Perhaps surprisingly, private equity firms are a huge driver of this trend, whether via investments in solar, wind, biomass, or some other type of renewable energy. These companies recognize not only the social, humanitarian benefit but the economic benefit of renewables: low-cost power, reduced dependence on imported fuel, and more secure, reliable energy supply.

The numbers bear out this trend. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, private equity and venture capital transactions in the global renewable energy sector reached , the highest total in the last five years. More so, funds raised in recent years are approaching the value of fossil fuel asset fundraising, per The Impact Investor.

However, there are challenges inherent in this tectonic shift. With broader strategic change in how we produce and consume energy comes more narrow change – and difficulties – in areas like engineering, manufacturing, procurement, supply chain management, human resources, and finance. These areas make it hard for private equity investors to easily operate and scale businesses, highlighting the present need and opportunity for scalable, cost-effective solutions that truly support the renewable space’s growth and future success.

With Great Power…

A crucial element of today’s state of play in the renewables space is the rapid acceleration in load growth made manifest by today’s technology advancements. Whether it be ChatGPT, Bitcoin, or some other artificial intelligence- or machine learning-related innovation, our tools are requiring more energy production and consumption than ever.

That means there is expansive economic benefit to finding cheaper, faster, less energy-consuming ways to run these tools and solutions – not to mention widespread social benefit.

Companies across the industry are already embracing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions to use less energy, improve business operations, and meet sustainability goals. One global market leader in energy storage solutions and services recently selected ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to help it scale faster, improve supply chain visibility, and boost overall efficiency. Another business – an established provider and owner of clean energy solutions nationwide for commercial and industrial businesses – chose ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to help amplify its growth efforts via the acceleration of its ability to both scale and innovate in the energy space.

By iterating and streamlining processes to meet modern needs, companies like these can not only equip themselves for success today but for success tomorrow, as they grow and change alongside the evolving and progressing energy transition.

…Comes Great Capability

In our current industry moment, renewable energy companies demand unparalleled visibility and insights into financing, projects, operations, and more. Whether it be land acquisition, asset construction, or maintenance, a centralized data model that facilitates intelligent business insights is vital. It’s how you empower everyone in the organization to make informed decisions that drive the company forward.

Take supply chain management. Renewable energy companies can’t just order new parts or materials with a short delivery time. Some of the materials necessary for renewable energy products, like graphite, have order lead times spanning years rather than months. Top technology solutions will meet engineering requirements for things like storage, transportation, and integration of natural resources into the production process so that they can ensure supply chain management goals are met. In short, efficient and effective development and implementation of renewable assets requires careful management of the supply chain.

So, yes, these companies and their private equity backers are innovating toward a cleaner future. But they may not always have the time or resources to fully innovate and advance their business processes, sometimes resorting to manual ones that slow things down and add risk. Companies like ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can offer a seamless platform for managing these enterprises’ various business needs, in an integrated way that can enable them to focus on their core business and not have to worry about IT risks.

No matter where a renewable company is on their journey, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and its partners have solutions that can automate and optimize core business processes to help meet their maximum potential. This is due to elements like:

• Centralized ERP data providing a single source of truth and improved decision-making ability
• Fully managed supply chain procurement and logistics, with deep supplier networks
• Faster ROI thanks to repeatable, trustworthy, and accurate processes empowering business users

These seamless integrations and true end-to-end insights will power renewable companies well into the future, so that they can power us as well.

A Brighter Tomorrow

Leading private equity firms are leading for a reason. They see what’s possible in the renewable energy space and recognize the tremendous economic and social benefits that are available. For them, digital transformation is the skeleton key for unlocking a bigger and better future – one where they can easily scale up or down depending on their needs.

Leading ERP solutions can meet these companies where they are, with the speed and flexibility necessary to streamline business processes and build on them in exponential ways.

For the renewables space, it’s about setting the foundation for whatever comes next – not just for individual companies, but for our world and the way we all consume energy.

Mark Hollis is an industry executive advisor for Renewable Energy & Utilities at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

For example, the introduction of low-code/no-code has made application development accessible to everyone in an organization β€” with or without a technical background β€” to improve experiences for everyone. Just take Dak, the then 12-year-old junior app developer from Massachusetts, who was part of my . With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Build solutions, Dak was able to develop all kinds of apps and publish them to a wide audience, such as the β€œKnowledge 4 Ever” app that offers kids a playful learning experience during summer break.

Then, there are cloud technologies that further boost accessibility and offer other benefits. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has put more power into more hands. Another advancement, composable technology, will make it easier for businesses to quickly assemble, reassemble, and compose solutions to meet their needs and those of their customers.

Over the course of my 11-year journey at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Innovation Awards have served as a one-of-a-kind global platform to showcase customers and partners that have used their creativity, teamwork, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ products, and cloud technologies to achieve remarkable results. This year, though, is a different experience for me. As an executive sponsor of the awards, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing up close what makes this program and the participating businesses so special.

Today, I am thrilled to announce the . Out of 170 businesses, one in three were chosen as finalists and now the winners have been announced. These winners come from various industries and locations worldwide. What all of them share is the use of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ products and technologies to create innovative solutions for their customers, employees, and communities. Congratulations to all participants for demonstrating remarkable abilities and highlighting the importance of curiosity and continuous learning!

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AI Plays a Critical Role

Generative AI has empowered more people. Many of the participants have utilized ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI to boost their businesses. Take the winner , one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive seat systems, which has leveraged ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions, including ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ AI Launchpad and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ AI Core, to revolutionize cockpit customization. When personalizing cockpit elements such as seats, door panels, and dashboards, OEMs and customers can see the carbon impact of each choice. By providing and promoting more sustainable and environmentally friendly options, Martur Fompak has decreased carbon emissions by 34% for each seat the company produces. AI has also helped the company increase its efficiency to achieve calculations 50 times faster than with manual methods and accelerate data collection by 75 times.Μύ

Sustainability for a Better World Today – and Tomorrow

Technology has significantly contributed to improving lives, both within and beyond business contexts. Numerous winners like Martur Fompak have prioritized sustainability. Let us look at one more innovator in this area: .

A producer of high-quality sherries, GonzΓ‘lez Byass is committed to the circular economy concept of eliminating waste, circulating materials, and regenerating nature. The company deploys sustainable and water-saving agricultural techniques. To assist with eliminating and recycling waste, GonzΓ‘lez Byass turned to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production. The company needed a faster, more transparent way to gather and manage data, specifically around the purchase and use of plastic. With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production, GonzΓ‘lez Byass can quickly and effectively monitor, measure, and act on data. The company recovers 99% of the waste generated during production while recycling 100% of paper, cardboard, glass, and plastic.  

Adoption Can Be Challenging

Even top technologies such as AI may need support to gain widespread acceptance. Many of this year’s winners have been innovative with their focus on adopting ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ technology. is a prime example.

A leader in onshore/offshore wind energy production, Vestas wanted to improve its supplier and partner collaboration and selected ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ for the task. Vestas began its journey with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ in 2007 by employing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ERP Central Component and consolidating to ONE ERP in 2015. Since 2017, the company has been transforming its digital procurement for supplier collaboration with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions. Last year, Vestas began to build out its value chain alongside suppliers and partners with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, enabling data transparency and connectivity in finance, production planning, and logistics management. As a result, 6,000 suppliers were onboarded, US$12.5 billion in purchase orders was executed, 350,000 orders were confirmed, and 25,000 advance ship notices were generated, to name a few transactions β€” all in 2023. 

I am happy to say that the 2024 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Innovation Awards honor businesses that have demonstrated their innovation and effective use of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ products and technologies. They’ve adapted to and met the ever-changing needs of their customers and communities and, as I wrote earlier, achieved remarkable results in diverse areas. Congratulations to all winners! 

The Winners Shine in Seven Categories

If you’re curious about the path to victory for our winners, learn more in this article. Thirty winners were selected, covering the following categories:

• Business Innovator, focusing on transforming the supply chain, processes, or business networks using cloud solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½
• Industry Leader, for employing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions to address big challenges and change how business is conducted
• Experience Wizard, for achieving business transformation with cloud solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to improve employee and customer experiences
• Sustainability Hero, achieving sustainability with leading-edge solutions
• Services Supernova, for outstanding achievements in transforming businesses into sustainable enterprises
• Transformation Titan, demonstrating exceptional innovation and transformational leadership in using ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP)
• Partner Paragon, for accelerating the adoption of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP

Juergen Mueller is chief technology officer and a member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 economyΜύis Μύin U.S. President Joe Biden’s Net-Zero Game Changers Initiative. Meanwhile, the newΜύΜύis 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, asΜύ. 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’re finished. Continuing like this isn’t 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’t 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ comes in, with 80% of the world’s 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. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’t 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. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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’m 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’ll get the rest of the way.

Learn more about ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability solutions at .

Darren West is a product expert in Circular Economy at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Specifically, companies registered with the SEC now must disclose their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as in those resulting from both their direct emissions and purchases of electricity and fuel.

Critics of the ruling say it adds to the burden of reporting to multiple government agencies. Others believe the SEC is not going far enough, as its decision does not require the disclosure of Scope 3 emissions, which are generated by a company’s suppliers and customers.

Among the reasons the SEC decided against mandating the disclosure of Scope 3 emissions was the potential difficulty in collecting and measuring this data as well as potential high costs.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½,Μύ we embrace the SEC’s ruling not just as a regulatory measure, but as a promising avenue for companies to thrive by leveraging technology to harness the power of business data.

We are not merely observing from the sidelines; we are actively partnering with our customers to empower them in accurately monitoring emission, reducing energy costs, and streamlining their business processes.

Our commitment goes beyond compliance — we are dedicated to enabling companies to stay agile in both voluntary and mandatory reporting, recognizing the ever-evolving landscape of emissions disclosure regulations. This sentiment is underscored not only by the recent SEC rule but also by the stringent laws such as the one and the EU’s (CSRD).

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has the technology to make Scope 3 emissions accurate, granular, and stable. We are seeing customers adopt digital technologies that will enable them to comply with all existing and anticipated regulatory requirements around the world up and down their value chains to track emissions accurately, including Scope 3, where applicable.

From our experience, sustainability management solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can benefit businesses while helping them stay compliant with local and global regulations. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ makes end-to-end carbon management seamless by embedding it into business processes through a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This offers companies the ability to create a by connecting their financial data with accurate and verifiable emissions data. When this data is connected, they can innovate their operations and supply chains to be more sustainable and competitive.

The essence of the SEC’s impact lies in our unwavering belief in collaboration. Our business-to-business network enables our customers to meet the challenge of disclosing emissions data under various reporting requirements. This ability to accurately track emissions allows companies’ stakeholders, including their supply chain partners, to access that information on public websites or mobile apps so they can meet and even exceed the most stringent reporting requirements.

With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s enterprise solutions, companies can operate today while increasing the overall availability and transparency of carbon data. These same solutions also allow for the proactive identification of supply chain partners so companies can further decrease their carbon emissions. Concurrently, government agencies can easily access companies’ emissions data using already available enterprise software to improve their emissions reduction goals.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s Holistic Approach to Cloud-Based Sustainability and Business Transformation

The reality of our future economy is that it is cloud-based and sustainable. That’s why we see our customers transitioning to more agile business models that drive sustainable outcomes.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ guides them through this new reality by providing the technology that allows for their business process shifts across their value chains. Whether they are new local or regional emissions rules, plastic taxes or , ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is ready to work with customers to minimize any disruptions with these new reporting requirements.

With a comprehensive and integrated approach to sustainability, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions move beyond compliance and operationalize sustainability across companies’ operations. Customers can build on their ERP solutions over time, transforming business processes for maximum sustainable impact. Companies can also deploy to inform, predict, and optimize sustainable outcomes. These same tools can leverage sustainability regulations and help companies achieve business process transformation.

We are hopeful that governments will advance carbon accounting globally. Taking that step will harmonize regional and global reporting frameworks and ensure optimal reuse of companies’ existing data flows and business processes.

This SEC decision makes it more important than ever for companies to use digital technologies to track their emissions accurately and not rely on estimated data that often undercounts carbon emissions.

Regulations can actually . We are in a world where businesses must pivot quickly due to externalities like economic shocks, political shifts, and climate-related disasters. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has the technology to help companies rapidly adapt to these changes and new regulations.

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer and co-general manager for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability. 

