DAVOS, Switzerland — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced it is joining the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge issued by Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri pledging to support global business in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“SAP is not only a world-leading innovation and technology company, we are a world-leading sustainability company,” said Jennifer Morgan, Co-CEO and Member of the Executive Board, SAP. “Marco Bizzarri’s CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge is complementary to our own commitment to helping businesses use innovative technology to achieve their most ambitious climate goals so they can take responsible actions and make a positive difference.”
The CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge underscores the need for companies to take urgent action and implement a 360° climate strategy to create positive outcomes. The cornerstone of the challenge to businesses is to take full responsibility and accountability for the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions they generate, deliver nature-based climate solutions that mitigate emissions and drive positive change.
“As businesses, we must all own up to the total GHG emissions our activities generate and, at the same time, invest in nature-based solutions to protect our world’s critical forests and biodiversity, simultaneously helping to mitigate climate change,” said Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri. “I applaud SAP’s commitment to join the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge. The leadership they are showing by doing so will help create a future in which society can thrive and business can succeed, while nature is restored and protected.”
In line with the criteria set forth by the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge, SAP had already established an approach to helping customers transition to a low-carbon economy and deliver on their climate goals including:
- Creating greater efficiency, transparency and accountability of carbon and emissions across the entire supply chain
- Innovating new processes and business models
- Helping companies engage with industry, government and their consumers
SAP is helping companies track carbon emissions from their upstream supply chains to downstream logistics, including procurement, operations and manufacturing. In the transition to new sustainable business models, SAP has a team of innovation services and solutions professionals focused on enabling customers to embrace disruption and transform their business through innovation using intelligent technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and advanced data analytics
SAP aims to be a role model for climate action as well. In 2009, SAP set to reduce greenhouse gas emissions back to the levels of 2000 by the year 2020. It achieved that goal more than two years early, despite increasing its employee base fourfold. In 2017, SAP announced a commitment to making operations carbon neutral by 2025. This target included all direct emissions as well as a selected subset of indirect emissions from supply chains and services.
SAP became a member of the Science Based Targets Initiative in 2017 and was the first in Germany with a science-based carbon reduction target for 2050. SAP was also among the first companies in 2019 to commit to science-based 1.5°C-aligned reduction targets. This corresponds to an 85 percent reduction in the company’s 2016 emissions level by 2050, including energy consumption of SAP products in use by customers.
When emissions cannot be avoided or reduced, SAP compensates by investing in CO2 offsets, and in return receives CO2 credits from the sponsored projects. The focus is on high-quality projects, such as Livelihoods funds, which combine reforestation with bettering the livelihoods of rural communities. This fulfills the Gold Standard of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
SAP’s annual integrated report contains a detailed analysis of its emissions and impacts and is considered one of the most progressive in the technology industry. The company is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact and a member of associations, including CDP, the Value Balancing Alliance and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Additionally, SAP is the leading software company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.
SAP joins Gucci, The RealReal and Lavazza Group in the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge issued by Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri. Gucci is part of Kering, which has also declared total carbon neutrality.
Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.
About SAP
As the Experience Company powered by the Intelligent Enterprise, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP system. 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 more than 437,000 business and public customers 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.
Note to editors:
To preview and download broadcast-standard stock footage and press photos digitally, please visit www.sap.com/photos. On this platform, you can find high resolution material for your media channels. To view video stories on diverse topics, visit www.sap-tv.com. From this site, you can embed videos into your own Web pages, share video via email links, and subscribe to RSS feeds from SAP TV.
For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24
United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727)
For more information, press only:
Susan Miller, +1 (610) 661-9225, susan.miller@sap.com, ET
Bettina Wunderle, +49 7544 970-538, bettina.wunderle@sap.com, CET
SAP Press Room; press@sap.com
This article first appeared on the SAP News Center.
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP’s future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including SAP’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
© 2019 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices.
Please consider our privacy policy. If you received this press release in your e-mail and you wish to unsubscribe to our mailing list please contact press@sap.com and write Unsubscribe in the subject line.
