our customers to use integrated sustainability data and embed it holistically into their core business processes.

What Is 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange?

51风流Sustainability Data Exchange helps facilitate standardized carbon data exchange between partners along the supply chain, supporting organizations to move from estimates to actuals in their upstream emission data. The application allows users to share emissions data to help implement their net-zero strategy and take climate action by identifying products or processes with high potential for CO2 reduction, avoiding double emissions counting, and optimizing footprints with actual supplier data. It helps drive scalability, standardization, and trust in carbon data exchange across the supply chain.

51风流Sustainability Data Exchange is seamlessly embedded into the 51风流landscape, connecting to for master data replication and integrating with to help enable accurate product carbon footprint calculations on a large scale.

To Harness the Power of Networks, Standardization Is Key

To be able to exchange carbon footprint values, standardization and interoperability with industry networks and frameworks are key, as they foster co-innovation and collaboration without a loss of data sovereignty. 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange is interoperable and compliant with the new standards set by the automotive network and the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development ().

PACT, for example, developed the global standard for calculating and exchanging consistent, comparable, and credible emission data that occurs along a company鈥檚 value chain and is outside its direct control, known as scope 3 emissions. Catena-X works closely with PACT to establish a joint standardization foundation on carbon accounting and sharing while adding industry-specific extensions.

Catena-X has certified 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange for its sustainability use case. , a tier 1 automotive supplier, was one of the first customers to harness the application when it faced challenges in calculating its product carbon footprint in a standardized way to exchange product carbon footprint values with both customers and suppliers. With 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange, WITTE Automotive can integrate the supplier footprints it receives through the Catena-X network, precisely calculate the product carbon footprint of parts and components, and publish the calculated values of its finished products within the network.

鈥淭his open and collaborative data ecosystem perfectly reflects SAP鈥檚 vision to enable every organization to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises and gives the companies leveraging the Catena-X automotive network access to a broad portfolio of 51风流solutions, from enabling the traceability of products across multiple parties in the supply chain to tracking and calculating the scope 3 emissions.鈥�

– Christian Klein, CEO, 51风流SE

In addition, 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange embraces the power of , leveraging the depth and breadth of a global network trusted by millions of businesses, through which nearly US$6 trillion of annual commerce is executed via over 750 million transactions.

A Core Pillar of the Green Ledger

Having an accurate view of carbon emissions across the entire supply chain not only enables data exchange but can have a real impact on the bottom line. Many companies want to make carbon an integral part of the corporate balance sheet, measuring and managing it with the same precision as cash 鈥� therefore treating carbon like money. The use of 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange and 51风流Green Ledger, which will be generally available at the end of 2024, can provide a strong basis for making financial decisions.

Start the 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange product tour to learn more.

51风流Sustainability solutions can support even more than carbon management and environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related disclosures. Check out our to learn more about support for operational compliance and material transition and subscribe to the to stay up-to-date.

Gunther Rothermel is chief product officer and co-GM for 51风流Sustainability.

There are two major drivers behind the need for companies to implement a robust sustainability management system. The first is the need to future proof their business to ensure a resilient value chain and secure a competitive advantage over their peers.

The second is to transition from voluntary to regulatory reporting and comply with the torrent of new regulations. or standards like IFRS require companies to report on, and respond to, a wide variety of environmental and social sustainability topics. Some sources say there are more than 600 regulations, sustainability reporting standards, and frameworks around the world, with more coming down the pipeline every year.

What Is a Sustainability Management System?

A sustainability management system allows companies to calculate and track metrics and targets and disclose their risk management, strategy, and governance policies. It is also a valuable tool for providing a robust and holistic view for sustainability decision-making. With carbon emissions data a central element to any sustainability strategy, 51风流has created a to enable companies to both respond to regulation and advance their own ambitions.

SAP鈥檚 End-to-End Approach to Carbon Management

So how does 51风流provide a sustainability management system to tackle the carbon topic and its drivers end-to-end? We can enable customers to implement five key principles with the help of our modular and integrated family of sustainability software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions.

1. Use a Reliable Foundation and Reuse Your ERP Data

51风流embraces an ERP-centric approach, using integrated sustainability data from cloud ERP business processes supported by AI technology. We can bring together different types of business data and levels of data granularity, as required, to enable the transition from voluntary to regulated . It is a flexible but robust approach with high data quality and reliability at its core.

2. Get a Complete View for Regulatory Reporting with Reasonable Effort

can provide an easy-to-use data collection system that helps enable a holistic and complete calculation of the carbon footprint at the corporate level. As of now, customers can also generate an automated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report based on AI and natively available ESG data.

3. Go Deep Where It Matters Most

For a deeper perspective that is informed by the corporate overview, customers can use the integration with to help enable additional automated and in-depth calculations. Emissions can be tracked at the company, operational, and product level. The ERP-centric approach uses transaction data directly from 51风流S/4HANA Cloud to help calculate a consistent carbon footprint at the corporate and product level on one data foundation. AI comes into play when emission factors from standard databases are needed. With the intelligent mapping feature, customers can leverage AI to help automatically provide mapping suggestions. This feature can save significant time by replacing a tedious and manual process while being robust enough to help inform final decision-making.

, a customer already using 51风流Sustainability Footprint Management as well as 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange said:

鈥淏y leveraging 51风流Sustainability solutions, WITTE AUTOMOTIVE is now able to calculate carbon footprints of the product portfolio in compliance with the Catena-X Rulebook and share it in a standardized way.鈥�

– Michael Tworek, Head of Digital Innovations, WITTE Automotive GmbH.

4. Exchange Actuals with Your Suppliers and Customers

helps handle the exchange of relevant data across the supply chain. Customers like WITTE Automotive can therefore request missing data and exchange sustainability data such as the carbon footprint of products with their network. The usage of WBCSD PACT and Catena-X standards in the product can enable consistent and open communication and processing of data.

