SAP: Access to high-quality carbon data is an important prerequisite for the sustainable development of enterprises

In recent years, the "dual carbon" goal has increasingly become a green engine for the high-quality development of thousands of industries. Sustainable development has long been not an "optional action" of enterprises, but an unshirkable social responsibility.

According to SAP's recently released Sustainability Research Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), the sustainable development of Chinese enterprises has entered a deep water area, and enterprises that have included green and low-carbon as their strategic priorities have shown stronger market competitiveness and are most satisfied with the data quality of their sustainable development. So for Chinese enterprises, how to better grasp the "dual carbon" opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in transformation? In this regard, the reporter communicated with the relevant person in charge of SAP.

Chinese enterprises have stepped into the deep water of sustainable development

Combined with the data of the report, the sustainable development goals of Chinese enterprises this year are clear, the responsibilities are clear, and the measures are pragmatic. In terms of clarity of goals, 82% of Chinese respondents believe that there is a strong correlation between corporate sustainability and corporate competitiveness. In terms of clear responsibilities, 23% of the respondent companies are personally responsible for the implementation of sustainable development management by COOs; In terms of pragmatic initiatives, 12% of respondents believe that the primary driver of sustainable development is to achieve product and service innovation.

SAP Sustainability Survey Report

Based on the report, Wang Peng, an expert from SAP's industry and customer consulting department, said that there are three major changes in the process of promoting sustainable development management for Chinese enterprises. First, compared with the previous few years, the corresponding practice was carried out at the departmental level, and this year's sustainable development has risen to the level of the group, which requires the coordination of various departments and the twisting of a rope to do a good job.

Second, the company's sustainable development practices are more pragmatic and closer to consumers. According to reports, in order to respond to the needs of consumers, enterprises have gradually moved the control point from the consumption side to the supply side, and it is necessary to prove that the company's practices are sustainable from the raw material side, that is, the use of sustainable raw materials and energy.

Third, the entire strategic planning for the sustainable development of enterprises is more important. "On the basis of the overall plan for sustainable development last year, Chinese companies have put most of their energy into improving the quality of sustainable development data this year." Wang Peng told reporters that the managers of enterprises found that if the data is not measurable or there are problems in it, there will also be problems with the insights and conclusions drawn in the future, which will lead to the inability of enterprises to effectively promote sustainable development.

In this regard, Liu Qiumei, global vice president of SAP and chief marketing officer of Greater China, also emphasized that obtaining high-quality carbon data is a major prerequisite for enterprises to achieve green development, increase revenue, and improve product quality. "Enterprises have higher and higher requirements for accurate data, and they need to build a sustainable development data platform, because of the increasingly stringent requirements such as carbon tariffs, so it is no longer possible for companies to measure carbon emissions by estimation."

Liu Qiumei, Global Vice President of SAP and Chief Marketing Officer of Greater China

SAP uses digitalization to implement carbon reduction

As the importance of carbon data increases, how can companies accurately measure carbon data and manage carbon assets to implement sustainable development? Liu Qiumei believes that enterprises should do a good job in their own digitalization before developing a dual-carbon platform. This is a mutually reinforcing process, and the dual-carbon data platform will also promote and even accelerate the digital transformation of enterprises.

As a leading vendor in the enterprise application software market, SAP has been helping global enterprises build a digital foundation for many years. With the help of SAP's "integration of supply and marketing" and "integration of industry and finance" systems, enterprises in thousands of industries can realize the integration of procurement, production, quality management, sales, inventory, finance and supply chain.

In order to respond to the needs of the era of sustainable development and help enterprises achieve business growth and green carbon reduction at the same time, SAP has redefined the R (resource) in ERP, incorporated carbon data into the scope of enterprise resources, and used digital technology to help enterprises realize the integration of "people, finance, and carbon", so that carbon data can be "seen and touched" and accurately calculated. "In the past, SAP used ERP to manage the company's 'people, property', and now it embeds sustainable development into all the production processes of the enterprise to do carbon management." Liu Qiumei explained.

At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference held recently, SAP CEO Richard Collion and SAP Chief Marketing Officer and Solution Leader Julia also shared how SAP empowers enterprises to accurately measure carbon data, manage carbon assets, and achieve standardized data exchange across the entire value chain, enabling the green development of the industrial ecosystem.

At present, SAP has released four core solutions for sustainable development, including carbon emission management, carbon footprint management, ESG report disclosure, green traceability and recycling, and updated the sustainable footprint management plan this year, and released a sustainable development data exchange plan to accelerate carbon reduction in the supply chain. It is worth mentioning that in May this year, SAP also launched the "green ledger" initiative to help enterprises get actual, rather than estimated, carbon emission data like managing revenue and profits, and truly realize the integrated management of "people, finance, and carbon".

Based on a series of solutions, SAP is becoming a fellow traveler in the sustainable development of "new Chinese enterprises", and handing over the "green answer sheet" together with more and more industries. For example, in September this year, the digital zero-carbon court jointly built by SAP and the NBA was unveiled at the "NBA Basketball Park THE BOX" venue in Beijing. Based on BTP's joint innovation, the NBA and SAP have achieved comprehensive digital carbon data management, helping the NBA Basketball Park greatly optimize the energy consumption management, use of environmentally friendly materials, and fan participation in court operations, so as to achieve carbon neutrality in the overall operation of the court. The two sides will transform the innovative cooperation of "technology + sports" into a new driving force for green development, and drive the entire industry and fans to join in the green action.

Looking to the future, Liu Qiumei told reporters, "SAP will make full use of digital technology to help Chinese enterprises establish green ledgers and integrate the concept of sustainable development into their core strategies and key business processes." We will continue to deepen our local initiatives, strengthen exchanges with partners and business leaders from all walks of life, and continue to expand the 'Sustainability Alliance' and the 'Sustainability Trailer Club', so as to drive more enterprises and industries to implement carbon reduction and achieve vigorous innovation and development." ”