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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has helped businesses master complexity. With today’s evolving ESG regulatory landscape, including the arrival of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Solutions Powered by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business AI

Byβ€―integrating sustainability data with cloud ERP, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can uniquely enable businesses with theβ€―agilityβ€―to keep pace with rapidly evolving ESG standards; link disparate data sourcesβ€―to share trusted, real-time insights with sustainability decision-makers; and achieve their net-zero ambitions.

Companies can start today by adopting – integrated with – 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.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 – 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 – over time – 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 – and soon AI-driven business process optimization.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower: A Trusted ESG Data Foundation for EU Taxonomy and ESRS

With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has been enabling the world’s leading businesses to master complexity, delivering the integration and innovation needed for industry-leading performance. With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower and other cloud-driven innovations, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability. 

It makes me proud to think about the 676 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ colleagues who, in 2023, participated in our pro bono consulting programs, offering their expertise to these visionary social entrepreneurs. As in previous years, this collaboration has proven mutually beneficial, with 74% of our employees reporting a positive, lasting impact on their careers. Furthermore, 96% of the supported organizations and 77% of their beneficiaries have seen significant improvements. These numbers speak volumes about the shared value of our engagement.

But the 2023 SEWF wasn’t just a personal highlight; it marked the beginning of another significant milestone. We announced our investment in the Social Enterprise People and Planet First Verification with Good Market and SEWF. This initiative aims to set a global standard for recognizing organizations prioritizing social and environmental impacts. Social enterprises can now also identify themselves on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, the world’s largest B2B commerce platform. This breakthrough can make it easier for these businesses to explore new business-to-business opportunities while also helping ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers achieve their goals of being more environmentally and socially responsible. Saying it’s a win-win situation is a bit clichΓ©, but in this case it’s actually true.

Working with SEWF shows how much we believe in working together and driving towards collective impact. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we can’t do this by ourselves. Working with others is the key to driving the kind of systemic change our world needs. This idea is a big part of what we stand for at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, and is at the heart of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy.

This idea of working together really comes to life in our collaboration with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited. In 2023 – the fourth year of our partnership – we set out to make a real difference by not just developing the skills of young people but also finding jobs in the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ ecosystem. Launching the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Educate to Employ program is a big step in that direction. Helping 25 young people get jobs with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ in each of our pilot countries – Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and the Philippines – might not sound like a lot, but it’s a huge deal for each of those young people. For them, it’s a gateway to a sustainable livelihood, offering them not just gainful employment but a chance to build a career, achieve financial stability, and make meaningful contributions to their communities and the broader world. It’s about unlocking their potential and enabling them to participate in the digital and green economy. By the end of the year, we saw amazing results. While more than 2,500 had already passed the aptitude test, over 1,000 young people in Africa finished our “Boost Your Career with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Skills” course and more than 500 got through the first big part of their training.

But, what’s a year recap without some high-level numbers? Let’s dive into some impressive numbers from 2023. More than 20,000 of our ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ colleagues volunteered over 140,000 hours. Our initiatives reached over 2.8 million young people – almost half girls – and supported over 41,000 teachers. Our partner network reached 1 billion people in over 140 countries. These stats are just the tip of the iceberg, showing our big reach and impact together with our partners.

Building on this, our signature partnerships with Africa Code Week, Meet and Code, and Latin Code Week have always been at the heart of our achievements. As we handed over these initiatives in 2023, we took a moment to reflect and evaluate Africa Code Week and Latin Code Week outcomes more deeply. For instance, by empowering 14.6 million participants with the education, knowledge, and ICT skills needed to participate in the digital future, Africa Code Week has increased the likelihood that beneficiaries will realize higher earnings during their working lives. Common Good Marketplace estimates that Africa Code Week catalyzed up to US$1 billion in social value for program participants between 2015 and 2022 based on future increased income.

As we close the chapter on 2023 and look ahead, the journey we’ve embarked upon at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ CSR is a testament to the power of collective action and shared vision. The stories, numbers, and outcomes shared in our eBook reflect our commitment to making a meaningful difference.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey. Your passion, dedication, and commitment are what drive us forward.

Alexandra van der Ploeg is global head of Corporate Social Responsibility at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Following a series of issued during the past decade, the has now mandated e-invoicing for all B2G (business-to-government) procurements. The same requirements are expected to include B2B transactions in Europe as well. So far, over 100 countries including Italy, Germany, Poland, Greece, France, and Romania have enacted mandatory e-invoicing legislation, as have numerous others in Latin America and Asia.

Cloud-Based Platform Collaboration Supports E-Invoicing Compliance

There’s no big mystery behind the e-invoicing push. In-country regulators and policymakers see digitalization as crucial to improve fraud detection, simplify VAT reporting, and gain a measure of transparency. While e-invoicing mandates from governments add a layer of complexity for buyers and suppliers, cloud-based platforms have become the norm to automate and simplify collaboration.

One example is , where buyers and suppliers can manage procurement and invoicing activities with their trusted ecosystem.

β€œAs governments add e-invoicing mandates, we’re committed to help organizations by providing capabilities for regulatory consistency,” Lorraine Yao, director of Product Marketing for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, said. β€œDigitalization automates the flow of accurate information from order placement, shipping confirmation, and delivery through e-invoicing that’s connected directly to the company’s ERP system. Organizations can replace manual verification with automation based on real-time updates that speed up accurate processing, order fulfillment, and timely payments.”

Buyers and Suppliers Reap Benefits of Connected Network

Yao said that organizations transact US$5.3 trillion in annual commerce on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, totaling 746 million B2B transactions each year. Business results to date have been impressive.

After centralizing automated supplier invoicing and collaboration on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, the procurement team at a U.S.-based clothing and accessories retailer saved time with quick access to spend details and reporting analytics. With fresh insights, the strategic sourcing team can identify savings opportunities and expediently act on emerging trends.

A multinational infrastructure and renewable energy company based in Europe moved to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network as part of its company-wide procurement transformation. Replacing manual processes with automated machine-to-machine transactions has reduced errors, increased efficiencies, and provided the procurement team with real-time insights across the supply chain for more informed decisions.

Global Business Transformation from E-Invoicing

E-invoicing is yet another advancement slated to leave legacy tax collection behind. In an survey, 61% of tax professionals agreed that e-invoicing will have a significant impact on their tax management process in the next 24 months. Researchers expect e-invoicing β€œto fuse compliance and invoice management into one extended process…as VAT and GST (goods and services tax) protocols grow…This essentially means that every company conducting business in the global market will have to interact with these e-invoicing protocols.” It’s no wonder that e-invoicing mandates are spreading rapidly as countries including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore adopt the EU model, adapting requirements to their specific needs.Μύ

E-Invoicing Boosts Sustainability

Much more than surface automation measures, e-invoicing also contributes to what the calls the twin transition, meaning digital and green transformation. After all, when companies use less physical material such as paper, printing, and postage, along with fewer resources routing and archiving data, they can save energy.

β€œBuyers can quickly process information and data contained in electronic invoices and feed them directly into a company’s payment and accounting systems,” Yao said. β€œOur ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network customers find that procurement teams spend less time retrieving information and more time modeling strategic decisions. They can easily collaborate between internal groups and external suppliers, reducing inquiries and speeding up approvals while improving compliance.”

Broadened Positive Impact of Digitalization

Although e-invoicing is a government mandate in a growing number of countries, leaders in many organizations have realized that digitalization has broader business benefits. analysts predict that by mid-2025, 70% of global businesses will use embedded financing to collect and make payments. This includes services like invoice transmissions.

β€œDigitalization gives both buyers and suppliers transparency to see e-invoice status, saving time and improving efficiencies,” Yao said. β€œHaving immediate visibility to relevant procurement data in one dashboard, accounts payable teams can make the most of early-payment discounts and better manage working capital. This also improves cash flow for suppliers who receive timely payments. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is committed to help companies manage procurement end-to-end, including e-invoicing to meet country-specific mandates, and build trading partner relationships for business growth.”

Susan Galer is a communications director at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. Follow her @smgaler.

To address this challenge, Vestas, a major wind turbine manufacturer, launched a quality initiative powered by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network.

Pillars of the Energy Transition

Faced with the climate crisis, many countries around the globe are investing heavily in zero-emission renewables. China’s 14^th Five-Year Plan is driving the market for renewable energy, as are the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the Green Deal in the European Union. In these parts of the world, wind energy is regarded as the pillar of the energy transition and is the largest source of renewable energy.

But the wind energy sector is highly competitive, experiences rapid innovation, and is prone to massive supply chain issues. Manufacturers must source raw materials, manage global logistics operations, and mitigate the risks of supplier dependency while still keeping pace with demand. They also need to be confident that all the components in their turbines meet rigorous quality standards and deliver performance and reliability. Quality control issues can result in faults, repairs, and – at worst – major failures.

As a market leader in wind turbines, Vestas Wind Systems, headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, launched a large-scale quality initiative. Its 29,000 employees in 88 countries develop wind energy projects worldwide and manufacture, install, and service the turbines for them. The 85,000 turbines Vestas has installed to date generated 173 gigawatts of electricity and over 151 gigawatts under service as of September 2023. Several newly commissioned major projects will see that output increase significantly in the coming years.

“Collaboration with suppliers and partners is of crucial importance to Vestas when it comes to creating a sustainable future for the world by leading the global demand for onshore and offshore wind energy,” Adeola Abegunde, director of Technology Area Lead Digital Procurement and Supply Chain at Vestas, says.

Sourcing Quality with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network

Today’s wind turbines are made up of more than 10,000 individual parts. Since the companies that produce these parts are based all over the world, the supply chain is highly complex. To help manage this complexity, Vestas relies on , the B2B platform used by millions of companies across 190 countries that can connect buyers with contract manufacturers and suppliers.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network enables Vestas to run all its procurement and supply chain collaboration processes online – even beyond company boundaries. Employees use its supply chain functions to collaborate on orders and subcontracting orders. When a supplier confirms an order and sends a shipping notification, staff at Vestas and its contract manufacturers see this information right away. Vestas employees therefore know whether raw materials or the components for an order will arrive at the contract manufacturer on time.

Projects of this scale need to run smoothly and according to plan. This is where the quality collaboration features in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network come in. Before a supplier confirms or sends an order, it has to complete predefined quality tests and document them on the network. Vestas employees are then aware in advance of any quality issues further up the supply chain and can take corrective action. Through the network, employees can pass on changes to specifications if, for instance, one particular part had to be replaced sooner than expected and needs to be improved. If quality defects lead to incidents, the network can make these failures transparent to all partners and provide an audit trail. That helps everyone in the supply chain understand what went wrong and solve the problem.

“·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network allows Vestas to offer its trading partners a platform that makes all sorts of collaboration scenarios transparent from end to end. This means that Vestas is better able to mitigate the impact of disruptions in its global supply chain, making it more robust, future-proof, and sustainable,” Florian Seebauer, senior director of the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network unit at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, says.

Reducing Supply Chain Friction

Suppliers also benefit from the network’s forecasting capabilities. Vestas can provide them with information from the planning tool so that they can prepare for changes and capacity increases. This helps suppliers plan more accurately and can minimize friction losses in the supply chain.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network also supports Vestas’ sustainability goals since it allows users to select and rate suppliers by sustainability criteria. When compared to electricity generated from fossil fuels, Vestas’ solutions have saved 1.9 billion tons of carbon emissions – equivalent to 88 million cars driven for a year. Vestas has established sustainability performance as a core priority across its entire value chain and introduced pioneering initiatives such as its β€œCircularity Road Map” for the circular economy. It is no surprise then that Vestas is ranked as one of the world’s most sustainable companies, featured regularly at the top of lists such as .

Vestas and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ have a long-standing relationship. Vestas has been running ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ as its ERP system since 2007. In 2017, it adopted ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions for e-procurement and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network. Through ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, it now has access to a vast pool of potential trading partners. And, because the network is connected to Vestas’ ERP and the complex ordering and collaboration processes running in the background, users don’t have to switch away from the systems they are familiar with. With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s help, Vestas is breezing into a bright future.

Top image: Borssele 3 & 4, The Netherlands, Courtesy of Vestas Wind Systems A/S

As longtime partners, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and Mercedes-Benz have a history of shared knowledge for mutual competitive advantage. The fleet management program is grounded in the companies’ similar business philosophies and product road maps. 