5. Drive Transformation in Operational Business Processes and Transition to Carbon Accounting in the Financial Sense

The flexibility of 51风流Sustainability and the ERP-centric approach means it can meet corporate requirements providing the granularity, accuracy, and auditability needed. Calculated product carbon footprints can be used for financial decision-making thanks to its integration with , which can enable companies to determine carbon emissions versus profitability. All this is done using the same rigorous accounting principles and practices that are used in finance. It can provide a trusted data foundation that can go beyond compliance and help improve business performance management through the integration of trusted carbon data into business processes that matter.

Product carbon footprints can also be integrated into , for example. With Scope 3 emissions being the largest proportion of carbon emissions for most businesses, procurement processes become a key lever in decarbonization efforts. The integrated solution can help to analyze and manage the carbon impact of a company鈥檚 spend to identify emission hot spots to inform a data-driven Scope 3 decarbonization strategy.

Are You Ready to Adopt a Carbon Management System?

Wherever a company is on their sustainability journey, SAP鈥檚 end-to-end carbon management solutions can allow it to go all in on sustainability and build resilient, future-proof operations. This allows them to streamline reporting and meet compliance requirements while benefiting the environment and their bottom line.

51风流Sustainability solutions can do more for you beyond carbon management and ESG-related disclosures. Check out our to learn more about the support for operational compliance and material transition.

Gunther Rothermel is chief product officer and co-GM for 51风流Sustainability.

A once nascent market, carbon accounting and management is experiencing a significant transition in the number, type, and capability of solutions available. The landscape formerly comprised of startup and niche vendors has expanded to include large independent software vendors (ISVs) and hyperscalers, all battling for market share.

Organizations are under increasing pressure to track and disclose carbon emissions data to stakeholders including investors, partners, clients, customers, employees, and regulators. Many are collecting data and reporting on Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Scope 3 remains a challenge due to the complexity of reliable data collection and reporting.

Fines and litigation will create a new impetus for reporting as well. Regulations will add a new element of complexity to how companies report. Disclosure of decarbonization initiatives will require unique data analysis and scenario planning tools. The IDC report points to data integration as a principal challenge for carbon accounting vendors.

51风流Carbon Accounting & Management: Rising to the Challenge

51风流is well-positioned to provide organizations with data-driven, purpose-specific carbon management solutions that are ERP centric, cloud based, and AI enabled. These include 51风流Sustainability Footprint Management, 51风流Sustainability Control Tower, 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange, the 51风流S/4HANA Cloud solution for EHS environment management, and 51风流Green Ledger, which all help to enable carbon accounting and management on a transactional level and transform emissions tracking processes.

Our carbon management solutions are best suited for organizations currently using or planning to use 51风流S/4HANA Cloud and looking to capture the value of sustainability, as well as manage sustainability-related business risks. Customers can address these objectives by embedding sustainability into their end-to-end business processes, leveraging ERP and supplier data, and using the metrics to inform business processes and financial reporting.

Having the ability to assess carbon and financial data on the same transactional level adds a new dimension to the way organizations address carbon budgets, make capital allocation decisions, and cascade and scale change management. This transformation allows for targeted sustainability actions and more precise financial decisions.

51风流can leverage its ERP-centric sustainability approach of supporting both corporate and transaction-level product carbon footprints as a differentiator. Integration with other financial applications 鈥� procurement, supply chain, risk, and compliance management 鈥� is a standard feature of the 51风流Sustainability portfolio.

Staying ahead of carbon taxes, penalties, and upcoming regulatory requirements will also play a key role in how organizations report. Alignment between CFOs and CSOs will become more frequent due to the overlapping responsibilities and sustainability management component, as they affect both corporate risk and cash flow.

According to the IDC MarketScape, 鈥渢he portfolio of sustainability offerings is built on a foundation of 51风流S/4HANA Cloud, limiting adoption to the universe of users. Furthermore, while modular in design, much of the solutions鈥� value is dependent on the adoption of multiple system elements, thus commanding a higher price point.鈥� 51风流is responding with the speed and agility of cloud delivery combined with integrated sustainability data within the core enterprise resource planning system. This will be critical in helping to optimize customers鈥� sustainability and financial performance and become the very foundation of their future business success.

By unifying sustainability and financial data, 51风流customers can unlock carbon emissions insights, positively impacting decision-making and forecasting on all hierarchical levels. With end-to-end carbon management and the added transactional-level carbon emissions data, organizations can improve operational efficiency, foster emissions transparency, and comply with developing regulations. Achieving a sustainability transformation 鈥� one that benefits the bottom line and the planet 鈥� is truly within reach. Find out more .

The IDC study provides a comprehensive analysis of carbon management platforms, highlighting the increasing need for organizations to track, manage, and report carbon emissions amid evolving regulatory landscapes and stakeholder pressures. It evaluates vendors based on their capabilities and strategies to meet future customer needs, focusing on innovation, customer satisfaction, and the ability to support organizations in their decarbonization efforts. “In an era of escalating environmental scrutiny, mastering carbon accounting is not just compliance, but a strategic imperative for future-proofing businesses,” said Amy Cravens, research manager, ESG Reporting and Management Applications at IDC.

Alicia Lenze is global head of Sustainability Marketing at 51风流SE.

Key administrations are aware of this and are starting to act accordingly. Accelerating innovation in industrial products and fuels for a net-zero, circular economy听is 听in U.S. President Joe Biden鈥檚 Net-Zero Game Changers Initiative. Meanwhile, the new听听is a main element of the European Green Deal.

In parallel, the UN is collaborating multilaterally to create policy to regulate plastics. The UN Plastics Treaty is a consensus by 175 nations to deliver a legally binding agreement to tackle plastic pollution by the end of 2024. This is significant because plastic has become fundamental to the products we create and the packaging we use to contain and ship them. Plastic has an enormous impact on the environment due to the emissions involved in its creation and mismanaged plastic waste polluting the air, the oceans, our food, and even our blood.

Currently, the linear economy dominates, as听. In the case of plastic, we take oil from the ground, turn it into products and packaging, use them, and throw them out when we鈥檙e finished. Continuing like this isn鈥檛 an option because we will run out of resources, worsen global warming, and cause further damage to our ecosystem. , so materials retain their value and can be reused.

