New council to provide SAP customers with a platform for networking and knowledge-sharing on sustainability
SYDNEY — SAP Australia New Zealand today launched a new Sustainability Executive Advisory Council (SEAC). Bringing together a select community of top executives, IT leaders and sustainability champions in Australia, the aim of the SEAC is to provide SAP customers with a framework to keep abreast of the latest technology and business strategies around sustainability.
Peter Graf, SAP’s global Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President of Sustainability Solutions was in Sydney today to co-host the inaugural SEAC event with Tim Ebbeck, President & Managing Director, SAP ANZ.
The meeting was held simultaneously in Sydney and Melbourne via video conference provided by AGL Energy, with keynote presentations by Peter Graf and CEO of The Sustainable Investment Research Institute, Mark Bytheway. Around 20 companies attended the event including AGL Energy, Telstra and Corporate Express.
“SAP views Sustainability holistically encompassing economic, social and environmental dimensions. Meeting the sustainability challenge requires a collaborative corporate effort to determine consistent frameworks, standards and reporting mechanisms, involving all stakeholders,” said Peter Graf, SAP Chief Sustainability Officer & Executive VP of Sustainability Solutions. “Australia is the first country in the Asia Pacific and Japan region to launch the SEAC, which will address topics including carbon management and environmental compliance, energy management and sustainability performance management. We want to learn from the most advanced customers and get their input on solution direction. ”
The SEAC will provide C-level executive, cross-industry participants with the opportunity to network and collaborate, gain insight into new technologies and SAP strategic initiatives and learn through leading member company best practices. The Council will also help participants gain maximum value from their SAP Sustainability Solutions.
With the move to a sustainable future being driven by business applications and creating new business models, many companies are struggling in their implementation of a sustainability strategy. Incorporating sustainability into business strategy and using business applications to drive the transformation are essential for companies to be competitive.
“Carbon is a fantastic indicator of business process efficiency,” said Tim Ebbeck. “But the business case for Sustainability sits independently of the issue of climate change or carbon accounting. Sustainability is a business model for long term success, because it optimises resource productivity, manages operational and environmental risk and enhances the brand. These are all the levers that improve shareholder value.
“SAP’s role in the Council will be to provide a framework for discussion and keep members abreast of the latest technologies we’re developing and get feedback and advice. SAP has the expertise to put an advisory council such as this in place. We have been addressing the sustainability challenge for a number of years and we were recently recognised as a global leader for our sustainability practices over the past 10 years in the software sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.”
Further information:
Peter Sertori, SAP Australia and New Zealand, +61 2 9935 4845, peter.sertori@sap.com
Biana Harkovskaya, Burson-Marsteller, +61 2 9928 1528, biana.harkovskaya@bm.com