Mercedes-Benz has committed to move the company’s B2B business to 100% digital and plans to sell 25% of all new cars online by 2025. The company selected to help support this mission. It will create a future-proof composable commerce portfolio designed to reliably power the company’s digital strategy, including a standardized offering across different markets. It will also simplify processes and reduce time-to-market.

Benefits of Digitalized Fleet Management

From the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ employee’s perspective, ordering a company EV couldn’t be simpler. Instead of time-consuming manual research and back and forth communication with the car dealer, employees can use to order the EV they want directly from the Mercedes-Benz online catalog. They can choose the features they want, such as car make and model, color, and equipment packages, within ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s pre-set guidelines.

β€œThe car configurator automates the EV selection process end-to-end, eliminating manual steps and saving time while providing the employee with a highly personalized experience,” said Steffen Krautwasser, head of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s global car fleet. β€œAutomating the approval process assures data consistency and eliminates the need for manual quality checks.” 

There’s a tremendous convenience factor in captured EV data as well. In one pilot program for select EVs in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s fleet, the digital twin will automatically track mileage. Drivers will no longer need to manually enter mileage every time they recharge, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can use this data to better manage the fleet.

Connected Data Drives Sustainable Business

Once ordered, EVs are tracked as assets in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s financial system. After delivery, creates a digital twin that can capture relevant, secure data across the EV’s lifetime. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s fleet management team can track CO2 emissions based on green energy usage, mileage, and the number of vehicles on the road. Krautwasser envisioned reporting this data to support the company’s global sustainability commitments.

β€œPerformance data from the EV digital twin can help corporate fleet managers guide employees in choosing the best vehicle for their driving needs,” said Krautwasser. β€œOver time, drivers can better understand travel ranges between charges.” 

Data is expected to help address so-called range anxiety, alerting EV drivers when their vehicle needs a charge and, most important, where to recharge. Mercedes-Benz is investing in charging infrastructure to create an ecosystem that would be integrated with public and private charge point providers in the U.S., China, and Europe.

The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to sustainability. Mercedes-Benz has committed to become carbon neutral by 2038, and transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2030 wherever possible. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is transitioning the company’s vehicle fleet for employees in Germany to all EVs by 2025 as part of its corporate commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Omnichannel Is Fastest Path to Customer Love

The digital experience is extremely important for customers who expect convenience and quality. Organizations in many industries have shifted to an omnichannel strategy that offers people their preferred experience, whether online or in-person, building brand loyalty and repeat business.

β€œWe want to provide a seamless journey for employees as they research, select, purchase, and enjoy their vehicle,” said Krautwasser. β€œThe most exciting part of our EV fleet management strategy is how we can use our knowledge to enhance the employee experience. Through data and digital services, we can get closer to our employees and act quickly based on their feedback, making improvements and introducing new offerings that keep us on top of trends and support ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s sustainability commitment.”

EVs represent a profound business model shift for the entire automotive supply chain as automakers sell direct to customers, provide digital services from vehicle data, and explore new revenue opportunities. It’s clear that Mercedes-Benz and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ are going the distance for a sustainable and satisfying driving experience.

Susan Galer is a communications director at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. Follow her @smgaler.
Top photo courtesy of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ employee Jude Calvin Parong.

Throughout Croatia, some businesses are venturing to a first in the European Union: offering customers . But this β€œcharge while you wait” initiative isn’t just about attracting new customers – it’s about integrating eco-friendly practices into daily routines for a more sustainable future.

According to Ivica BlaΕΎeviΔ‡, CEO and founder of CEV Technologies d.o.o., β€œWhile automakers promise a more-electric future, people are interested in EVs only if they reduce fuel costs, offer convenience in refueling, enhance driving experiences, and demonstrate significant environmental contributions. This latest addition to the customer experience proves how businesses across various industries can play a pivotal role in delivering that vision.”

Greening the Customer Experience with E-Mobility

The transition to a low-carbon economy presents an opportunity for Croatia to enhance citizens’ lives by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and investing significantly in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. The country also emphasizes energy efficiency in buildings and industries, implementing regulations to curtail energy consumption.

One initiative gaining traction thanks to Croatia’s growing desire to offer charging stations is sustainable transportation. By encouraging electric vehicle usage while advancing public transport initiatives to reduce fossil fuel dependency, the country can better align with European Union directives and foster a greener economy that champions people, businesses, and communities.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partner , a rapidly growing international charge point operator and e-mobility service provider, aims to support these initiatives. The company offers bespoke e-mobility and smart energy solutions, intending to assist customers in leveraging EV charging solutions and green energy more effectively.

For sustainability-focused countries like Croatia, CEV Technologies sees enormous promise in developing solutions for many industries, including retail, hospitality, and fleet management. And it wants to apply its deep expertise in EV charging technology to create innovative e-mobility features. To realize this aim, CEV Technologies cemented strategic business relationships to help co-create smooth, intelligent, and automated charging experiences.

β€œIn our partnership with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, we develop innovative and intelligent charging experiences for our customers. The focus is on integrating the charging process with individual business models to establish value-creating, end-to-end scenarios,” BlaΕΎeviΔ‡ explains.

To realize the potential of convenient charging within the customer experience, CEV Technologies implemented the AI-enabled capabilities of the  solution. It can support various scenarios for vehicle charging network construction, management, billing, and reimbursement. In addition, the solution helps optimize renewable energy production through greater transparency into costs, the charging process, and network usage.

But even more stunning is the opportunity to overcome one of the most significant challenges in the e-mobility market: simplifying the payment process at charging stations. Often, this involved a convoluted process requiring membership in exclusive charging networks, managing prepaid accounts, or navigating multiple apps. Now, CEV Technologies is at charging stations. This innovative move streamlines the charging and paying process, eliminating the obstacles to pushing e-mobility closer to a user-friendly, universally adaptable experience.

In return, achieving public, private, and commercial sustainability goals is within reach. Companies can develop, integrate, and adapt business models that address all types of customer needs and sustainability expectations with outcomes including:

• Speeding up onboarding of charging stations by three times through the use of templates
• 30% less effort when setting up relevant infrastructure, including back-end systems
• 20% faster ramp-up of charging stations

For Croatians, these benefits of e-mobility could bring more value to their everyday lives. Take, for example, a typical commute home from work. The navigation system of an EV can route you toward a charging station in a familiar location and effortlessly reserve it through a loyalty platform.

Plugging your EV into the charging point, you initiate the charging process on your phone and decide to capitalize on offers for a complimentary coffee and other exclusive in-store promotions. After checkout, you receive a comprehensive e-mail overview of your charging session and shopping experience and a free charging voucher for a future purchase.

While this customer experience epitomizes the harmonious fusion of technology and convenience, it also shows how a collective dedication to creating a greener, more connected future can positively impact individuals, communities, a nation, and even the world. And more important, the appeal of a straight-forward payment method that is reminiscent of traditional fueling stations might have an even more far-reaching impact on potential drivers’ willingness to adopt electric vehicles.

Aligning Businesses with Societal Stewardship

Croatia is striding more confidently toward a low-carbon economy as EV charging services become more integrated with the customer experience. Thanks to a country’s vision and CEV Technologies’ innovative solutions, companies across all industries can join this eco-shift by offering products along with an integrated sustainable lifestyle.

Korbinian Koblitz is business development lead for Automotive at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Since 2009, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has been on a sustainability journey with the objective to create positive economic, environmental, and social impact within planetary boundaries. Along the way, we have learned a great deal about measuring economic, social, and environmental performance and integrating sustainability into our business strategy. Central to this effort has been a continuous effort to decarbonize our business. Setting ambitious targets and leveraging digital solutions have proven crucial. 

Raising our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions is a key element of our approach to sustainability, which looks across the interconnected areas of holistic steering and reporting, climate action, the circular economy, and social responsibility. 

What Does Net Zero Mean? 

Net zero is a state where the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere. Corporate net-zero pledges have gained significant traction as , representing an annual aggregate revenue of US$27 trillion, are committed to net zero.  

There are and how companies can achieve it. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ follows the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) , which provides a credible and independent assessment of corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science. The continually improving standard enables companies to align their climate actions with limiting global warming to 1.5Β°C. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ became a member of SBTi in 2017 and was the first German company with a science-based carbon reduction target for 2050. In 2019, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ raised its commitment and adopted aβ€―1.5Β°C science-based emissions reduction target. We announced our net zero by 2030 ambition in early 2022, bringing this commitment forward by 20 years. 

Achieving net-zero emissions across our entire value chain means that all our emissions across all emission sources need to be either eliminated or, up to certain limits, compensated for. These emission areas, known as scopes, include those from our own operations, those generated by the energy we purchase to run operations, and finally, the largest area, external emissions such as those incurred by employee travel, items procured, and customer data center use. 

Targeting Our Entire Value Chain 

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s net-zero plan is implemented through a comprehensive and integrated approach that involves all functions in the company, customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders. We have established a cross-company program team involving experts from different lines of business to plan and implement our net-zero transformation. Reducing emissions from the use of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ software will be the primary area for reductions, followed by purchased goods and services. The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ net zero by 2030 approach includes: 

• Accelerating the transformation of on-premise customers to the cloud through our market-leading RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and GROW with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ offerings
• Enhancing direct investments in renewable energy sources and operating our internal and external data centers on 100% renewable electricity
• Reducing emissions by improving the energy efficiency of best-in-class data centers – our own, our co-locations, and hyperscalers – with sustainable programming and a cloud carbon footprint calculator for all ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ cloud solutions
• Strengthening engagement with key suppliers to commit to net zero and deliver carbon-neutral products and services
• Electrifying the vehicle fleet, promoting green mobility, and enabling hybrid work situations
• Compensating for emissions by investing in high-quality, nature-based solutions, such as reforestation, renewable energy, and community development, that have verified environmental and social benefits
• Enabling our customers and partners by adding sustainability features and functions into our core offerings, such as ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Ariba solutions, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SuccessFactors solutions, and by giving them tools, guidance, and best practices to measure, manage, and reduce their emissions through our including ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Data Exchange, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production
• Accurately measuring and reporting emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative and showing progress and performance through platforms such as CDP, EcoVadis, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Capturing the Opportunities of Net Zero 

We have many achievements to build on, but we also are charting new territory. 2030 is not far away. The challenges increase the farther we move upstream and downstream into our value chain. Despite the complexities, there are enormous opportunities ahead as we establish further success with our net-zero efforts. 

From a business perspective, focusing on net zero means reducing risk, improving ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s operational efficiency, and delivering cost savings by reducing our energy consumption and waste and optimizing our processes and resources. Net-zero action helps increase our market competitiveness by creating new products and services that meet the growing expectations of customers, partners, and regulators for low-carbon and sustainable solutions. We’ll also be better at attracting and retaining top talent who are increasingly discerning about their employer’s sustainability actions. We’ll offer a compelling case to investors who used focused criteria to inform their holdings. Finally, we’ll continue to enhance our reputation with industry media and analysts as a leader and innovator in sustainability. And most importantly, we’ll reduce our overall carbon emissions to provide much-needed relief for the over-accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  

With an increased sense of urgency, we recognize the responsibility, as well as the opportunity, to step up and drive a faster transformation toward a sustainable future. Not only must we accelerate our own net-zero transformation, but we must help other businesses and industries reinvent themselves as well. Only a fundamental transformation of our global economy will allow us to limit global warming to 1.5Β°C. It’s vital that we build sustainability into the very nature of how we do business.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s presence at both events exemplifies the seamless connection between environmental commitment and technological innovation. The nearly 100 initiatives ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ was involved in at COP28 last month demonstrated the company’s unwavering focus on fostering collaboration across governance, the private sector, and civil society, which, coupled with a commitment to transparency, also resonated with Davos’ core values.

For example, the β€œFrom Farm to Consumer” showcase emphasizing intelligent agriculture solutions at COP28 and the WEF Collaboration Village at Davos both showed the power of technology, such as how AI can optimize all industry practices and foster collaboration across the supply chain. This embodies ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s multifaceted approach to innovation.

The company’s strategies involve valuing carbon assets, supporting collaborative supply chains, and actively backing local climate initiatives. Recent studies highlight how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions can seamlessly integrate sustainability into core business strategies, giving companies a competitive edge. By treating emissions tracking with the same rigor as financial transactions, .