It sounds logical, so why aren鈥檛 we doing it already? The first reason is financial. In the long term, the circular economy will create jobs, cut costs, improve profitability, and secure supply lines. Achieving this, however, requires massive capital investment in the short term. Additionally, more data is required to help us understand the impact of our decisions. And we need a new, more collaborative way of working.

Capital investment-wise, we must invest in designing and manufacturing products with circularity in mind. We need to adapt and build machinery and systems to rescue resources from existing products and turn them into new items. The labor market must evolve to train people in the skills required and to make circular economy jobs attractive, with good remuneration and benefits packages. More wealth must also flow back up the supply chain to ensure the sustainability of raw materials and to enable growth and sustainable manufacturing. To help companies and financial institutions understand the benefits and necessity of the circular economy, more education is required.

Data systems need to evolve to give companies insights on material flow and traceability, help them avoid waste, extend periods of use, recover and regenerate materials, and make informed decisions about products and packaging. This is where 51风流comes in, with 80% of the world鈥檚 businesses using our software.

Take plastic again: the solution can help businesses trace plastics back to their source polymer to understand what type of material is used in every plastic element in a product. This can help companies prove the environmental credentials of a given plastic. 51风流Responsible Design and Production can be used to understand how recycled and recyclable a component is and can help a company understand the true end-to-end cost of a material. This can be useful in regulating certain materials for comparison and decision-making purposes as well as in helping businesses anticipate taxes and fees associated with their products.

We can interrogate upstream supply chain data, which relates to what a product is made from, but we don鈥檛 yet have a complete downstream picture of what happens to a product at its end of life. Recyclability varies wildly between countries, so to understand how recyclable materials are in certain countries or jurisdictions, a partnership approach with national governments, local authorities, NGOs, and others is required to build a database that can inform companies which types of plastic to use or avoid for certain markets to achieve circularity. 51风流can add value by collecting this data and pulling it into solutions.

At the same time, to embrace the circular economy, our way of working must evolve. Instead of working in silos within our individual businesses and in vertical supply chains, we need to work collaboratively to share the data and bring the skill sets and processes together. For example, 51风流works with groups of companies, such as with the WBCSD, to establish frameworks for exchanging data.  started with embedded carbon in products, but the application can be extended to track other important material information for the circular economy like recycled content or water content.

Collaborations between businesses and non-corporate bodies accelerate progress. A clear example of this is how, by working with the WBCSD and the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, 51风流works towards updating solutions to help customers respond to new requirements that arise from the negotiations.

The ambition is to replicate this approach to plastic for other products, such as steel, batteries, electronics, textiles, and even food. With a circular economy across these industries, I鈥檓 convinced we can get halfway to net zero and if, in parallel, the energy experts continue to move the needle on energy efficiency and renewable power generation, we鈥檒l get the rest of the way.

Learn more about 51风流Sustainability solutions at .

Darren West is a product expert in Circular Economy at SAP.

Across industries, accurate data is the foundation for both auditable disclosures and reliable insights to steer sustainable transformation. But environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data aggregation and validation can be a daunting challenge given that most companies have not fully integrated their ESG data recording and control into their core financial, procurement, supply chain management, and human resources systems.

For over 50 years, 51风流has helped businesses master complexity. With today鈥檚 evolving ESG regulatory landscape, including the arrival of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), 51风流is again rising to the complex challenges of enabling customers to record, report, and act on their sustainability obligations. This includes the difficulties in collecting accurate emissions data across internal operations and global supply chains.

Achieving Competitive Advantage with 51风流Sustainability Solutions Powered by 51风流Business AI

By鈥痠ntegrating sustainability data with cloud ERP, 51风流can uniquely enable businesses with the鈥痑gility鈥痶o keep pace with rapidly evolving ESG standards; link disparate data sources鈥痶o share trusted, real-time insights with sustainability decision-makers; and achieve their net-zero ambitions.

Companies can start today by adopting 鈥� integrated with 鈥� for ESG data management and reporting. They can extend sustainability management with and to help accelerate their journey to the , managing the carbon entering and leaving their systems and balancing their “carbon books” the same way they balance their financial books.

51风流Business AI can take the value of our sustainability solutions to the next level by helping our customers set data-driven ESG and net-zero strategies, increase the transparency of supply chain emissions, automate sustainability reporting, achieve regulatory compliance, find and mitigate ESG-related risks, and better communicate the value of sustainability to their customers 鈥� all powered by the world’s largest and most comprehensive pool of foundational business data.

Combined with partner services for customer-specific data and reporting requirements, 51风流Sustainability solutions can offer new levels of business insight for executive-level decision-making to help businesses reach their sustainability goals and comply with CSRD and other regulatory frameworks.

CSRD Toolbox

Companies operating in the EU face pressure from the expanding ESG regulations under CSRD to disclose their sustainability performance with a data granularity and auditability that 鈥� over time 鈥� will bring sustainability reporting on par with financial reporting. CSRD requirements will first impact large public-interest companies with over 500 employees that need to report in 2025 on 2024 ESG performance. Requirements cascade to small and midsize enterprises in coming years.

Under CSRD, companies will need to report based on the requirements of both the EU Taxonomy, which classifies sustainability disclosures for investors, and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the disclosure rules set by the European Financial Reporting Financial Group (EFRAG), a standard-setting body of the EU. With 51风流Sustainability Control Tower, companies can comply with both the EU Taxonomy and ESRS, gaining agility through the convergence of ESG data management and cloud ERP 鈥� and soon AI-driven business process optimization.

51风流Sustainability Control Tower: A Trusted ESG Data Foundation for EU Taxonomy and ESRS

With 51风流Sustainability Control Tower, you can assess activities in line with the EU Taxonomy, reporting on KPIs for eligibility and alignment.

