How SAP Contributes to a More Sustainable Future
Written by Svenja Müller and Julia Jakob
The SAP Sustainability Summit in April is just one of many SAP initiatives that work towards a better future. We talked to SAP AppHaus colleague and Sustainability Champion Carolina Robertson about the connection between business, design, innovation and sustainability.
The clock is ticking, and we need to save our planet before it is too late. According to the Global Carbon Project, despite all gas emission reduction efforts, annual CO2 emissions have increased from 25 billion tons in 2000 to roughly 36 billion tons in 2018. Global warming leads to more frequent and stronger natural disasters and emergencies across the globe. The oceans are polluted with plastic waste and the extinction of species is progressing rapidly. And these are only a few alarming examples.
Of course, we can do a lot in our personal lives to help get the world back on track. However, it is important that businesses also contribute and act in an eco-friendly manner. SAP actively engages in sustainability initiatives. For example, SAP committed to reduce emissions and ultimately reach carbon neutrality across all operations by 2023.
To support SAP’s sustainability journey, the company launched its Climate 21 program, which incorporates technology to make business more sustainable. Besides corporate engagement, SAP employees participate by educating their peers and developing ideas that minimize environmental harm within the company but also within customers’ organizations.
Under the roof of SAP’s Technology & Innovation COO organization, the SAP AppHaus team and selected SAP partners, known as SAP AppHaus Network, are highly engaged in environmental sustainability in business. The network continuously drives sustainable co-innovation to optimize business processes within customers’ organizations. For example: reducing waste, lowering emissions and maximizing output. This connection is illustrated by recent projects with Royal Greenland and Vestas Wind Systems run by SAP AppHaus network member Trifork.
In addition to customer projects, the SAP AppHaus team supports sustainability through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. In the picture below, the AppHaus Palo Alto team was cleaning a beach on the west coast on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation.
Carolina Robertson, a Palo Alto AppHaus team member is deeply committed to sustainability activities. In addition to her role of UX designer at SAP, she is also a Sustainability Champion. In the following interview, you will learn about both her roles, her views on sustainability, and the connections she draws between business, design, innovation and sustainability.
Senior UX Designer & Sustainability Champion
SAP AppHaus Palo Alto
Hi Carolina, thanks for taking the time to meet! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and where you developed your interest in sustainability?
Yes sure! I was raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After graduation, I first started studying design and had the opportunity to work on a high-tech renewable energy project at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. I got a real understanding of how carbon-based energy is harmful for people’s health and for the planet. That’s when I developed my aspirations to work in sustainability and innovation. Afterwards, I continued my studies in Germany and specialized in Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Centered Design. During my studies, I engaged in projects based on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals and realized that information technology and software business play an important role in achieving those goals. I felt that my design skills could have a high impact on sustainable development and on how people use technology.
Tell us a little about your role as a designer at SAP.
I joined the SAP Innovation Center Network as a designer in 2017. During my onboarding training, I learned about SAP’s purpose to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. I immediately felt very connected to SAP’s culture and excited to work towards this purpose. Today, I work for the SAP AppHaus Palo Alto as a UX Designer and am also a Sustainability Champion. My role at the AppHaus is to support customers digital transformations using SAP’s Human-Centered Approach to Innovation. As a designer, my focus is the end user, understanding their needs and designing solutions with latest SAP technology that work for them and deliver value to their business. I enjoy interviewing users and facilitating workshops. Those activities help me create user journeys and other artefacts that support and drive our designs.
What’s the role of a Sustainability Champion?
SAP’s Sustainability Champions are a global network of employees that promote and support sustainability, share ideas on how to create positive social, environmental and economic impacts, and exchange best practices. As a Sustainability Champion, I am involved in best practices and initiatives inside SAP. My role gives me the opportunity to help shape a sustainable future for SAP, our customers, and society. I am highly involved in the circular economy topic and how we can create new business models that ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. IT technology and data analytics play a crucial role in managing limited resources effectively, and that is also why I am engaged in the SAP Sustainability Summit.
“I gladly sponsor Carolina’s time to work as a sustainability champion on my team, setting an example for others and helping SAP providing products and services that meet the purpose and sustainability challenges of our customers and leading with our own sustainable business operations and practices.”
- Uwe Palm, Head of SAP AppHaus Palo Alto
Could you elaborate on how your work at the AppHaus and sustainability go along?
Sustainability is high on the agenda of SAP and should be on the agenda of every CEO as well, since it is becoming more and more important in decision making for investors, authorities, customers and employees.
The most important challenge for companies is the availability and quality of the data relevant to assess sustainability. SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) supports our customers’ Sustainability Management to collect, combine and present the data from different sources. At the AppHaus, we help our customers with innovations supporting sustainability through design while using SAP BTP to create those solutions.
What’s your motivation to contribute to a corporate sustainability agenda?
My design background taught me to consider the impacts of my designs. Today, making design decisions to reduce our environmental footprint is not optional, it is a need that cannot be ignored. Every company around the world has an environmental impact even if those impacts are unintended. We must make sure that the impact is beneficial for the planet. I believe companies need to lead by example in the fight against climate change and include sustainability into their vision and strategy.
Can you give your fellow employees as well as external readers ideas on how to engage and contribute to a more sustainable future?
It’s my pleasure. First, a lot can be done in your personal life, such as reducing your own carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources, reducing meat and dairy consumption and supporting systemic change initiatives.
You can take this to the next level when it comes to your work life. One way to get engaged is to participate in the SAP Sustainability Summit on April 28 and 29, 2021. On day one, SAP will talk about actions towards a zero-carbon economy by reducing your environmental footprint. On day two, SAP will talk about actions supporting a circular economy by managing your limited resources productively.
Thanks for the great insights, Carolina! We will meet you at the SAP Sustainability Summit.
Are you interested in sustainability and how your company and you, as an employee, can get engaged? Click here to inform yourself and sign up for the summit.
Learn more about Climate 21 and SAP’s general Sustainability Strategy.
For more information about the SAP AppHaus, visit our website.