Navigating the AI Landscape Responsibly

As the WEF in Davos unfolded, the pervasive enthusiasm for AI became evident along the promenade. A dedicated pavilion called β€œAI House” served as a testament to the technology’s significance in shaping the future. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s commitment to innovation aligns with the forum’s pulse, offering a glimpse into how AI can transform industries and societies.

AI’s impact on the global workforce was a central concern at Davos. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns that the AI revolution could affect almost 40% of jobs worldwide, including highly skilled ones. In industrialized countries, this number could surge to 60%. The integration of AI in various industries can exacerbate inequalities, especially in terms of job displacement. However, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ believes the time is right to explore the implications and the steps required for this future. One of the first mind shifts may be seeing AI as a coworker rather than a software tool.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s approach seeks to mitigate potential inequalities. The company didn’t merely showcase innovation at Davos; it actively engaged in discussions to address the complexities surrounding AI and find solutions for a responsible approach.

Striking the Balance: A Global Perspective

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ recognizes the broader, global context of responsible AI, particularly with varying regulatory standards in the U.S. and China. The discussions at Davos provided a platform for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ to advocate for a harmonized approach to AI regulation, which is especially relevant for the EU. The company’s commitment to finding the right balance resonated in discussions about regulatory standards, emphasizing the need for global cooperation to navigate the evolving landscape of AI. This global perspective gains profound meaning when viewed through the lens of COP28.

COP28 concluded with a landmark decision by nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. The renegotiated text emphasized a just, orderly, and equitable shift, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This signifies a global move, committing nations to tripling renewable energy use by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency. The resolution proposes the first-ever phase-out of fossil fuels, accelerating coal’s exit, boosting renewable energy, and emphasizing energy efficiency. However, the resolution falls short of a complete commitment due to opposition from economically reliant countries like Saudi Arabia. And despite progress, vulnerable island nations stress the need for inclusive decision-making, as they face immediate threats from climate change and depend on global solidarity for survival.

Hand-in-Hand: AI and Climate Action

It’s crucial to recognize AI’s broader role in climate action. Scaling proven applications and technology, AI has the potential to unlock insights that could help mitigate 5% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and significantly bolster climate-related adaptation and resilience initiatives. Approximately 87% of executives view AI as having the potential to address climate issues, making it a key player in the fight against climate change.

AI contributes to climate protection not only by helping to reduce emissions but also by helping to navigate unavoidable climate change impacts and provide essential capabilities that enable climate action. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, alongside its dedication to AI ethics, wants to ensure that drive sustainability strategies and contribute to a more resilient and adaptive world.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ believes that working together and being open and transparent are key to solving bigger challenges. It’s not just about cool tech; it’s about creating real connections. As AI evolves, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s dedication to a responsible and inclusive future shows the power of teamwork in making a difference.

Like many other farmers on Kalangala, Berna started growing oil palm trees in 2012 while emphasizing sustainability and avoiding the deforestation and other issues associated with oil palm farming in some parts of the world.

Oil palm trees bear the fruit that makes palm oil, a much more reliable and lucrative crop than the cash crops they were producing previously. β€œWhen we were farming cassava, bananas, and coffee, we were affected by monkeys. They came and destroyed our crops,” she says.

She also explains that she had to leave home and go to the market to find a buyer for the crops that survived the monkey attacks and never knew in advance how much they would fetch. β€œOur living conditions where bad,” she remembers. She and her family lived in a makeshift timber house. β€œIn the night when we were sleeping, winds would come and destroy our houses and our children fell sick almost every day.”

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Change

That began to change when Berna began working with the Kalangala Oil Palm Growers Trust (KOPGT) and the family planted their first oil palm trees in 2012. They expanded their crop in 2019 and again in 2022. In Kalangala, many of the people are oil palm farmers. β€œWhen a day starts, some of my family members help me with the pruning,” she says. β€œThe others go to the plantation and do other activities.”

As part of its mission, KOPGT teaches farmers better agricultural practices. But perhaps most importantly, it has created a transparent payment system so farmers get paid faster and know if what they’re getting paid is accurate, increasing the standard of living of the farmers and, subsequently, much of the island itself.

As the number of farmers and transactions increased, KOPGT needed a digital solution to enable continued growth. Since 2009, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has worked to create applications that help smallholder farmers in developing nations, primarily across Africa, enhance food production.

David Balironda, KOPGT’s general manager, explains that the trust’s system is based on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Rural Sourcing Management, which can digitally record information on producers, their farms, and communities at every level of the value chain. This helps provide visibility and allows parties to easily and quickly communicate with each other.

Sustainability

Underscoring the importance of sustainability to KOPGT, the trust conducted an initial environmental impact assessment before launching the project and uses to monitor the farmer plantings and ensure they are in compliance with the National Environment Management Authority guidelines.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ cloud technology also enables KOPGT to ensure that the oil palm planting meets the most stringent sustainability guidelines set by Uganda’s National Environmental Authority. β€œWe are in the process of applying for that certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to make sure that we work within those guidelines,” says Fredrick Sulwe, KOPGT’s finance and administration manager.

As part of KOPGT’s commitment to sustainability, the trust maintains a lake buffer zone between the planting and the lake itself and even rehabilitates those areas that have been damaged by other plantings. β€œRestoration of those areas – the lake buffer zones – is key,” says Sulwe.

In addition to maintaining the buffer zones, the trust also follows recommendations for the stocking of trees and ensures that no chemicals or herbicides are used. β€œAs we increase household income, we must keep an environment that is free of any distortion by the project,” explains Sulwe.

The KOPGT system allows the farmers to input information about their crops using the lead farmer’s mobile phone and enables them to receive information and advice back from the trust. The system also includes a mapping feature that has helped farmers to know exactly how much land they are farming. β€œThat means when I go to the bank to get a loan, I’m sure of the size of my lot,” explains Berna.

In addition, she also knows exactly how much of the loan is outstanding and when it needs to be repaid. β€œPreviously, we would almost spend a year without knowing the status of our loan,” she says. β€œNow we can learn the status of our loans monthly. This never existed before.”

Better Information

She also credits the system with making her a better and more informed oil palm farmer. β€œAt the end of the month I get an SMS that shows how much I have harvested from my lot,” she says. Before the system came online, she says the family was spending a lot of money on transport going to and from the KOPGT office.

β€œOil palm has not only impacted my life, but also the community,” she says. β€œThere are many farmers who are like me who have built houses and some have bought cars. They have used the money they got from oil palm to start new businesses on Kalangala and outside.”

Big Dreams

Berna says her hopes and dreams are enormous. β€œI have started to achieve some of them,” she says. β€œNow, because I have a permanent house, I am able to sleep well, my children no longer get sick, and I’m sure that the winds won’t take my house.”

β€œNow, we are able to take our children to school. We can live a decent life. We have some place to stay, and we get paid every month. We are sure that our life has greatly changed,” she adds. And although she doesn’t yet own a car, she hopes to learn to drive in the coming years.

Meanwhile, she says she wants to thank everyone for their help. β€œWhat gives me confidence is we have good officers at KOPGT that have tried to give us a good direction. We hope that when they continue doing what they are doing our lives will be impacted greatly.”

Berna’s confidence and newly found optimism reflects the success of the vegetable oil program on Kalangala island. Because palm fruits can be harvested throughout the year – compared to one or two seasonal harvests – and have high yields, palm farming has become a viable alternative for the residents.

Palm oil is already the most widely used vegetable oil on the planet, with about 71 million tons consumed in 2021. And there is not only a domestic need, but also a demand from the foreign market that Ugandan smallholder farmers like Berna’s family and neighbors can help fill.

Gartner, an independent analyst firm, recently published a report titled β€œ.” A report from analyst firm IDC earlier this year, β€œSustainability Index for Software Providers: ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€, noted ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ performed β€œexceptionally well.” The published highlights how ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is leading by example as a sustainable vendor.

It’s abundantly clear that businesses need to urgently address sustainability challenges. Companies are adopting new technology solutions to help them manage sustainability across many different dimensions, from environmental issues like energy, water, and waste, to social issues like diversity and human rights, to governance and reporting issues.

Business leaders are looking for the best tools that allow them to quantify, analyze, and act on real-time, accurate, and shareable sustainability data throughout their end-to-end operations. With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s ERP-centric solutions, financial and non-financial data can be brought together for holistic decision-making. Business leaders can not only manage their productivity and operating results but connect that information with sustainability-related data to help make climate protection measurable, diversity and inclusion visible, and ethical responsibility transparent.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has a unique role to play in supporting our customers’ sustainability efforts. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers produce 87% of the world’s global commerce. That means our products and services can help the vast majority of companies driving the global economy organize their supply chains, transportation, and financial data in a way that can enable an equitable, circular economy and net-zero emissions.

Sustainability data in ERP is the foundation for holistic, integrated sustainability management. As the leader in enterprise resource management, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ has more than 50 years of experience helping businesses across 25 industries optimize resources.

Our comprehensive portfolio is designed to help customers find the solutions they need to run their business processes and enterprise more efficiently, with offerings such as ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Network, business process transformation solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP), and the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Customer Experience portfolio. Our solutions, increasingly powered with AI capabilities, can help customers not only in their own operations, but across their entire value chain – from calculating product-level carbon footprints, to ensuring diversity and inclusion, to protecting human rights. In addition, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s broad ecosystem of partners can support customers with industry- and technology-specific consulting and implementation, advancing ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s β€œsustainable by design” approach.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ leads by example as well, having committed to net-zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2030. We also have been recognized as the leading software firm in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 15 years and as a leader in environmental transparency and action by CDP, an international organization considered the gold standard of environmental reporting.

What’s Next

Sustainability is not an end state, it’s a state of being. In that respect, companies should adopt an approach that constantly evolves and adapts to remain sustainable. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is dedicated to advancing sustainable business through our own operations and our comprehensive portfolio of solutions that can help other companies with their end-to-end sustainability management. Across the business network and our wide solution portfolio, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ supports our customers in tackling their biggest sustainability challenges.

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Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Gartner, Sustainability Assessment: ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, 11 December 2023, Ed Anderson, Fabio Di Capua
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Business leaders might assume that more regulation in such a volatile environment would hinder the innovation they require most at this time. However, we will argue smart and balanced regulation can serve as a catalyst for transformation.

Recent regulatory initiatives like the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which mandates human rights and environmental impact due diligence, have positioned Germany at the forefront of ethical standards in supply chains. The draft EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) extends corporate responsibilities in sustainability, while the U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) places the onus on companies to prove that their products are free of forced labor, shifting the burden of proof to importing entities.

Increased Transparency: Understanding Suppliers’ Suppliers

These and many other emerging regulations play a crucial role in enhancing supply chain resilience. Firstly, they help to increase transparency. Compliance necessitates extensive data collection, providing companies with a clear view of their supply chains, including supplier practices and potential risks. This has been practiced by the pharmaceutical industry for many years due to the potential for damage to human health and economic risk to the company from counterfeits or product quality issues.

Now, more industries are recognizing that transparency across the tiers of a supply chain creates this critical backbone of data and visibility.

Secondly, companies must reassess their sourcing strategies, encouraging diversification and regionalization. This in turn reduces dependency on single suppliers or regions, making supply chains more resilient against unexpected disruptions.

Although companies may have been operating in an interconnected web of global supply chains for decades, those that still do not have full visibility into their own suppliers — and those of their suppliers’ suppliers — are putting themselves at undue risk by not innovating. We call this tier-n visibility. This is an incredibly powerful tool for eventually reducing uncertainty across supply chains.

Enhanced Collaboration: Gaining a Competitive Advantage

Compliance, when well-executed, can lead to stronger relationships with suppliers. The engagement required fosters trust and accountability in the supply chain, resulting in more collaboration to overcome challenges. With diversified sourcing, companies can swiftly adapt their supply chains to ensure business continuity. That’s simply better preparedness.

Researchers at Cambridge University recently emphasized the need to form alliances to , advocating for more collaboration to improve resilience and sustainability. Collaborative approaches, supported by digital technologies, can lead to significant benefits, including reduced tax evasion and enhanced information sharing in the global supply network.

But let’s face it: This is an industry problem, not a technology issue. Industries need to change how they use supplier data. Instead of using it to push for better procurement terms through negotiation, they should focus on more collaborative processes.

Many industries are beginning to realize the benefits of such a collaborative approach. For instance, a car company using the open network can pinpoint faulty engine parts and trace issues back to the supplier’s supplier. Such a targeted approach minimizes recalls. Catena-X ensures interoperability through common standards, allowing data providers to maintain sovereignty over their data. With 170 international members, including major German car manufacturers, Catena-X is poised to become an industry standard.

