New Research Reveals Stark Disconnect Between
Sustainability Plans and Action at Most Companies
WALLDORF, Germany, June 5, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) Recent research by Oxford
Economics and SAP has uncovered significant barriers to corporate
sustainability initiatives. The problems include a lack of
communication and engagement by executives, ineffective use of
data, siloed technologies that don't share processes or information
and a lack of cross-company and industry collaboration and
partnership.
Yet while the value of sustainability initiatives is not being
realized broadly, the study also shows that the business case for
them is well understood. Executives expressed eagerness for their
organizations to become more sustainable, citing efficiency (58%),
improving brand reputation (46%) and meeting customer needs (44%)
as top business benefits for sustainability efforts. Overall, 63%
of the executives surveyed indicated that their company has a
formal sustainability plan already in place.
"Executives recognize that sustainability efforts can lead to
better profitability, attract both customers and employees and
drive a positive impact across their supply chains," said
Vivek Bapat, senior vice president,
Purpose and Sustainability, SAP. "But achieving these goals
requires a high degree of communication and engagement. At SAP,
we're trying to understand how we can support these companies in
realizing results from their sustainability goals and to defining
best practices across industries."
Sustainability Leaders Are Emerging
Most organizations
responding to the survey described loosely defined sustainability
commitments and limited connections with internal and external
audiences. Roughly two thirds of executives who do have
sustainability plans in place say the scope and vision of the plans
are not effectively communicated across the organization or
externally.
However, the research did identify a small group of executives –
about 9% – who have embraced sustainability-focused processes and
are reaping the benefits. These "sustainability leaders" are
defined by traits such as setting clear expectations at the
strategic level, applying the transformative power of technology
and data management and engaging with important audiences such as
employees, supply chain partners and policymakers.
"Sustainability leaders go beyond vision to ensure that
sustainability initiatives are acted upon," said Edward Cone, editorial director, Oxford
Economics. "They communicate with key constituencies both inside
and outside the company, and they use integrated technologies to
measure and track performance in a way that drives
accountability."
Addressing the Core Concerns Can Jump-Start Sustainability
Initiatives
The Oxford Economics and SAP study offers
comprehensive data to paint a broad picture of corporate
sustainability efforts. From the responses, key challenges emerge
where companies can focus to improve their sustainability results
and move into the "Leaders" category. Efforts to address those
concerns fall into five core areas:
- Begin with executive sponsorship. Sustainability efforts should
start with setting an explicit plan that is communicated and
emphasized throughout the organization.
- Drive clear, consistent communications. While sustainability
efforts begin at the top, the vision must be turned into action by
employees. Connecting key teams with clear goals is important to
push greater sustainability performance.
- Integrate processes, technologies and data. Most businesses
have not embedded sustainability into their core strategies,
leading to disconnected technologies that double count, prevent
strategic planning and leave financial and nonfinancial information
disconnected. Unifying these assets provides visibility into
progress and performance.
- Extend sustainable practices to customers, partners and
suppliers. Energy providers are a key component of sustainability
practices, but more than one third of respondents don't view using
sustainable energy providers as critical to their carbon-reduction
goals (36%). They also don't impose the same requirements on their
partners that they put on themselves. Sustainability is a team
sport that requires participation across the supply chain.
- Understand that data is critical. Capturing and analyzing data
provides insight into resources and efficiency. It enables the
organization to measure outcomes and raises the flag when
improvements are needed. This key component is an area ripe for
innovation across industries.
Read the full study. SAP and Oxford Economics are committed to
continuing to study and understand sustainability best practices
and to helping companies worldwide build more efficient,
sustainable operations.
About SAP
SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent,
sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise
application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all
industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total
global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT),
and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses
into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and
organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that
helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology
for companies so they can consume our software the way they want –
without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and
services enables business and public customers across 25 industries
globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a
difference. With a global network of customers, partners,
employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and
improve people's lives. For more information, visit
www.sap.com.
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but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2021 Annual
Report on Form 20-F.
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