• Enable a holistic view of EU Taxonomy reporting through shared use of data  
• Kick-start EU Taxonomy data management and reporting with pre-built and adaptable templates  
• Simplify the EU Taxonomy process with integration with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud 
• Integrate customer or partner extensions via APIs 

You can also streamline ESRS disclosures, integrating ESG data across systems and extending content and functionality.

• Gather ESG data and determine KPIs 
• Meet evolving ESG and financial disclosure requirements including ESRS 
• Set, track, and achieve targets to support sustainable business 
• Obtain a limited external assurance and prepare for reasonable assurance 

Act Now

Businesses need to start now to be prepared not only for CSRD compliance, but for gaining the insights to steer sustainability investments and future-proof long-term value. 

For over 50 years, 51风流has been enabling the world鈥檚 leading businesses to master complexity, delivering the integration and innovation needed for industry-leading performance. With 51风流Sustainability Control Tower and other cloud-driven innovations, 51风流and its partners can help companies master CSRD as well and build the foundation for the evolution of their long-term sustainability strategies.  

To learn more, visit .

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer and co-GM for 51风流Sustainability. 

Reflecting on the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the scale of SAP鈥檚 transformative potential 鈥� helping companies record, report, and act on net-zero targets and beyond 鈥� has never been clearer.

I observed two key trends that will advance climate action in meaningful ways 鈥� a shift towards simplifying data sharing and a transition to sustainable energy 鈥� where 51风流is poised to help.

A Shift Towards Simplifying Data Sharing

In recent years, more and more companies have made net-zero commitments 鈥� often before knowing how to execute these lofty goals. At COP28, I saw business leaders wrestling with how to deliver on these commitments and publicly report on progress amid growing public pressure. They face two significant data challenges: the need for cooperation across the value chain and collaboration around a common language for data exchange.

While many companies successfully measure their own emissions, reaching net zero requires an understanding of Scope 3 emissions, indirect emissions that occur in the value chain, where approximately of carbon emissions fall. This means that to get to net zero, businesses need to share emissions data across the value chain. This requires a high level of collaboration and information sharing among businesses and their suppliers. 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange can simplify this process by tracking actual Scope 3 carbon emissions data, not averages and estimates, and facilitating cross-company data sharing.

With solutions like 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange, more companies can measure their carbon emissions data and share it across the value chain. However, this proves futile if companies cannot exchange data in a common format. They need to exchange information and understand what it means. Today, many emissions and accounting technology solutions fail to speak the same language with one another. To overcome this obstacle, 51风流works closely with the (PACT), hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), to create a harmonized data exchange system. Together, we are establishing the methodology and technical infrastructure for product-level greenhouse gas emissions data exchange and measurement so businesses can share real carbon footprints across the supply chain with increased interoperability. 

No entity can conquer the decarbonization challenge alone. But, with cooperation across the value chain around Scope 3 emissions and collaboration around standardized carbon emissions data, we can move close to net zero together.

A Transition to Sustainable Energy

Given the focus on how to deliver on net-zero commitments and decarbonize operations, businesses look to energy as one crucial path to accelerate progress. Beyond aiming for net zero, geopolitical tensions underscore the urgency of bolstering energy security and diminishing reliance on overseas providers. As governments pursue energy independence and implement emissions regulations, corporations are compelled to adhere and transparently track their progress.

As companies face growing pressure from all sides, the pace of the sustainable energy transition intensifies, realizing unanticipated benefits along the way. For example, firms experience enhanced reputations and boosts to market value. And, in the search for cost-effective and efficient energy mixes, many companies find improved operations. A surge in production efficiency often accompanies reduced emissions. These changes inspire more diverse business models, identify new revenue streams, attract new clients, and yield a broader customer base.

As businesses move toward alternative energy sources, fostering transparency and trust through accurate data tracking and measurement proves challenging. Take green hydrogen as an example. Generated by the electrolysis of water using renewable sources like solar or wind energy, it offers a carbon-emission-free energy solution. However, fostering demand for green hydrogen requires a high level of transparency to ensure authenticity, build trust among consumers, businesses, and governments, and measure its environmental impact. 

51风流works closely with governments, the CEO Alliance for Europe, H2Global, and Hydrogen Europe to address the critical need for transparency across the entire lifecycle of green hydrogen 鈥� from production to distribution. Establishing a digital layer for green hydrogen guarantees its authenticity and differentiation from other grades of hydrogen aiding certification and proof of origin. This creates a clear market for green hydrogen, helping consumers understand its intrinsic value and positive environmental impact. utilizes an energy-efficient blockchain method that helps provide this visibility into the hydrogen journey and can enable auditable volume movements among various partners.

While digital technologies actively drive the transition to renewable energy, we recognize the indispensable role of collaborative, action-oriented partnerships in propelling these efforts forward. Ahead of COP28, 51风流joined global efforts led by the to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, accelerate the clean energy transition, and scale up investments in renewables. 51风流also supports the , a business initiative urging governments to phase out fossil fuels. The future requires collaboration with all stakeholders 鈥� value chain partners, NGOs, industry groups, and more.

As the conference concludes, the real work begins. Reflecting on last week and the resounding call for global climate action, 51风流remains committed to helping our customers simplify data sharing and transition to sustainable energy. The technology and the data exist. Now, we need to deploy these tools effectively and harness them to drive meaningful impact across a vast ecosystem of organizations. A sustainable future starts today, and the responsibility lies with each one of us doing our part.

Learn more about 51风流Sustainability at .

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer and co-GM for 51风流Sustainability.

Scope 3 emissions from activities across suppliers, product lifecycles, and customer usage comprise the overwhelming majority of emissions for telecommunications companies. While progress has been made on scope 1 and 2 emissions, scope 3 emissions remain a blind spot that demands urgent action. Addressing scope 3 emissions is vital for telecommunications companies to meet climate goals and lead the transition to a sustainable digital future.

According to the , the global telecommunications industry emitted 1.7 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in 2019, representing approximately 2% of total global emissions. Telecommunications companies have an outsized opportunity to drive change and reduce emissions given their scale and influence across global supply chains and billions of customers worldwide.