In this dynamic environment, supply chain resilience becomes a competitive advantage. Companies that proactively embrace regulatory requirements gain the trust and loyalty of consumers, investors, and stakeholders.

Reduced Risk: Embedding Artificial Intelligence

Growing regulatory demands also require a paradigm shift in how businesses approach risk management within their supply chains. Here is where artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role.

can provide proactive insights into the highly complex impacts of potential risks, allowing companies to anticipate and mitigate challenges before they escalate. This transforms the traditional risk assessment process, offering a more dynamic and real-time understanding. And that’s exactly what businesses need now to de-risk.

For example, understanding the impact of new trade sanctions (such as U.S. export controls on advanced computer chips), a container port blockade, or a steep increase on transportation cost for a given shipping lane offers a competitive advantage. Sensing disruptions, simulating them, understanding the impact, and then recommending and executing actions are core use cases that are optimized by AI and machine learning.

However, with powerful technology like AI also comes great responsibility. Ensuring ethical AI development and deployment requires transparency, accountability, and collaboration among businesses, governmental bodies, civil society, and the broader public. The draft EU AI Act would regulate AI systems based on risk levels, emphasizing the importance of adhering to ethical principles to ensure responsible AI use. Trust in AI solutions hinges on the responsible handling of AI technologies and adherence to human rights.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ recognized even before any AI regulation was available, that the speed of AI adoption increased . ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ was the first European technology company to establish AI guiding principles in 2018 and then created an AI Ethics Policy. The company established an AI Ethics Steering Committee and AI Ethics Advisory Panel, which helps operationalize guiding principles, provides guidance for high-risk use cases. and will align with the upcoming EU AI Act.

Advanced Technologies: Turning Regulatory Burdens into the Foundation for Resilience

Necessity often drives innovation, leading companies to invest in advanced technologies such as supply chain control centers, n-tier visibility, digital twins, cloud solutions, and AI or machine learning. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ solutions, such as and , not only facilitate compliance but also enhance overall supply chain visibility and management.

The best examples of the dynamic application of supply chain technology are often found in the food and beverage sectors, where strict quality controls as well as traceability and safety regulations have long necessitated agile, transparent, and sustainable supply chains. Unilever’s commitment to traceability and transparency in its global palm oil supply chain demonstrates how compliance acts as a transformative force. NestlΓ©’s embrace of technology illustrates how businesses can e with evolving standards. And Grupo Nutresa’s procurement transformation shows how it’s possible to while doubling down on sustainability with trading partners.

These examples show that compliance and innovation are not mutually exclusive and should be integrated, with sustainability serving as the bedrock of resilient supply chains.

Thomas Saueressig is a member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE.
Anahita Thoms is partner and global lead sustainability partner for Industrials, Manufacturing, and Transportation at Baker McKenzie.

I spoke with her about the success of the project and where there is still room for improvement.

Q: What are your greatest successes so far on your mission to make ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ events more sustainable?

Bittmann: First of all, it’s a real success to have advanced this topic to the top of the agenda. When event managers from Google and Amazon approach us at the , one of the largest trade shows for business events, and ask us how we launched and implemented our strategy for sustainable events, it shows that we’re pioneers in this extremely important area.

I’m also proud that we’ve started measuring our social and ecological footprint with actual figures, because that’s an important step towards real improvement. It lets us compare, readjust, and define even more ambitious targets. Our analysis of the last ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sapphire conference, which was organized as a decentralized event in the U.S., Spain, Brazil, and online, showed that we reduced CO₂ emissions by nearly 24,000 tons compared to when we had just one central event in Orlando, Florida, due primarily to the shorter distances traveled. In mathematical terms, that corresponds to around 2,200 around-the-world flights!

I’m also happy about a lot of little things, for instance, that we did without single-use plastics completely at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ TechEd in 2019 in Barcelona, Spain, preventing three tons of waste – enough to fill a 10 by 10 meter room one meter high – at just this one event!

To be successful, we all have to pull together. Our Global Events team, together with the teams in the regions, has proven that we have a huge amount of leverage together and are motivated to get even better.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

The global strategy and our specific action recommendations can’t always be implemented uniformly because they depend on each country’s economic and cultural context. In Brazil, for example, good hospitality means putting the best meats on the table – which made it a real headache for the local event team members to create a menu that was 40% vegetarian. They found a good compromise, however, by making sure to choose meat varieties that had a smaller ecological footprint than others.

In some parts of Asia, in contrast, it would be considered rude if we didn’t give small gifts to speakers as a sign of gratitude. In this case, we and the event team considered potential alternatives to the usual giveaways, for instance tree-planting certificates as an unusual gift.

These examples underscore how we often have to think outside the box together and identify new solutions, but can also unleash creativity in the process and sometimes even change people’s mindsets.

What are your targets for the coming year?

We want to improve our waste prevention even further and increase our recycling quota. We want to avoid non-reusable plastics completely and use sustainable materials for our branding items as much as possible. As far as emissions are concerned, we want to reduce travel activities even more, and we’ve been purchasing carbon offsets for unavoidable trips for some time now. When it comes to catering, we want to offer more vegetarian dishes and locally source at least half of the food served.

In addition, we are striving to recruit more female speakers to the stage, gain more social enterprises as suppliers, and strengthen social partnerships. Even if it means extra work for the local teams, I’m very impressed that so many of my colleagues spare no effort to achieve measurable improvements – and I hope their numbers will continue to grow! 

Do you have any advice for people who want to do their part in making company events more sustainable?

We should have the courage to do things differently – and better! One example: the most recent shareholders’ meeting was the first one to do away with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ plastic bags, notepads, and pens, and the outcry was much less than expected. We simply decided to scrutinize this established practice because when both the integrated report and the ballot papers are exclusively virtual, shareholders don’t need these things anymore.

There are many examples of things β€œthat we’ve always done that way” – call them into question! When we banned disposable beverage bottles at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ TechEd, no one shed a tear. The visitors were thrilled by our concept of giving out high-quality bottles and offering endless refills at the water stations. At the same time, this also supported a water project, which was very well received. 

The international enterprise with headquarters in Spain and operations in more than 80 countries has been including environmental protection and economic growth into its DNA and is constantly working on achieving a sustainable business model that will be its future legacy to society and to the planet. Its commitment to the planet is based on four pillars: climate action, biodiversity protection, circularity, and conscious suppliers.

The mission of Zamora Company toward its suppliers is to encourage them to be more sustainable by collaborating closely to substitute product and packaging materials with more sustainable alternatives and to use more recyclable packaging materials to support circular economy principles. It’s no wonder that, for Zamora, sustainability goes hand in hand with innovation without compromising the highest quality standards. as a conscious company is also focused and aligned with the achievement of the set by the United Nations 2030 agenda.

Accelerating Innovation Through New Packaging Legislation

Since the introduction of a in Spain on January 1, 2023 on non-reusable plastic packaging, companies are required to meet comprehensive reporting requirements.

The tax is an indirect excise tax with an environmental purpose. It aims to internalize the environmental costs related to the manufacturing and consumption of plastic packaging in the price of final products.

The taxable event is the manufacturing, import, or intra-community acquisition of non-reusable plastic packaging for its use within the Spanish market. The plastic packaging tax captures a broad concept of “non-reusable plastic packaging” in its scope, which includes:

• Non-reusable plastic containers – the law provides definitions of β€œnon-reusable,” β€œplastic,” and β€œcontainer” for the purpose of this tax
• Semi-finished plastic products, such as preforms and thermoplastic sheets, intended for production of non-reusable plastic containers
• Plastic products aimed to facilitate the closing, trading, or presentation of non-reusable containers

β€œThe new legislation required us to respond to governmental requisitions and was an additional driver to accelerate our sustainability efforts,” Enrique Gonzalo MecΓ‘ndez, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ manager in Operations at Zamora Company, explained. β€œWith a cross-departmental team, we were looking to find the most appropriate and scalable software solution to meet the country’s regulatory requirements and help us with data management, a tax monitor, and reporting and insights.”

Keeping All Data in One Central Place

As a result, Zamora Company found that , an industry cloud-based solution, would best meet its needs. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production can support manufacturers and retailers in calculating extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations and fees, plastic taxes, and corporate commitments to optimize material choices. In addition, it helps improve design decisions based on costs and planetary impact.Μύ

β€œFrom a process standpoint, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production facilitates the incorporation of everything related to sustainability data linked to the material, so that all relevant information is unified in the material master,” Gonzalo MecΓ‘ndez said. β€œAs all information is kept in one place, purchasing work and master data maintenance required to ensure regulatory compliance is centralized, without the need to manually replicate information in different systems.”

β€œMoreover, leveraging a single and integrated platform with provides the security of working with up-to-date and correct data. Additionally, the data quality application allows our users to detect any lack of information and correct it,” he added. β€œWith deep knowledge and solution experience, our trusted partner , an company, closely supported us during the implementation of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production, as well as the integration with our ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA platform.”

The benefits Zamora Company achieved include:

• Ability to rely on 100% correct data, fully aligned with material registration processes
• Cost savings thanks to less administrative work, eased reporting, and a central data repository
• Reduced risk of non-compliance with extended producer responsibility regulations in Spain
• A simple, user-friendly tool to support legal reporting requirements in a timely manner
• Ability to expand solution usage to meet upcoming EPR legislation in other countries, like Italy 

Positive Impact on Customers, Economy, Society, and Environment

β€œThe project helped us learn more about our products and incorporate their packaging details, so that our company knows exactly how much plastic and non-recycled plastic is being used. In a more strategic phase, this will allow us to evaluate alternative materials and compositions, which can create cost savings for the company and positively contribute to the environment by being able to transition to more sustainable elements,” Gonzalo MecΓ‘ndez concluded.

Watch a solution to learn how to start acting on a circular economy, design products sustainably, and eliminate waste with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production. about what benefits other enterprises achieved.

To explore how the comprehensive, cloud-based sustainability solution portfolio from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can support carbon footprint management, reducing material waste, and becoming a socially responsible business, visit .

Karin Fent is senior director of Global Customer Success, Digital Supply Chain, at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

The impacts of climate change and geopolitical conflicts coupled with volatile commodity prices and inflation are only exacerbating food supply chain challenges. Food prices are expected to rise 80% by 2050, and crop yields are forecast to decrease up to 30% by 2080. During a recent event at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s Hudson Yards office in New York, agriculture experts and policymakers discussed how organizations in the private and public sector can work together to build a more sustainable food supply. 

β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ continues to co-innovate with agribusiness leaders to digitalize the farm-to-consume value chain,” said Anja Strothkamper, global vice president of Agribusiness and Commodity Management at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½. β€œEvery organization in the ecosystem has the opportunity to come together and make a significant contribution towards affordable, efficient, and resilient farming, food production, and distribution. We collaborate across the food chain including agricultural production and farming, origination and trading, commodity processing, food manufacturing and packaging, and retail. These digital ecosystems help companies manage risk, improve decision-making, and maximize crop yields.” 

Data Insights Reduce Complexity for Cost-Efficient Sustainable Farming

Case in point is the collaboration between ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and VISTA that uses satellite images and AI-fueled algorithms to create digital twins that can simulate predictive forecasts for optimized decision-making in farming. VISTA is a subsidiary of BayWa, Germany’s largest digital agricultural company. I sat down with Strothkamper and Tobias Fausch, Baywa’s CIO, who shared how working together is cultivating the future of agriculture.   

β€œSatellite imagery plus AI models capture and analyze a wide range of data in digital twins, including soil quality, crop variety and health, water availability, weather conditions, and other farming activities,” said Fausch. β€œThe technology simulates yield predictions, calculating various scenarios based on precise risks by field location and weather patterns. Farmers can automate optimal soil preparation, irrigation and fertilization, crop rotation, and harvest times for sustainable efficiency and high yields. Even with the effects of climate change, these models reveal that we have sufficient resources to better manage global, end-to-end farming for adequate food production.”

In one example, a soybean farmer in India used VISTA to harvest the highest yield ever, despite a drought in the country. Fausch said that optimizing crop yields sustainably bolsters food security and also makes economic sense.

