SAP achieves 2011 sustainability goals with focus on carbon efficiency, women in management, employee engagement

Issued by SAP SA for SAP Africa
Johannesburg, 03 Feb 2012

SAP NewsByte - Executing on its commitment to help the world run better and improve people's lives, SAP (NYSE: SAP) announced its preliminary sustainability performance results for 2011. As a leading provider of sustainability solutions, SAP also strives to implement sustainable business practices across its own global operations.

SAP Africa plays a significant role in addressing issues of sustainability in the continent. “Our focus has been around empowering women to become successful entrepreneurs.” Among these initiatives are the collaboration initiative with microfinance organisations such as PlaNet Finance, to support women entrepreneurs in the Northern parts of Ghana in developing and growing sustainable businesses.

“This initiative uses innovative technology to support economic development sectors and the entire agricultural value chain,” says Lynnette Shaw, Solution Manager for GRC and Sustainability at SAP Africa.

Another exciting achievement for SAP in Africa is that of enabling access to information in the Western region of Ghana for small-scale farmers, through the African Cashew initiative (ACi). “It is exciting that SAP is embracing sustainability by providing innovation and enabling farmers to use SAP smartphone applications to get access to farmer information, cashew buying and loading and market information, and we will continue to seek innovative ways to provide sustainable solutions to drive energy, paper reduction, recycling and carbon management initiatives through sustainable management systems and technology platforms,” adds Shaw.

For the fifth consecutive year, SAP has increased its carbon efficiency from 36.4 grams per Euro in 2010 to 34.3 grams per Euro in 2011 (measured in emissions caused per Euro revenue). Due to software revenue increases of 25% at constant currencies, the company's worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased 8% to 490 kilotons in comparison to 455 kilotons, including Sybase, in 2010. Despite the increase in carbon emissions, SAP beat its published 2011 target by 3% and remains on track to achieve its target of reducing emissions to year-2000 levels by 2020. The company's focused energy and sustainability initiatives have led to a cumulative cost avoidance of EUR190 million since 2008 and EUR25 million alone in 2011, in comparison to a business as usual extrapolation based on 2007.

Part of SAP's overall sustainability goals is fostering a diverse workforce, which includes increasing the number of women in management. In 2011, the company employed 18.6% women in management, compared to 17.9% in 2010. SAP has set a long-term target to increase the share of women in management to 25% by the year 2017, and has started a variety of internal activities, including mentoring and coaching.

Other global achievements in 2011 include an increase in employee engagement. SAP measures its employees' motivation and satisfaction at work with the help of a survey that is the basis for the computation of its employee engagement index. During 2011, the index grew by nine percentage points to the level of 77%, a significant increase in comparison to last year. Additionally, the Business Health Culture Index assesses how employees feel about their personal well-being and the company work environment. It increased from 59% in 2010 to 65% in 2011.

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