Now is the time for telecommunications companies to step up with courageous leadership, collective action across the ecosystem, transparency, and a laser focus on reducing scope 3 emissions.

Understanding Scope 3 Emissions in Telecommunications

Scope 3 emissions encompass the vast majority of emissions across the telecommunications value chain. Key sources include:

Supply chain
Manufacturing, transport, and disposal of network equipment makes up the largest share, such as 60% of Verizon’s total scope 3

Product usage
Energy consumption of infrastructure, data centers, and devices

Customers
Emissions from using products and services represent over 20% for leading telecommunications companies

While methodologies vary, standards like the enable consistent and transparent scope 3 accounting. Robust data collection and industry alignment will enhance accuracy over time. The urgency of climate action necessitates that telecommunications companies act now to address primary scope 3 hotspots like supply chain and product usage.

Success requires transparency, cooperation, and immediate commitment to tackle scope 3 emission sources.

Challenges in Calculating Scope 3 Emissions in the Telecommunications Industry

Calculating scope 3 emissions poses major challenges for telecommunications companies, including:

• Data limitations: Telecommunications companies lack visibility into supplier and vendor emissions. Greater transparency and coordination are essential.
• Complex value chains: Varied reporting mechanisms across the vast partner ecosystem create aggregation difficulties.
• Methodology alignment: Companies must determine boundaries and allocate shared infrastructure emissions while adhering to accounting standards.
• Rapid technology changes: Emerging solutions like 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) require continuous emissions monitoring.

Robust data collection, industry collaboration, and transparency will be vital to overcome these obstacles. Standardized methodologies guided by established protocols will enhance accuracy over time.

Above all, open cooperation across telecommunications value chains is crucial to drive scope 3 progress. From suppliers to customers, aligning stakeholders to prioritize emissions reductions will accelerate the sustainability shift, despite near-term uncertainty. Telecommunications companies have the scale and influence to lead the way.

Strategies for Mitigating Scope 3 Emissions

Telecommunications companies can mitigate scope 3 emissions through:

Supplier collaboration
Joint research and development (R&D), audits, and incentive programs enable partners to reduce their supply chain footprint. AT&T uses a sustainability scorecard to motivate action.

Renewable energy
Shifting infrastructure and operations to clean power significantly decreases emissions. BT Group and Telef贸nica aim for 100% renewable electricity use.

Eco-design
Prioritizing recyclable and energy-efficient materials and manufacturing reduces lifecycle impacts. Vodafone’s Eco Rating drives more sustainable devices.

Customer engagement
Awareness campaigns, energy-saving tips, and green tariffs incentivize sustainable usage. Orange’s set-top box eco-rating nudges consumers.

Policy and regulation
Scope 3 requirements in markets like the EU also drive telecommunications companies to address value chain emissions through mandated reporting and carbon pricing.

Additionally, telecommunications companies can further engage customers through expanded recycling and take-back programs to optimize device lifecycles. Services like leasing instead of selling phones can incentivize longevity. 51风流 that track energy consumption also enable users to reduce their footprint.

There are still challenges, but collective effort across the telecommunications ecosystem can drive progress on scope 3 emissions. Engagement and incentives can accelerate emissions reductions across value chains from suppliers to customers. With their global scale, telecommunications companies must lead the way.

Calculating and Reporting

To enable accurate and consistent scope 3 accounting, telecommunications companies should:

• Adopt recognized standards like the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain Standard, which provides comprehensive guidance.
• Improve supplier data collection through surveys and supplier engagement platforms.
• Increase transparency by regularly disclosing scope 3 inventories and strategies in sustainability reports.
• Obtain third-party verification for scope 3 emissions data to ensure reliability.
• Collaborate with industry peers and partners to align methodologies and reporting.
• Continuously refine calculations by incorporating improved data sources and emission factors.
• Supplement inventory accounting with scenario modeling to project future emissions.

While uncertainties remain, standardized and transparent scope 3 reporting is vital to understand emissions baselines, track progress over time, and hold companies accountable. Investors and customers are increasingly demanding credible disclosure.

Telecommunications companies should lead the drive towards robust scope 3 accounting and reporting across sectors. Their commitment can catalyze broader adoption of carbon transparency.

Using 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange, telecommunications companies can collaborate with partners, enhance awareness and engagement of stakeholders, gain insights, mitigate risks, and seize opportunities to reduce and offset emissions.

Ultimately, courageous leadership and collective diligence across telecommunications company value chains are imperative to drive progress. Telecommunications companies have the influence to spearhead robust and transparent scope 3 practices across all sectors. But, success hinges on prioritizing partnerships, integrity, and environmental stewardship above all. The moment for action has come.

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

Venkata Rao is a business transformation expert at SAP.
Mohan Shekar is head of Industry Service at SAP.

It is simultaneously the third highest contributor to carbon emissions in the industrial sector and the best placed industry to decarbonize products across a multitude of industries.

As a result of its position high upstream in the supply chain, the chemicals industry can often seem invisible. Its products sit in the value chain of key industries including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, making up a significant proportion of their Scope 3 emissions. But change is coming that will make companies more accountable for these previously hidden emissions. New legislation such as the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will reveal the carbon footprint of the chemicals industry as companies with more than 250 employees will be required to report their GHG emissions, including those that lie in Scope 3.

A Vision for the Chemicals Industry

In order to meet new legal requirements and identify opportunities for emissions reduction, the chemicals industry needs to look beyond its current tools and collaborations to upgrade the quality of data — based on primary information rather than averages and estimates — and share access to it. Aligning data structures and using the same semantics will encourage competition among suppliers, galvanizing them to manufacture chemical products with ever lower carbon footprints, benefiting all downstream customers as well as the climate. To realize this vision, the solution will receive actual data from suppliers upstream, using a standardized methodology, allowing companies to calculate their own product carbon footprint so it can then be shared with downstream customers. For broad adoption, this carbon data exchange tool needs to be relatively simple while allowing for secure data exchange.