β€œUsing the technology, we can automatically calculate the availability of water for not just individual farms, but also a region or country,” said Fausch. β€œThis data can help governments better manage water resources for maximum crop yields in the face of events that make crop yields unpredictable. For example, if there’s a drought in one part of the country, water could be transported into dryer regions for storage and irrigation where it’s needed most.” 

Digital Platform Scales Up Secure Food Supply Chains

Accessibility to advanced technology is crucial to organizations in the food value chain, especially smallholder farms. The collaboration between ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and VISTA offers growers of all sizes a simple yet powerful tool to help capture intelligent data in the field using their mobile device. Available on , VISTA is integrated with .

β€œThe digital twin is the smart superpower, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ makes the information available across the digitalized value chain, triggering business processes like automated irrigation and fertilizer services, increased storage and transportation capacities for higher yields, or accurate government subsidy payments for fertilizer,” said Strothkamper. β€œPublic and private sectors can partner to extract value from the predictive modeling data. Farmers can increase yields, banks would have the traceability for investment decisions in startups to grow the economy, insurers can track claims, and governments can better plan and respond to dynamically changing community needs.”

Generative AI for Intelligent Agriculture

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s agriculture solutions are evolving to incorporate the latest technologies like AI for valuable business results. An uses ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Intelligent Agriculture to help smallholder farmers digitalize operations, providing advice based on captured data in the field and beyond. Farmers have already improved crop yields based on harvest time guidance.

β€œWe built this solution through our ongoing collaboration with organizations that are part of the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Advisory Council for Agribusiness,” said Strothkamper. β€œClimate change has rendered time-honored farming practices irrelevant. Generative AI can democratize intelligent agriculture with data-driven insights. Tools based on ChatGPT and other large language models that provide advice based on tremendous amounts of data throughout the ecosystem are the vision for the sustainable food value chain of the future.” 

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Reflecting on the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the scale of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s transformative potential – helping companies record, report, and act on net-zero targets and beyond – has never been clearer.

I observed two key trends that will advance climate action in meaningful ways – a shift towards simplifying data sharing and a transition to sustainable energy – where ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is poised to help.

A Shift Towards Simplifying Data Sharing

In recent years, more and more companies have made net-zero commitments – 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. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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. 

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 – 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ also supports the , a business initiative urging governments to phase out fossil fuels. The future requires collaboration with all stakeholders – 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, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ 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 ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability at .

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer and co-GM for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability.

The conference participants face complex challenges as they strive to turn these aspirations into concrete action. Amidst the vibrant backdrop of Dubai, the objective stands tall: to ensure that all nations, particularly the less affluent, aren’t disproportionately burdened in pursuing a sustainable world. Yet, can these ambitious goals truly be achieved?

The UN Climate Change Conference is a platform for governments to collaborate on creating policies against rising global temperatures and confronting the consequences of climate change. Over the years, these gatherings have shown progress, but many say they are too slow in creating tangible results. Recent assessments suggest a potential warming of 3 degrees Celsius, highlighting the urgent need for collective action to achieve the crucial 1.5-degree target.

COP28 aims to be more than just another meeting; it seeks to serve as a significant moment where the international community reflects on and evaluates the progress made since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Above all, it represents a critical self-assessment, examining what actions are required to bridge the gap by 2030.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Promotes Sustainable Innovation: Making Progress Together

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is participating in COP28 and advocating for ambitious policy action and the adoption of technology for corporate sustainability management. Through the active participation of CEO and Member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE Christian Klein, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer and Member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE Julia White, and Chief Sustainability and Commercial Officer Sophia Mendelsohn, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ showcases its critical role in advancing sustainability. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ underscores its commitment to climate action by engaging in nearly 70 initiatives during COP28 on various fronts like carbon accounting, climate justice, and the circular economy. 

Businesses of every stripe are reshaping their processes and how they operate to not only adjust to increasing regulation but to thrive in an era demanding zero emissions. β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s customers generate 87% of the world’s global commerce, about US$46 trillion. That puts us in a unique position in which we play a critical role in the global economic ecosystem,” says Mendelsohn. β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ can help 87% of total global commerce organize its supply chain, transportation, and financial data in a way that enables a circular and net zero economy.” 

A conducted by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ revealed a significant advantage for businesses that proactively incorporate sustainability into their strategies, surpassing those that merely respond to external pressures. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s solutions can help by streamlining data collection, enabling comprehensive analysis, sharing standardized data, and seamlessly integrating sustainability measures into core business processes. This transparency and integration can empower businesses to effectively navigate regulatory landscapes and make well-informed, sustainable decisions across their entire value chain.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s advocacy of managing carbon, fostering collaborative supply chain ecosystems, and supporting local initiatives in combating climate change and societal challenges exemplifies its strategic priorities driving this significant global shift towards sustainability. This underscores the urgency for all companies, regardless of size or industry, to prioritize sustainability. Climate change poses an unparalleled challenge that necessitates collective effort – a challenge no single entity can tackle alone.

That’s why ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is working with a broad set of partners for sustainability. Alicia Lenze, global marketing head of Sustainability Marketing at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, says, β€œCollaborating with our global sustainability ecosystem is essential to our customer success. We work with partners of all kinds – institutional, strategic, consulting, and technology – to achieve our sustainability goals together. We actively engage with institutional partners such as The World Business Council for Sustainable Development , The International Chamber of Commerce (), and We Mean Business to demonstrate how we are helping companies take concrete actions to tackle climate change.”

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ also strives to be a trusted sustainability partner to governments, international organizations, and civil society. By fostering meaningful relationships, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ drives climate action through technology and advocates for effective climate policies and youth inclusion in a just transition. COP28 is an opportunity for governments to implement a balanced approach to addressing climate challenges, combining mitigation and adaptation with crucial technological support. β€œI’m hopeful for an ambitious and impactful set of outcomes, which will send a strong signal to all stakeholders, including businesses, that we need to act with urgency and scale to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement for our people and planet,” says Pete Selfridge, head of Global Government Affairs at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Empowering Change Through Education and Youth Action

is teaming up with Abu Dhabi University to host a special Academic Community Conference. Dr. Karina Edmonds, senior vice president and global head of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Academies and University Alliances, will lead the talks, focusing on the critical mix of education, sustainability, and technology. This partnership aims to teach the next generation of leaders, equipping them to navigate and work in our changing world. β€œEngaging academia and youth in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s sustainability efforts is paramount. We are very proud to team up with our academic partners and innovation ecosystem during COP28 to facilitate dialogue around the power of emerging technologies in addressing climate change and its impact,” says Edmonds.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ also focuses on climate justice initiatives, particularly empowering youth through events like the Green Rising Showcase and Youth to the Table’s COP28 Collaborator Roundtable, highlighting the significance of youthful involvement in shaping a sustainable and equitable future. The private sector plays a big role in climate justice by bringing people together, speaking up, teaching new skills, and giving resources. Projects like aim to involve 10 million young people in climate action. Ensuring youth representation in decision-making forums is vital for inclusive policies.

COP28 marks an important moment for global action on climate change. It represents an opportunity for collective effort, emphasizing the need for collaboration and a shared commitment to addressing this critical issue. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½’s engagement goes beyond mere attendance – it entails spearheading initiatives toward a sustainable future, encouraging collective responsibility, innovation, and progress.

Claudia Cortes is part of Global Sustainability Communications at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

Winemaking emerged in Europe several thousand years later, and it is now home to many of the world’s most famous wine-producing regions. When paired with food or served for special occasions, wine consumed in moderation can awaken the senses and contribute to cherished memories. Spanish wine producer Gonzalez Byass shares this ethos, as to β€œbring moments of joy, helping people to savor and share their most precious moments.”

Headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera, Gonzalez Byass was founded in 1835 as a family-owned collection of wineries across Spain’s principal wine producing regions, overseeing the wine-making process from vineyard to wineglass. Grapes are harvested from its 2,000 hectares of vines under cultivation in nine wine-growing regions in Spain, Chile, and Mexico, and then pressed in traditional stone tanks, fermented, and the liquid aged in steel or oak barrels. After a few months or years, the wine is bottled and ready for consumption. 

What does not usually come to mind when contemplating the art of winemaking is the amount of plastic and other non-sustainable materials that may be involved, from the material encasing the corks, to the packaging used to safely transport the bottles. Gonzalez Byass saw an opportunity to address its use of plastic and promote regenerative agriculture in its industry through the implementation of a comprehensive and circular economy program in line with the (UN SDGs).

Confronting the Plastic Problem

Plastics are among the most consumed materials in agricultural industry, as they are used in large production structures, production inputs, agrochemical packaging, and food product containers, and thus generate vast amounts of waste. In response, consumers are turning away from single-use materials while governments are adopting an approach in the form of plastic taxes. These taxes are a hugely important policy tool to combat the and discourage the production and use of plastic packaging.  

The European Union (EU) instituted a plastic packaging levy in 2021, with some EU member states, like Spain and Italy, enacting their own new taxes. Spain’s tax which took effect this year imposes a tax on non-reusable plastic packaging and on waste incineration and disposal in landfills, with the goal of making all packaging in Spain recyclable by 2030.  

This reality has spurred consumer goods producers like Gonzalez Byass to drastically minimize use of plastic. Its efforts have seen the replacement of plastic packaging tapes with paper ones, replacement of plastic in bottle caps with wood and cork, and adoption of more sustainable plastic alternatives like bioplastic made from sugarcane. These steps have been instrumental in helping to recover and recycle 99% of the waste generated. The company also buys cardboard boxes and wood sourced from certified forests in line with its commitment to preserve and regenerate natural resources. 

The Key Role of Suppliers and Data

Plastic taxes are designed to discourage waste, prompting producers and distributors across the supply chain to reconsider their packaging choices. In its efforts to reduce use of plastic and purchase only recyclable packaging materials, Gonzalez Byass also needed to commit to sustainable purchasing throughout the entire value chain. Regular assessments with its suppliers have helped to gauge the progress on both sides. However, this kind of assessment requires not only trust and the fostering of great relationships — a skill at which it excels — but also, crucially, data.  

While the wine producer is committed to both sustainable production and procurement, compliance with new regulations in multiple different regulatory environments is a daunting task. The recently enacted extended producer responsibility measures in Spain and in other countries where it does business mean multiple different data streams, declarations, and timelines in different regions. Managing these myriad competing factors is one of the most complex challenges facing the consumer goods industry today. Being able to collect real-time data and centralize it all in one place is a key requirement for Gonzalez Byass to be able to realize its sustainable ambitions, embed circularity principles into its core business processes and comply with regulations.  

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s cloud solution for the circular economy, is designed to address all the requirements of the new plastic taxes.

Implemented by Minsait, which offers end-to-end digital transformation solutions, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production will enable Gonzalez Byass to accurately calculate fees and taxes in line with all the latest regulations in key markets, optimize its material choices in line with corporate commitments, and significantly reduce risks from unforeseen future regulations.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Responsible Design and Production provides intelligence that will enable Gonzalez Byass to monitor, measure, and act on its plastic data, so that it can make the most informed choices and carry out the critical work of eliminating waste and regenerating the natural systems that the company cares so passionately about.

Regenerating Nature to Address Biodiversity Loss

The transformation of the agriculture sector in Spain over the past 50 years has significantly boosted productivity and wealth but has also resulted in a substantial increase in the use of natural resources like water, at the cost of soil erosion and a negative impact on genetic diversity. Sustainable business practices require a fundamental shift in the way that we interact with nature, with a recognition that success depends not just on financial profit but also upon careful stewardship of the natural environment.

Gonzalez Byass’ vines include indigenous varieties on the verge of extinction that have been coaxed back into production to preserve regional biodiversity. This work is in tandem with its efforts to protect local wildlife, such as placing nesting boxes in a number of its vineyards, creating adequate ecosystems to promote pollination by bees, and promoting reforestation efforts in all the regions where the company operates.  And as water is essential for growing grapes and nurturing life, Gonzalez Byass employs sustainable irrigation techniques that use much less water in order to preserve this precious resource.  

Gonzalez Byass’ ambition is to leave the lightest possible footprint on the environment. Its commitment includes promoting sustainable agriculture and implementing circular business practices like precision-tracking plastics from the vineyard to your wineglass.

Next time you buy a bottle of wine, make sure that the company you purchase from has a sustainable vision for the future, and that it is compliant with key regulations that help protect planet and people. That is a goal worth raising a glass of wine.

What most people don’t realize: tackling plastic pollution often starts at sea, yet the solutions begin on land.

