Greek philosopher Heraclitus was said to have coined the phrase, “The only constant in life is change.” In any organization this rings true, but especially at SAP, where we are committed to constant evolution and innovation in support of our mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives.
On the SAP Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team, we believe that this mission extends beyond our customers, which is why our work supports under-resourced people, communities, and nations around the world with partnerships and programs and is bolstered by employee volunteering. Our focus is on those most deeply impacted by the intersections of the far-reaching social and environmental issues that our world faces.
More than 15 years ago, SAP’s Month of Service campaign was created to provide employees with a dedicated time each October to connect with social causes they care about. The campaign grew year-over-year, with more individuals, leaders, and teams taking the opportunity to bring our company purpose to life and give back to the communities where SAP operates. Volunteering became part of the company DNA involving many of our employees.
SAP employees have allocated more than 1.9 million hours of volunteer time to worthy non-profits and social enterprises across the globe since 2012, demonstrating a growing commitment to purpose. With few exceptions, there has been steady growth as volunteering opportunities for employees have expanded and our focus on skills-based and pro bono activities has sharpened.
Volunteering Opportunities Available through the Year and Across the Globe
When 2020 challenged us all to pivot to virtual, the SAP CSR team knew it could spin this long-standing annual campaign on its axis and focus Month of Service on cross-border virtual volunteering and a series of inspiring speaker sessions. Last year, the goal was to keep momentum going at a time when in-person gatherings were not possible, as well as to deepen employees’ connection to the social and environmental topics outlined in SAP’s broader sustainability framework.
As a result, more than 10,000 employees engaged and took advantage of 207,000 hours of employee learning. Combine this with the 136,000 hours of volunteer time that SAP employees dedicated across the whole of 2020 and the depth of the commitment to bettering our world becomes clear.
This year, SAP CSR will further evolve the campaign as Month of Service becomes Moments of Service.
Moments of Service will no longer be limited to activities that are available in October, but will focus on the entire spectrum of volunteer experiences that are available through the year and across the globe. This will make it even easier to offer non-profits the support they need when they need it and for employees to engage when the time is right for them.
The last 18 months have shown that purpose is as relevant and urgent as it has ever been. In making it easier for employees to learn about SAP’s various social and environmental investments and take action as volunteers, the new Moments of Service campaign will become a more effective lever for change and create more space for empathy and inclusive leadership.
In the words of SAP CEO Christian Klein, “I’m excited about how this new campaign will make it even easier for all of us to find new ways to live SAP’s purpose and make a positive and lasting impact on the communities in which we live and work!”
Upon announcing the change to employees, SAP is already seeing excitement about the Moments of Service evolution and engagement with the campaign. We look forward to continuing year-round moments of impact that benefit our employees, our company, and our world.
