German software company SAP is marching onto 2022 with a sustainability platform to help organizations of different sizes in the Philippines move fast, recover faster and pivot fastest from the impact of the pandemic.
“The urgency of us coming up with this program was anchored on our desire to help different organizations pivot into the digital platform and transform themselves into intelligent enterprises,” said SAP Philippines managing director Edler Panlilio.
“We have put a structure to every transformation we have started with S4 Hanna. Now that we have a structure, it is faster for us to help our customers, move them in different stages of transformation. The good thing about this is that it aids every company, every organization in whatever transformation they are in today,” said Panlilio.
For 2022, SAP will further push the Rise with SAP with a caveat on sustainability, not only as a catchphrase in the digital space, but a program that will help micro, small and medium enterprises compete in a digitalized environment.
Given the amount of data around the world that goes through SAP systems, SAP as an enabler is driven by a much bigger responsibility—achieving corporate goals in tandem to achieving the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals as espoused by the United Nations.
The goal is personified in the company’s zero waste, zero emissions, and zero inequality.
“And for us to achieve this, we have to act now. In line with our purpose, SAP’s objective is to create positive economic, environmental and social impact within planetary boundaries, with special focus on climate action, circular economy social responsibility and holistic steering and reporting. In addition to pursuing our own targets, we want to help our customers become more sustainable,” Panlilio said.
SAP has a portfolio of sustainability solutions to businesses with embedded operational, experiential and financial data and insights to drive sustainability at scale.
“One of the things that we have done is we have paid a great amount of attention to making sure that from a purpose and sustainability point of view, we are engaging with the world both as exemplars of sustainability which means that we embrace sustainability in all of the right forms within our own business practices. But that we also are engaging with our customers as enablers of their sustainability and purpose initiatives. We feel like we have dual roles to play, and in both of these roles it’s important that we do so with authenticity and credibility,” Panlilio said.
SAP’s Chasing Zero initiative helps the company strengthen adherence and commitment to the SDGs.
Over the past two and a half years SAP learned from key stakeholders that credible contributions to the SDGs require tangible links between an activity or tool and the intended social, environmental and economic impact, lest everything becomes arbitrary.
While the company remained committed to the SDG framework, it understands the importance of focusing on each specific goal that shows a material link between its own operational activities or the use of its software by customers and the impact SAP can have as a company.
SAP believes that it can create the biggest and most direct value within the economic layer with the help of its native core competency of improving business process management resulting in a specific focus on UN Global Goals 8, 9, 10, and 12.
“Our aspiration towards zero waste, circular economy nicely combines our approach to be a role model and an enabler for Goal 12—responsible consumption and production within our operations. We will pay special attention to goals 3,4, 13, and 17 tackling health and wellbeing, education, climate action, and collaboration,” SAP said.
In the Philippines, SAP has been complying with ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management system in the last five years. ISO 14001 is the most widely used EMS in the world with over 360,000 ISO 14001 certificates issued globally.
As part of its global corporate social responsibility, SAP collaborated with UNICEF to address devastation closer to home.
“We saw how Typhoon Odette devastated some areas in the Visayas and in Mindanao. At least 400 municipalities were impacted by the super typhoon causing injuries, deaths and damages to properties, public infrastructure, and farming sectors. Based on the initial findings of UNICEF close to 2 million people were heavily affected, 845,000 of them were children who urgently needed assistance. To help provide for these children and their families SAP through our corporate social responsibility arm recently donated €10,000 to support the relief operations of UNICEF in the hardest-hit provinces and cities,” Panlilio said.
He said the company teamed up with the government and local government units to ensure that those affected have safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygienic kits which as all crucial to victims’ health and wellbeing.
Aside from the relief items, SAP also coordinated monetary donations intended for child protection as UNICEF called for the provision of child-friendly spaces and psychological support.
Since 2019, SAP and UNICEF have joined forces to create innovative solutions to challenges in global education and workforce opportunities.
Under the strategic multi-million dollar partnership, SAP and UNICEF are generating inclusive opportunities for underserved young people worldwide preparing them for decent work by equipping them with the hard and soft skills needed to make the most of future work opportunities.
The partners aim to help develop sustainable, scalable education models to provide more than 1.5 million young people with 21st century digital and life skills.