I sat down with Emily Penn, sustainability activist and skipper, for the to delve into her personal journey and how companies, regardless of size, can initiate their sustainability vision and translate it into real-world impact.

Over recent years, I’ve seen a significant change occur in the mindset of business leaders as they make sustainability a core aspect of their operations. Companies want to make a difference, but many don’t know where to begin.

β€œUnderstanding your own carbon footprint and being able to access that data is crucial because we can’t change what we don’t know,” explained Penn while talking about first steps companies can take to reduce plastic waste.

One of the key opportunities for businesses is having visibility into the right data to make informed decisions. About 80% of data within a given company remains untapped. By leveraging the right technology, companies can uncover a bigger picture of their business – for example, transparency around waste and supply chains to make changes that will support them in achieving their sustainability ambitions.

In 2014, Penn co-founded , a community interest company and non-profit organization that runs all-women sailing research expeditions at sea and virtual voyages on land to investigate the causes of and solutions to ocean plastic pollution. To do so, eXXpedition set out to first collect data to better understand the composition of plastic in our waters.

β€œDuring one of our research missions of these β€˜islands of plastic’ in the ocean, we quickly realized that the plastic breaks down into tiny fragments, called microplastics,” explained Penn. β€œThese 171 trillion pieces of microplastic make their way into the food chain and, in turn, into our bodies.”

eXXpedition set out to define changes that people, governments, and businesses could make to curb the environmental crisis. But first, the organization needed to correlate the data it had collected to specific regions, products, and more. This process of cleansing the data to identify patterns of consistent and high-quality connections allows organizations like eXXpedition and businesses to better understand where issues or areas for optimization exist and simulate potential solutions.

For example, Penn shared insights from her involvement in a project with a company that manufactures TV remotes. The project team unveiled that roughly five times the plastic used in a single TV remote was wasted during the production process. β€œYou have to be able see the unseen waste that you’re creating,” said Penn. β€œGetting visibility across the whole supply chain is absolutely key.”

To share the learnings of eXXpedition, Penn created , which offers a comprehensive collection of hundreds of solutions designed to address the issue of plastic pollution. β€œThe idea of the platform is to encourage people to see that not everybody needs to do everything to tackle this global problem, we just need everybody to do something,” she explained.

This is one example of how data can drive sustainability. (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP) can unify data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), application development, automation, and integration in one environment. Customers from around the world and varied industries have used ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP to help drive sustainability initiatives. For example, a Belgian utility company uses ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP to harness smart meter data and identify opportunities for more efficient and environmentally responsible water usage.

Small changes in behavior can have a significant impact when we unite our efforts. For companies, the first step is to address the data problem. Only with more visibility and improved data quality can they drive sustainability throughout the entire value chain.

Ragunath Ramanathan is chief revenue officer for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform.

Top photo courtesy of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ employee Angela Klose.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that industry plays an even more ineluctable role in scripting the future of humanity, one that involves sustainable social, environmental, and economic development.

As a global challenge, the climate crisis calls for businesses and countries to move beyond their siloed approaches, commitments, and climate pledges to fully embrace sustainability. The of “no one left behind” requires global partnerships.

With more and more countries investing in resilient infrastructure, there is a growing need to improve our existing industrial infrastructure. Here, technological innovation will be key. Technology is no longer the limiting factor for organizations to become sustainable businesses, rather it is the enabling agent in going green.

Sustainable development calls for institutional and value changes as well as cultural adjustments. As organizations worldwide look to don the green cape, behavioral change and transformation in business processes will be critical in making green technology mainstream. It must be incorporated into mainstream policies to promote national and international cooperation.

In 2024, sustainability will not just be the right thing to do, it will become a core strategic imperative for businesses. In addition to managing top- and bottom-line, forward-looking organizations are now focusing on sustainability as the third dimension to drive business growth. Managing the will be critical to enterprise success as customers, employees, and even investors increasingly turn toward companies that are pro-actively deploying sustainable business practices.

A Shared Responsibility Between Private Sector and Technology Leaders

In the battle against climate change, the private sector and technology leaders bear a significant responsibility. The crucial role businesses play in contributing to environmental goals underscores the importance of partnerships with key stakeholders — be it ecosystem partners, governments, non-governmental organizations, or citizens. The focus is on global and local examples where collaborative efforts have illustrated tangible impact achievable through cross-sector collaboration.

Partnerships that leverage the distinctive strengths and resources of each sector demonstrate how collective action can lead to meaningful change. The collaborative approach is presented as imperative for tackling the complexity of climate challenges.

Governments, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and citizens are not merely spectators, but active participants in the collective effort to combat climate change.

Governments wield significant influence in shaping policies and regulations that set the tone for environmental stewardship. Their commitment to sustainable practices and climate-friendly policies is pivotal. Businesses, as drivers of economic activity, hold a dual responsibility – not only to operate profitably but also to do so in an environmentally conscious manner. NGOs play a crucial role in advocacy and action, acting as watchdogs and catalysts for change. Citizens, too, are integral, as consumers and advocates who influence the demand for sustainable practices.

The Path to a Low-Carbon Future Is Circular

The path to a low-carbon future is circular. The good news is that a circular economy is not just about fixing environmental wrongs but brings about opportunities and drives positive impact across industries, sectors, and lives. Working toward a circular economy can protect human health and biodiversity in many ways, including better use of natural resources, such as protecting water and land, thus mitigating the climate crisis.

Organizations like ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ are leading this shift with an aim to become carbon-neutral in their own operations by 2023.

At ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Labs India, 97% of the energy consumed at the Bengaluru campus comes from green energy sources. Additionally, 70% of the transport services are run on electric vehicles with a network of 65 charging stations at the campus for employees. This environmentally conscious approach extends to food sourcing, actively supporting local farmers and communities. Moreover, there has been a seamless replacement of disposable items like cutlery and containers with sustainable alternatives. Dedication to paperless operations is evident in the success of apps like Appane, Physio app, and the digital printing and stationery request system,which collectively contribute to a substantial reduction in paper consumption. The transition from traditional paper food coupons to a user-friendly app developed externally is a clear demonstration of an innovative approach to sustainable practices.

To drive sustainable business practice, it is important to first measure carbon footprint, assess and reduce emissions, increase resource productivity through circular processes, and run safer, sustainable business processes. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ is uniquely positioned to help firms tackle this challenge and become sustainable enterprises with its suite of technology solutions.

Through partnerships, innovative practices, and a holistic approach to sustainability, all the stakeholders need to come together to shape a future where businesses thrive in harmony with the environment.

Sindhu Gangadharan is senior vice president and managing director of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Labs India and head of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ User Enablement.

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Sustainability contributes to competitive differentiation, according to almost three quarters (72%) of respondents in a recent global survey.

The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Study 2023, which polled 4,750 people across 29 industries, also found that more than half (52%) plan to increase environmental investment over the next three years.

Read the article to learn more.

While Wave 1 served to benchmark companies on their sustainability journey, Wave 2 identified a maturing approach to embedding sustainability across business processes. Results from this latest study show truly sustainable businesses – those that have established sustainability as part of business strategy and operational decision-making – achieve a genuine competitive advantage. In addition, more respondents than ever see a stronger positive relationship between sustainability and competitiveness with 72% believing sustainability contributes towards their competitive differentiation.

“We see in the research how many companies are shifting to view sustainability no longer as a regulatory compliance tactic, but becoming more of a strategy to actually build business value,” Sarah Dziuk, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Insights Head of Research, said.

The study includes results from 4,750 respondents across 21 nations and 29 industries. Eighty-five percent of responses came from midmarket businesses (under US$1 billion annual turnover) and 15% from large enterprises (over US$1 billion turnover per year).

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Making More Leaders Accountable

A key finding in Wave 3 was that businesses making the connection between sustainability and competitiveness make more leadership roles accountable for sustainability. This allows for a broader span of control and more accountability. The most competitive companies tend to have more than one top action taker such as a chief sustainability officer and an environment or sustainability manager.

β€œOur experience suggests that success is more likely when executives empower [their] organizations to engage proactively and strategically hold them responsible for creating measurable impact. Only then will companies be able to maximize the value at stake from their sustainability initiatives.”

McKinsey

Improving Data Quality

Becoming an intelligent, sustainable enterprise requires regular, reliable, and accessible data. With the majority of emissions sitting within a company’s supply chain, shareability across business networks is also essential for meaningful decision-making. Unfortunately, many companies still rely on estimates and assumptions, many of which they gather manually.

Highly sustainable organizations have a solid focus on the quality of their sustainability data. Quality data comes from primary sources that track actual emissions, waste, and other elements. Unsurprisingly, this leads to more satisfaction with the data. The companies with the most substantial connection between sustainability and competitiveness report the highest level of satisfaction with overall data quality – 47% compared to just 10% of other organizations.

Reliable data is more useful in determining strategy. Forty-one percent of respondents indicate strong data usage to inform decision-making. They also integrate data into more business processes and operations such as procurement, product labeling, selecting M&A opportunities, and recruitment.

β€œThe way we report on environmental data needs to quite quickly go through the same journey that accountancy went on many years ago.”

S.Oleum, a Brazilian agroforestry business that generates a third of its revenue from carbon credits, has implemented several ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ software solutions to help track and manage its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. Having a robust core system in place serves as a basis for all other processes and decision-making, as well as provides the accountability, transparency, and confidence it needs.

Quality data is the cornerstone of Catena-X, a program that allows the standardized exchange of carbon emissions data in the automotive industry using interoperability standards established by the WBSCD Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT). This lets businesses share product carbon information, promoting transparency throughout the supply chain, accelerating their journey to net zero, and making them more competitive in the process.

Sustainability as a Business Strategy

The top 25% of businesses reporting the strongest impact from sustainability reported that they treat sustainability as any other strategic pillar, on a par with IT for example. This has resulted in a much higher use of metrics for decision-making, increased investment, higher data satisfaction, and higher confidence of a return on investment in a one-to-three year period.

It has also led to positive business impacts including growth and improved profitability, increased efficiency, better quality products and services, and reduced costs, suggesting a truly sustainable business is more robust and resilient.

With clearer business imperatives, companies make investment decisions to drive business value. They invest in sustainability initiatives and can set realistic expectations of a positive financial return on investment in a shorter time frame, putting sustainability on a comparable timeline with other investments.

Linking Sustainability to Competitiveness

Companies are motivated to take action on sustainability when they see it as a genuine opportunity for differentiation and revenue growth. This leads them to make more people responsible for delivering on sustainability strategies and renders the barriers typically encountered earlier in a company’s sustainability journey, such as funding and concerns over ROI, less material.

It is interesting to note that in the UAE, where sustainability has been promoted at a country level as being as crucial for differentiation, a high proportion of companies (nearly 74%) are planning to increase their investment in environmental issues over the next three years.

The commitment to investment and lack of skepticism around sustainability in the UAE leads businesses there to report a significantly higher than average level of satisfaction with data – 36% are completely satisfied compared to 23% in the rest of the global results. More of these businesses, therefore, use reporting for decision-making, which is viewed more materially and results in decisions being taken more quickly. A positive relationship between sustainability and competitiveness is the culmination of these favorable indicators, allowing them to outshine their competitors in their sector.

Conclusion

The Wave 3 study results are clear: reacting to sustainability initiatives and demands isn’t adequate to gain a competitive advantage. Companies must invest in and treat sustainability as a key business strategy to unlock opportunities. In doing so, they will set a virtuous circle in motion where investment in accountability and better quality data drives more strategic decision-making and further investment. This benefits the company as a whole, making it more efficient, profitable, and robust in the face of the changing climate.

Heather Davies is a brand journalist.

For companies to act sustainably, responsibly, and efficiently, they must harness the power of data-driven decisions and advanced technology to reduce their carbon footprint and create sustainable product portfolios. Enter ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and its broad ecosystem of industry cloud partners with a shared vision to help businesses become strategic, sustainable, intelligent enterprises.Μύ

Hack2Build Opens Door for Innovation and Sustainability 

The , organized by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Co-Innovation Lab, is an initiative designed to harness the creativity and speed of prototyping industry cloud solutions by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partners in days as opposed to weeks. At a September 2022 Hack2Build event, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ partner Infosys presented a solution for organizations to identify, track, predict, and refine carbon emissions during sales and operations planning (S&OP) and make sustainable decisions. The solution, , was built using ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Integrated Business Planning (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ IBP) for Supply Chain, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP), ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Integration Suite, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management.