The automotive industry already has a blueprint that the chemicals industry can adopt. It tracks material flows digitally throughout the entire supply chain. Catena-X allows companies to share standardized emissions data from their supply chain with confidence based on technology that provides an auditable chain of custody. This offers car manufacturers the information they need to make strategic decisions to reduce the carbon footprint of their products, embrace circularity, and increase the adoption of circular business models such as battery recycling. Some of the chemical companies that supply the automotive industry are already involved, such as BASF.

鈥淎s an energy-intensive industry at the beginning of nearly all value chains, the chemical sector plays a key role in reducing global carbon footprint in manufacturing and beyond. Carbon footprint transparency at product level is a fundamental step to achieve this,” said Alessandro Pistillo, director of Digital Strategic Projects at BASF. “BASF is a founding member and very active contributor in global initiatives focused on Scope 3 transparency and product carbon footprint standardization such as Together for Sustainability in the chemical sector, as well as Catena-X and the Global Battery Alliance in the automotive and battery value chain respectively. At the same time, BASF is also a leading member of WBCSD-PACT, whose framework is geared toward ensuring cross-sectoral interoperability.鈥�

Improved Accuracy

Historically, industry averages and secondary data have been used to estimate carbon footprints. The cornerstone of the vision for the chemicals industry involves a significant improvement in GHG emissions data, a step that will provide much greater emissions transparency for the industry itself and for its customers. 51风流has been working with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) since 2021 as an innovation partner and has been involved in the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) initiative, helping to develop the global standards, methodology, and technological infrastructure needed for product-level emission accounting and exchange.

Collaborative Data Exchange

The desire and the frameworks for the chemicals industry to collaborate already exist. They date back to 1985, with the establishment of the Responsible Care program and the 2011 formation of industry body Together for Sustainability, a worldwide initiative to raise sustainability standards in the chemicals industry鈥檚 supply chain. Its members include some of the world鈥檚 largest chemical groups, represented by their chief procurement officers. Despite the industry鈥檚 ability and willingness to cooperate, and its current pilot IT system for sharing upstream product carbon footprint information, it is still on the cusp of data exchange.

鈥淔ootprint data is there,鈥� said Michael Sambeth, global enterprise architect at SAP. 鈥淚t can be calculated using out-of-the-box solutions from SAP; now it needs to flow across the supply chain.鈥�

Catena-X led to the launch of the 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange application, which was designed specifically with security in mind, to exchange standardized carbon footprint data along the value chain. 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange uses the carbon data standards established by WBCSD PACT. With a high proportion of Together for Sustainability members already using 51风流ERP systems, they are well placed to be able to leverage 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange to exchange this data with their suppliers and customers while adhering to global standards.

Moving to a Green Ledger Approach

The chemicals industry is a product of its established supply chains, high-volume activities, cost efficiencies, and scalability. It is highly organized and well versed in creating and following methodologies, but it needs to see the value in primary standardized data — and data sharing — for decarbonization.

A green ledger approach will allow businesses to treat their emissions in the same way as their financials. Carbon accounting makes emission 鈥渂ookings鈥� part of every business transaction in the same way as financial information. This means that a level of detail and confidence is achieved, allowing companies to look at emissions from any angle — by product, organization, profit center, site, factory, equipment, etc. This granularity is the foundation for planning and steering, which cannot be done using averages or highly aggregated figures.

The decarbonization of a multitude of industries hinges on the ability of the chemicals industry to successfully standardize and exchange carbon footprint data. Only those chemical companies with sustainability at the core of their strategy and the right tools for high-quality emissions accounting will be able to future-proof their business to remain competitive in the face of the ever-evolving legislative changes created to combat the effects of global warming.

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

The global supply chain continues to contribute to a significant part of our social and environmental impacts. At SAP, we are working towards a sustainable supply chain by eliminating single-use plastics, decreasing carbon emissions, enforcing human rights, and closely collaborating with a diverse supplier network 鈥� including social enterprises 鈥� across our seven procurement categories. As a purpose-driven company, we are always looking for ways to improve through our global procurement organization. Sustainable procurement practices have become one of the key enablers in achieving net-zero targets.

At SAP, we aim to establish a multi-phased听supply chain engagement program by 2024 for our key suppliers听to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions along our upstream value chain. The program will incorporate environmental considerations throughout the procurement process by integrating a new sustainability classification system and embedding environmental impact criteria in procurement documentation.

鈥淩educing scope 3 emissions is a key factor on the journey to net zero. This is a team effort, and we are happy to collaborate with our business partners on reducing emissions throughout our supply chain,鈥� said Dominik Asam, chief financial officer and member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE. 鈥淲ith our supply chain engagement program, we will integrate a new sustainability classification system into our procurement process and embed environmental impact criteria in our procurement documentation.鈥�

We plan to work with our top 100 suppliers to report and record product-level emissions. We aim to have all of our top 100 suppliers report their company-wide emissions and product-level emissions for relevant key products by 2027, allowing 51风流to report emissions based on actuals instead of averages. Standardizing and sharing sustainability data securely provides clarity on exactly who is accountable to reduce emissions. We plan to leverage for CO2 information exchange. This will help increase transparency through the supply chain, so we can mutually act to significantly reduce scope 3 emissions and support SAP鈥檚 2030 net-zero commitment.

Nikolaus Kirner is chief procurement officer at SAP.

Mitigating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol鈥檚 Scope 1 — direct emissions by an organization — and Scope 2 emissions — indirect emissions due to energy produced or used — is indeed a challenge, but not an insurmountable task. It is straightforward: we must either reduce consumption, increase energy efficiency, switch to renewable alternatives, or purchase clean energy or carbon offsets.

Tackling Scope 3 emissions not produced by the company or from the energy used is another matter.

Scope 3 emissions are challenging to manage because they fall outside an organization鈥檚 control. Collecting accurate data makes measuring and assessing these emissions difficult. And with different suppliers involved in the supply chain, there is no clarity on who exactly is accountable for reducing Scope 3 emissions. Half the problem is solved when sustainability data is standardized and shared securely.

