Since 2009, 麻豆原创 has been on a sustainability journey with the objective to create positive economic, environmental, and social impact within planetary boundaries. Along the way, we have learned a great deal about measuring economic, social, and environmental performance and integrating sustainability into our business strategy. Central to this effort has been a continuous effort to decarbonize our business. Setting ambitious targets and leveraging digital solutions have proven crucial. 

Raising our ambition to achieve net-zero emissions is a key element of our approach to sustainability, which looks across the interconnected areas of holistic steering and reporting, climate action, the circular economy, and social responsibility. 

What Does Net Zero Mean? 

Net zero is a state where the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere. Corporate net-zero pledges have gained significant traction as , representing an annual aggregate revenue of US$27 trillion, are committed to net zero.  

There are and how companies can achieve it. 麻豆原创 follows the Science Based Targets initiative鈥檚 (SBTi) , which provides a credible and independent assessment of corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science. The continually improving standard enables companies to align their climate actions with limiting global warming to 1.5掳C. 麻豆原创 became a member of SBTi in 2017 and was the first German company with a science-based carbon reduction target for 2050. In 2019, 麻豆原创 raised its commitment and adopted a鈥�1.5掳C science-based emissions reduction target. We announced our net zero by 2030 ambition in early 2022, bringing this commitment forward by 20 years. 

Achieving net-zero emissions across our entire value chain means that all our emissions across all emission sources need to be either eliminated or, up to certain limits, compensated for. These emission areas, known as scopes, include those from our own operations, those generated by the energy we purchase to run operations, and finally, the largest area, external emissions such as those incurred by employee travel, items procured, and customer data center use. 

Targeting Our Entire Value Chain 

麻豆原创’s net-zero plan is implemented through a comprehensive and integrated approach that involves all functions in the company, customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders. We have established a cross-company program team involving experts from different lines of business to plan and implement our net-zero transformation. Reducing emissions from the use of 麻豆原创 software will be the primary area for reductions, followed by purchased goods and services. The 麻豆原创 net zero by 2030 approach includes: 

• Accelerating the transformation of on-premise customers to the cloud through our market-leading RISE with 麻豆原创 and GROW with 麻豆原创 offerings
• Enhancing direct investments in renewable energy sources and operating our internal and external data centers on 100% renewable electricity
• Reducing emissions by improving the energy efficiency of best-in-class data centers 鈥� our own, our co-locations, and hyperscalers 鈥� with sustainable programming and a cloud carbon footprint calculator for all 麻豆原创 cloud solutions
• Strengthening engagement with key suppliers to commit to net zero and deliver carbon-neutral products and services
• Electrifying the vehicle fleet, promoting green mobility, and enabling hybrid work situations
• Compensating for emissions by investing in high-quality, nature-based solutions, such as reforestation, renewable energy, and community development, that have verified environmental and social benefits
• Enabling our customers and partners by adding sustainability features and functions into our core offerings, such as 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, 麻豆原创 Ariba solutions, and 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors solutions, and by giving them tools, guidance, and best practices to measure, manage, and reduce their emissions through our including 麻豆原创 Sustainability Footprint Management, 麻豆原创 Sustainability Data Exchange, 麻豆原创 Sustainability Control Tower, and 麻豆原创 Responsible Design and Production
• Accurately measuring and reporting emissions using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative and showing progress and performance through platforms such as CDP, EcoVadis, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

Capturing the Opportunities of Net Zero 

We have many achievements to build on, but we also are charting new territory. 2030 is not far away. The challenges increase the farther we move upstream and downstream into our value chain. Despite the complexities, there are enormous opportunities ahead as we establish further success with our net-zero efforts. 

From a business perspective, focusing on net zero means reducing risk, improving 麻豆原创’s operational efficiency, and delivering cost savings by reducing our energy consumption and waste and optimizing our processes and resources. Net-zero action helps increase our market competitiveness by creating new products and services that meet the growing expectations of customers, partners, and regulators for low-carbon and sustainable solutions. We鈥檒l also be better at attracting and retaining top talent who are increasingly discerning about their employer’s sustainability actions. We鈥檒l offer a compelling case to investors who used focused criteria to inform their holdings. Finally, we鈥檒l continue to enhance our reputation with industry media and analysts as a leader and innovator in sustainability. And most importantly, we鈥檒l reduce our overall carbon emissions to provide much-needed relief for the over-accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  

With an increased sense of urgency, we recognize the responsibility, as well as the opportunity, to step up and drive a faster transformation toward a sustainable future. Not only must we accelerate our own net-zero transformation, but we must help other businesses and industries reinvent themselves as well. Only a fundamental transformation of our global economy will allow us to limit global warming to 1.5掳C. It鈥檚 vital that we build sustainability into the very nature of how we do business.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at 麻豆原创.