Framework for Tracking Emissions Leverages the Power of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s Industry CloudΜύ

Infosys’ carbon footprint solution calculates carbon emissions based on greenhouse gas protocols and global warming potential factors across an organization’s procurement, production, and distribution processes. It helps calculate key information, such as estimates of CO2e emissions per order level, thereby helping to make decisions that can ensure a smaller carbon footprint. The solution also provides an innovative framework to help companies identify, track, predict, and refine their carbon emissions numbers throughout the entire supply chain process.Μύ

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-Validated Partner Use Case Program Offers Momentum to Service Partner SolutionΜύ

Infosys’ solution is part of the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program. The program was established to give ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ service partners the ability to showcase, position, and promote solutions and spotlight their expertise of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform, leveraging the power of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s vast customer base and industry networks.ΜύΜύ

The ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program offers service partners the ability to: 

• Get amplified market reach: Increased visibility enables service partners to target a broader audience, opening doors to new markets and untapped opportunities. Leveraging ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s robust platform, partners can position themselves strategically and expand their global reach.Μύ
• Collaborate and co-innovate: Participating in the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program can foster collaboration with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ experts, industry leaders, and customers.ΜύΜύΜύ
• Access a dynamic ecosystem: Partners can benefit from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s ecosystem, where they can collaborate, exchange knowledge, and share best practices with some of the industry’s best leaders.ΜύΜύ
• Develop customer-centric solutions: The program helps put the customer at the core of solution development. Service partners can gain valuable customer insights though interactions facilitated by ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, leading to better-tailored products and services that can precisely address users’ pain points.Μύ

The program presents opportunities for both customers and service partners to flourish. By achieving certification, service partners can earn credibility, expand market reach, and foster collaborative innovation with industry giants. Its streamlined processes help accelerate time-to-market, providing a significant advantage in today’s fast-paced business landscape.Μύ

The program unlocks a door to a dynamic ecosystem where partners can learn, grow, and develop customer-centric solutions that can meet industry demands head-on. For partners aiming to thrive in their respective industries, this program is a game changer. Service partners are encouraged to embrace the power of the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program and transform their business.Μύ

β€œInfosys is delighted to publish the Infosys Sustainable S&OP and Carbon Footprint Management Solution through the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program,” said Atul Chorbele, AVP at Infosys. β€œWe are confident that customers across industries will benefit from adopting this solution.”   

Holger Brammer, Global Partner Ecosystem vice president at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½, praised this partner solution and the development process: β€œIt was impressive to see how fast Infosys developed this solution on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP and integrated it with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ IBP, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management. I’m quite confident that this solution will resonate very well with customers.”Μύ

To learn how to build industry innovation on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP and the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½-validated partner use case program or get more information about validated use cases on the ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ PartnerEdge site, contact Lucca Sperl, industry cloud innovation program lead.ΜύTo learn more about Infosys’ solution, .Μύ

Vidya Gugnani is senior director and industry cloud ecosystem lead for Strategic Partners, North America at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.
Nitin Majahan is COE lead for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Industrial Manufacturing at Infosys.

Top image courtesy of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ employee Karsten Hohage

This discussion led to more significant development than anyone at that table imagined: one of Spain’s first pure solar photovoltaic, or PV, developers and independent power producers. Seventeen years later, that company – Solarpack CorporaciΓ³n TecnolΓ³gica, S.A.U. (Solarpack) – has risen as a leading producer of renewable energy in Spain. And now, it’s undergoing a hypergrowth phase that includes rapid expansion in countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.

β€œSolarpack doesn’t just want to grow. We’re also committed to building awareness across new regions with different perspectives and understanding of renewable energy. This requires a technological foundation that provides the stability and flexibility to deliver offerings that are part of a global solution for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” says Borja Guerrero Echarte, chief digital officer of SolarPack.

Transitioning the Startup Mindset to a Scaleup Mentality

Following its IPO in December 2021, the company came under the ownership of EQT AB, a prominent Swedish investment organization. The voluntary takeover has since raised the bar for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards while facilitating Solarpack’s journey toward operational excellence, market leadership, and sustainable growth.

Receiving the latest expertise, proven best practices, and innovative technological resources from EQT, Solarpack became empowered to flourish sustainably. In 2022, the company initiated an organizational review addressing significant growth challenges and developing a new strategy rooted in advancing the transition to clean, affordable energy and creating shared value with a positive impact.

β€œDuring the IT capabilities assessment, we realized the company’s tendency to customize systems, use homegrown applications, and allow ad hoc implementations left its cybersecurity vulnerable and operations unable to adapt quickly,” explains Echarte. β€œThe technologies we choose must not only keep up with Solarpack’s growth but also help the business become a global company.”

Working with a combination of experts and solutions from ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ empowered Echarte and his team to rethink Solarpack’s digital landscape. For example, locally developed technologies – including spreadsheets, databases, and other isolated applications – were replaced with a single, unified platform of standardized solutions and value-added customizations. This approach provided the stability the company needed to fast-track its expansion into new regions, such as Germany and the United States.

According to Echarte, this opportunity to stabilize the IT architecture and tailor applications in ways that give a significant advantage over competitors is accelerating Solarpack’s transition from a fast-growing scaleup to a multinational company. β€œOur business systems can address each country’s unique taxonomy when capturing data, consolidating the information, and complying with various tax requirements – all at the same time,” he states.

Echarte adds that this scaleup engagement enables his team to elevate the user experience. Solarpack’s workforce is better equipped with the right tools, streamlined processes, and easier access to business information. And this is leading to higher productivity, faster outcomes, and more meaningful contributions to business results.

Part of an Ambitious Plan for Our Planet

What began as an idea over lunch has grown into one of Spain’s leading producers of renewable energy. Now with a renewed focus on ESG standards and continuous technology advancement and innovation, Solarpack is on a hypergrowth trajectory that currently includes expanding its presence in the United States.

β€œOur transformation from a hypergrowth scaleup to a multinational energy provider facilitated a strategic shift in IT capabilities,” concludes Echarte. β€œStabilizing our operations and tailoring business systems to meet unique requirements has empowered us to accelerate the realization of an ambitious plan for our planet – a more sustainable, environmentally friendly future for everyone.”

Learn how theΜύ programΜύcan help prepare your company for exponential growth through Series B to the pre-IPO and post-IPO stages, or visit the scaleups team at and register for a one-on-one discussion.

Fran Querol is an account executive for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Cloud ERP at ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½.

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Chief Marketing & Solutions Officer and Member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE Julia White is on a mission to discover how technology is helping the world reach zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality.

Her fall miniseries, The Sustainability Challenge, features conversations with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ customers and sustainability experts about how they are solving today’s biggest sustainability challenges. In her second conversation, White talks to the NHL’s VP of Sustainable Infrastructure & Growth Initiatives Omar Mitchell about how the NHL is reducing its carbon footprint and mitigating the impact of global climate change.

Read JG Chirapurath’s article to learn more.

Many organizations, however, face the challenge of gaining the data transparency needed for accurate reporting and actionable decision-making. Nearly . This is especially troubling considering there has been a . An organization’s ability to measure and report sustainability data across value chains accurately, reliably, and at scale has become an essential element of modern go-to-market and compliance strategies.

The solution? A new generation of powerful technologies working in concert to unlock the power of sustainability data. ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½β€™s robust sustainability solutions, built on a foundation of (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP), can enable customers to stitch together complex sets of data sources, applications, and business processes into one unified view. In turn, customers can accelerate their innovation, measure and report on their ESG goals, and ultimately build a more competitive, more sustainable future. 

Center Ice with NHL

Sustainability pioneers are in every industry. In the sporting world, the (NHL) was an early mover, starting its sustainability journey in 2010. It announced the initiative, which promotes and implements sustainable best practices across its 32 ice hockey clubs. Initially, it tracked carbon footprint metrics. Now, venue operators track an estimated 20 sustainability-related data points, such as electricity, natural gas, water waste, and recycling, for every arena. In a recent conversation with Member of the Executive Board of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ SE and Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer Julia White, Omar Mitchell, vice president of Sustainable Infrastructure and Growth Initiatives at the NHL, said, β€œWe play our game in what are essentially giant refrigerators. We’re using a lot of energy, a lot of resources. Measurement is key; you cannot impact what you do not measure.”

By 2018, the NHL published two sustainability reports and began the process of modernizing its data collection systems. Mitchell said the NHL turned to ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP as an β€œinnovative platform that could help streamline this process, make it easier for stakeholders to input data, and to visualize key insights in one end-to-end solution.” Together, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ and the NHL built the NHL Venue Metrics Platform – a tool that allows its clubs and venue partners to input their environmental data and develop meaningful insights.

The NHL isn’t stopping there. It also hopes to get fans involved too by providing real-time venue insights and environmental impacts. β€œOur fans are so passionate about hockey and the League’s environmental impact,” Mitchell said. β€œBy getting them involved, we can have true collective impact, which is the most powerful tool to elicit change.”

By prioritizing its sustainability green line, the is making a positive environmental impact, improving its customer experience, and setting the League up for success in the long run.

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Sustainability Is Good for Business

Embedding sustainability into corporate strategy is critical for customers to unlock their full business potential. The NHL achieved this with the help of a best-in-class technology platform and data solutions, two vital pieces of the puzzle to gain accurate visibility across the value chain, measure sustainability-related data points, and set net-zero targets.

JG Chirapurath is chief marketing and solutions officer of ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform and AI.

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ understands this urgency and is ready to help. Our daily conversations with customers have shown us what they need and expect when managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and emissions footprints. One thing is clear: the speed and agility of cloud delivery combined with the ability to integrate sustainability data into the core enterprise resource planning (ERP) system will optimize customers’ sustainability and financial performance and form the foundation for their future business success.

Sustainability Footprint and ESG Data Management Now Available in RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½  

With the new premium plus edition for RISE with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud, private edition, customers can accelerate innovation, infuse artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, adapt to market changes, and address complex, evolving ESG regulations and reporting requirements. With the inclusion of and in the premium plus edition, organizations can gain significantly enhanced sustainability outcomes. 

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management allows organizations to get highly granular footprint calculations on product and corporate emissions across scope 1, 2, and 3, gaining detailed carbon footprint insights. With emissions data embedded beside operational and financial data in ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud, business functions including procurement, supply chain, operations, and finance can see the broader context of their sustainability impacts, enabling better business decisions.  

With ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower, organizations can combine different data sources for one trusted view of their ESG data. By automating the collection and integration of sustainability data, companies can set targets to steer their business to achieve sustainability goals holistically, monitor progress and gain actionable insights from dependable data, and enhance trust by establishing robust and auditable ESG reporting to global standards.  
 
·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower are built on ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Business Technology Platform (·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ BTP) and can seamlessly integrate with ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud. With a cloud deployment, both solutions receive ongoing innovation updates, a critical benefit particularly when facing a global set of evolving ESG regulatory standards. Other benefits include leveraging automation – and soon AI – to help simplify compliance, reporting, and auditability.  

The Foundations of a Green Ledger in the Cloud 

·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ S/4HANA Cloud, ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Footprint Management, and ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability Control Tower are the building blocks of your sustainability stack. They can provide a path to the concept, where companies can treat carbon like money, managing the carbon entering and leaving their systems and balancing their “carbon books” the same way they balance their financial books. 

Harnessing quality data worthy of the green ledger will take time. But organizations need to start now to be prepared. By integrating sustainability data in the cloud, they can gain insights to steer towards a low-carbon business model, avoiding manual reliance on spreadsheets across differing sources of data and disparate lines of business. 

Future-Proofing Agile Innovation with the Cloud 

It is our mission to support customers in pursuing sustainability-focused opportunities and innovation, preparing to mitigate climate and social-related risks, and driving long-term business value. With our cloud-driven innovations, we help customers build the foundation for the evolution of their long-term sustainability strategies by giving them the tools to be agile and responsive, maintain control of integration and data flows, and master the complexity of sustainability challenges – and to achieve our collective goal of creating a more sustainable world.β€― 

To learn more, read β€œ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Diversifies Cloud Offerings to Accelerate Customer Innovation” and visit .

Sophia Mendelsohn is chief sustainability and commercial officer and co-GM for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability.
Gunther Rothermel is chief product officer and co-GM for ·θΕΔ΄«Γ½ Sustainability.