Companies will soon be required to comply with regulations emphasizing the need to record and share sustainability data. For example, the European Union鈥檚 (CBAM) requires companies to share their suppliers鈥� carbon dioxide emission data when they import products to Europe. CBAM will enter its transitional phase as of October 2023 and will apply to importing carbon-intensive goods such as aluminum, iron, steel, cement, fertilizers, and electricity. In 2026, importers must submit information regarding the number of goods imported to the EU and the corresponding GHG emissions.

These regulations, investor, and stakeholder scrutiny, along with supply chain partner requirements, demand a uniform standard to share sustainability data. In 2021, automotive industry leaders and partners formed the to create a consistent information and data-sharing standard throughout the automotive value chain. Sustainability is one of the five major application areas defined by Catena-X. The aim is to standardize emission measurements along the value chain, document accurate carbon data, and make it comparable within the automotive industry.

The emphasis on sharing carbon footprint data along the value chain and SAP鈥檚 experience as a founding member of Catena-X led to the launch of , a new solution specifically designed to securely exchange standardized sustainability data, including product footprints, along the value chain. The solution allows companies to effectively share emissions and other data with their customers to help companies decarbonize their value chains.

Part of , 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange uses the carbon data interoperability standards established by the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The solution also draws on SAP鈥檚 experience as a founding member of and . The program set the first technical specifications for the standardized exchange of carbon emissions data, allowing different emissions and accounting technology solutions to connect to and effectively share sustainability information.

Built using the technical framework of GreenToken by SAP, 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange allows sustainability data sharing within organizations on this platform and interoperability with other equivalent networks using WBCSD PACT standards. Companies can use 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange along with 51风流Sustainability Footprint Management, a single solution to calculate and manage the full range of corporate, value chain, and product greenhouse gas emissions. Alternatively, if businesses already have a solution that calculates carbon footprints effectively, they can use 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange to share this data securely. The beta version of 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange is available now and the solution is planned to be generally available in the third quarter of 2023.

鈥淎s a champion of a sustainable future, we at 51风流are constantly seeking new ways to drive innovation and deliver value to our customers,鈥� said Nitin Jain, general manager of GreenToken by 51风流and 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange. 鈥淥ur launch of 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange is a testament to this commitment. By leveraging our expertise and resources, we have developed a cutting-edge platform application that lets organizations share product carbon information with their customers and vendors, empowering our customers to measure and reduce their carbon footprint while promoting transparency throughout the supply chain. With this new offering, we are setting a new standard in sustainability and paving the way for a more sustainable future.鈥�

51风流Sustainability Data Exchange represents another key milestone in the company’s mission to establish the green ledger alongside the top and bottom lines as crucial performance dimensions. Customers can report carbon emissions metrics and comply with global standards. Having a standardized format to record and share data helps companies move from estimated sustainability values to actual and accurate product-level data. This accelerates their journey toward net zero by providing them with standardized audit-ready sustainable values.

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Fifty years ago, 51风流revolutionized financial accounting with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Today, 51风流is reinventing the 鈥淩鈥� in ERP by extending the definition of resources beyond financial and goods flows and offering a precision approach to sustainability by enabling transactional carbon accounting through a green ledger. This enables combined financial and environmental decision-making at different points across the business process. The green ledger offers deep insights by being embedded into RISE with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud and the GROW with 51风流solution, with additional capabilities added with every release.

Learn more at .

However, carbon accounting is still done mainly using spreadsheets and semi-automated tools that use estimates and averages for carbon footprints. Only 9% of companies have a comprehensive view of their greenhouse gas emissions and their impact across the entire value chain.

This is no longer enough. We need to account for carbon with much more precision and control by using actual data values across our business operations and supply chains in sync with financial flows. We need to redefine 鈥渞esource鈥� in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and extend our understanding of resources beyond financials. 51风流now brings a precision-approach to do just that by enabling transactional accounting for carbon.

Introducing Future-Proof Solutions for Transactional Carbon Accounting

SAP鈥檚 approach to transactional carbon accounting comprises three future-proof capabilities.

First is , a single solution to calculate and manage carbon flows with high granularity on company, process, and product levels across Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The solution integrates capabilities from previously released 51风流solutions and adds new functionalities, such as the ability to manage a greater scope of emissions sources and support for a broader range of industry-specific requirements. Using 51风流Sustainability Footprint Management helps provide a seamless integration with 51风流S/4HANA, allowing for a strong data foundation to calculate footprints directly from individual transactions at each step of production. Companies can reduce their climate risk and make progress towards their climate commitments by better adhering to and reporting on rapidly changing standards. They can also achieve operational excellence by dramatically improving the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of emissions calculations and management. 51风流Sustainability Footprint Management will be available from June 2023.

Second, 51风流offers , a new application designed to securely exchange standardized sustainability data, including product footprints, along the value chain. The application allows precision accuracy by gathering actual carbon data directly from suppliers. 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange, part of , uses the carbon data interoperability standards established by the , hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The beta version is available and will be generally available in Q3 2023.

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Third, 51风流also introduces the green ledger concept, which combines financial and environmental data to enable deep insights and effective decision-making at different points across the business process. Green ledger will be embedded into and for and will deliver new capabilities with each release. The next major update, for example, offers a new way to embed carbon data, starting with most impactful scope categories, into product-level costing.

Using these three powerful capabilities that , executives can have a future-proof tool kit to help manage and reduce their carbon footprints. The 51风流solutions record data based on actuals instead of averages to increase data transparency, accuracy, and reliability. The high-quality carbon data, like the financial data, is auditable, transparent, and reliable. To take climate action, companies sync the emissions data with financial data to make granular, accurate, and right-time decisions that are both financially and environmentally sound.

Acting on Carbon Emissions Data

SAP鈥檚 carbon accounting solutions allow business decision-makers to not only see emissions on an operations level, but also at the product level by including carbon footprints alongside financial data to make trade-offs between cost efficiency and carbon intensity. To make these assessments, carbon footprints need to be available at a granular level and at the point where the business decision is made.

In the automotive industry, for example, the sources of steel, rubber, batteries, and electrical components are key elements of the carbon footprint of an electric car manufacturer鈥檚 product. 51风流solutions provide the foundational data for these purchased materials and components, as well as consumed energy and other inputs, and combine it with additional data sources such as life cycle assessment databases.

Using the input data, the footprint is calculated by matching source data with emission factors. Like in financial accounting, the inflows and outflows of materials, components, and products are traced and accounted for with a high level of transparency and auditability.

This isn鈥檛 accounting for accounting鈥檚 sake. This level of data transparency helps teams across the business, from the C-suite to supply chain management to marketing, take sustainability action. They can make decisions together on both cost and carbon emissions that are rarely made in parallel today. Based on both cost and carbon values, the car manufacturer can scenario plan and make fully informed decisions about how to drive optimal financial and sustainability performance.

Bringing a Holistic View to Sustainable Business

To truly run sustainably and decarbonize business at the speed and scale needed, companies must . By embedding sustainability data into their core business processes through their ERP, executives can achieve a holistic, enterprise-wide performance capability.

Based on the ERP backbone, sustainable business data is the foundation for setting regulatory-compliant KPIs and disclosing sustainability progress to a broad range of reporting frameworks using . This holistic view is vital to understanding where emissions are occurring, setting accurate net-zero targets, and identifying specific areas to take action for maximum decarbonization impact.听The are cloud-based, modular, and integrate with 51风流S/4HANA Cloud.

Peter Bakker, CEO of WBCSD, said accountants will save the world. He very well may be right. With over 50 years of experience in financial accounting, future-proof technology, and wide access to customer and partner ecosystems, 51风流is well-positioned deliver high-quality emissions accounting to rapidly scale business decarbonization.

Sebastian Steinhaeuser is chief strategy officer at SAP.

• 51风流Business AI, the Green Ledger and Business-Ready Innovations Across the Portfolio Underscore SAP鈥檚 Ability to Help Customers Solve Their Most Pressing Problems

Breakthrough announcements included responsible AI built into business solutions, ledger-based accounting for carbon tracking and industry-specific networks to bolster supply chain resilience. With these advances, 51风流is helping customers transform their business models in the cloud, put sustainability at the center of their operations and boost agility to succeed amid ongoing change.

鈥淚n a world of geopolitical tensions, product and skills shortages and new regulations, our customers continue turning to 51风流for the solutions they need to solve their most pressing challenges,鈥� said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board of 51风流SE. 鈥淭he innovations we鈥檙e announcing at 51风流Sapphire build on our heritage of responsibly developed technology and decades of industry and process expertise to ensure our customers鈥� success today and in the future.鈥�

AI Built for Business

At the dawn of a new AI era, 51风流is strengthening its commitment to embed powerful AI capabilities across its portfolio to help customers solve business-critical problems in the flow of work.

Customers can use 51风流Business AI with confidence because it is built responsibly. Today, 51风流is announcing a raft of advancements to 51风流Business AI, including innovations that personalize customer engagement, make procurement more productive and expand organizations鈥� abilities to find and develop critical talent across their entire workforce.

51风流also draws on the strength of its rich ecosystem to benefit customers. Yesterday 51风流announced the next step in its long-standing partnership with Microsoft. The companies will collaborate on integrating 51风流SuccessFactors solutions with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot in Viva Learning as well as with Microsoft鈥檚 Azure OpenAI Service to access powerful language models that analyze and generate natural language. The integrations will enable new experiences designed to improve how organizations attract, retain and skill their people.

Moving Toward a Green Ledger

Fifty years ago, 51风流revolutionized financial accounting with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Today, 51风流reinvents the 鈥淩鈥� in ERP by extending the definition of resources to include carbon.

Amid rapidly changing regulatory requirements and rising stakeholder pressure to operate sustainably, enterprises need an accounting system for emissions that is as auditable, transparent and reliable as their financial data accounting. With SAP鈥檚 new green ledger initiative, which moves companies from carbon estimates to actual data, companies can manage their green line with as much visibility, accuracy and confidence as their top line and bottom line.

51风流is announcing an update to the solution, a single solution that calculates and manages the full range of corporate, value chain and product-level emissions. 51风流is also announcing the 51风流Sustainability Data Exchange application, a new solution for enterprises to securely exchange standardized sustainability data with partners and suppliers so they can decarbonize supply chains faster.

SAP鈥檚 green ledger initiative is planned to become part of the and solutions.

Innovations Across the Portfolio, Platform and Ecosystem Shore Up Customers鈥� Resilience

51风流also announced a host of innovations across the rest of its portfolio. For example, drawing on the success of 51风流Business Network, a comprehensive B2B collaboration platform where some US$4.5 trillion of trade is conducted annually, 51风流announced 51风流Business Network for Industry. This offering combines the benefits of networked supply chains with SAP鈥檚 unique industry expertise to help customers across consumer products, high tech, industrial manufacturing and life sciences boost supply chain resilience quickly.

Innovations launched across 51风流Business Technology Platform dramatically accelerate business process organization and enable enterprise automation at scale. Advancements in 51风流Signavio solutions mean customers get critical process insights in hours, not days. Updates to 51风流Integration Suite bring together holistic processes across 51风流and non-51风流systems on-premise and in the cloud. And new event integration capabilities in SAP鈥檚 low-code offering, 51风流Build solutions, give business experts the power to trigger automations across all business processes.

As customers face increasingly fractured data landscapes, 51风流also recently built on its commitment to open data that increases customers鈥� ability to uncover deep, actionable business insights with an extensive expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud. The comprehensive open-data offering enables customers to build an end-to-end data cloud that brings data from across the enterprise landscape using the 51风流Datasphere solution together with Google鈥檚 data cloud.

51风流also doubled down on as the need for top-notch professional developers continues rising along with the increasing pace of technological innovation. The company announced new programs to meet the growing demand for 51风流experts across its ecosystem to continue driving customers鈥� ongoing business transformation in the cloud.

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About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 51风流customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit .

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