Gartner, an independent analyst firm, recently published a report titled 鈥�.鈥� A report from analyst firm IDC earlier this year, 鈥淪ustainability Index for Software Providers: 麻豆原创鈥�, noted 麻豆原创 performed 鈥渆xceptionally well.鈥� The published highlights how 麻豆原创 is leading by example as a sustainable vendor.

It鈥檚 abundantly clear that businesses need to urgently address sustainability challenges. Companies are adopting new technology solutions to help them manage sustainability across many different dimensions, from environmental issues like energy, water, and waste, to social issues like diversity and human rights, to governance and reporting issues.

Business leaders are looking for the best tools that allow them to quantify, analyze, and act on real-time, accurate, and shareable sustainability data throughout their end-to-end operations. With 麻豆原创鈥檚 ERP-centric solutions, financial and non-financial data can be brought together for holistic decision-making. Business leaders can not only manage their productivity and operating results but connect that information with sustainability-related data to help make climate protection measurable, diversity and inclusion visible, and ethical responsibility transparent.

麻豆原创 has a unique role to play in supporting our customers鈥� sustainability efforts. 麻豆原创 customers produce 87% of the world鈥檚 global commerce. That means our products and services can help the vast majority of companies driving the global economy organize their supply chains, transportation, and financial data in a way that can enable an equitable, circular economy and net-zero emissions.

Sustainability data in ERP is the foundation for holistic, integrated sustainability management. As the leader in enterprise resource management, 麻豆原创 has more than 50 years of experience helping businesses across 25 industries optimize resources.

Our comprehensive portfolio is designed to help customers find the solutions they need to run their business processes and enterprise more efficiently, with offerings such as 麻豆原创 Business Network, business process transformation solutions, 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform (麻豆原创 BTP), and the 麻豆原创 Customer Experience portfolio. Our solutions, increasingly powered with AI capabilities, can help customers not only in their own operations, but across their entire value chain 鈥� from calculating product-level carbon footprints, to ensuring diversity and inclusion, to protecting human rights. In addition, 麻豆原创鈥檚 broad ecosystem of partners can support customers with industry- and technology-specific consulting and implementation, advancing 麻豆原创鈥檚 鈥渟ustainable by design鈥� approach.

麻豆原创 leads by example as well, having committed to net-zero emissions across our entire value chain by 2030. We also have been recognized as the leading software firm in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 15 years and as a leader in environmental transparency and action by CDP, an international organization considered the gold standard of environmental reporting.

What鈥檚 Next

Sustainability is not an end state, it鈥檚 a state of being. In that respect, companies should adopt an approach that constantly evolves and adapts to remain sustainable. 麻豆原创 is dedicated to advancing sustainable business through our own operations and our comprehensive portfolio of solutions that can help other companies with their end-to-end sustainability management. Across the business network and our wide solution portfolio, 麻豆原创 supports our customers in tackling their biggest sustainability challenges.

Try the free tool, and read the full .

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at 麻豆原创.

Gartner, Sustainability Assessment: 麻豆原创, 11 December 2023, Ed Anderson, Fabio Di Capua
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from 麻豆原创.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner鈥檚 research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

As leaders, it is our responsibility to drive change and create a positive impact. We can help create a more harmonious relationship between humanity and our planet by embracing sustainability, fostering innovation and collaboration, and advocating for policy change.

I鈥檝e heard CEO Steven Tebbe鈥檚 warning loud and clear: he states that persistent overshoot leads to more prominent symptoms, including unusual heat waves, forest fires, droughts, and floods. This, in turn, increases the risk of compromising food production. His conclusion: it is in the interest of cities, countries, and business entities to foster their own resource security if they want to prosper 鈥� to the benefit of the Earth as well.

It鈥檚 encouraging to see how organizations across the globe collaborate for a sustainable future that will help us #MoveTheDate. According to the , 5,500 companies are taking actions to reduce emissions. More than 2,100 companies out of those have made net-zero commitments. Businesses have realized that it is important to incorporate sustainability in their business strategies to mitigate the evolving investor pressure, consumer demand, and regulatory constraints. As the rightly pointed out, more rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary to achieve deep and sustained emissions reductions and secure a livable and sustainable future for all.

But how can we make this happen? Actually, there are several levers that might significantly move Earth Overshoot Day closer to year鈥檚 end 鈥� and companies like 麻豆原创 can contribute to them.

Reducing the carbon component of humanity鈥檚 ecological footprint by 50% would move Earth Overshoot Day by 93 days, or more than three months.*

The change with the biggest impact as identified by the Global Footprint Network is carbon reduction. 麻豆原创 has continuously expanded its since 2009. It became the first German company to work with science-based emissions reduction targets in 2017. Two years later, 麻豆原创 was one of the first seven global companies to have 1.5掳C-aligned reduction targets for 2050. We accelerated this timeline last year by committing to becoming a net-zero emissions enterprise by 2030, 20 years earlier than the original target.

While walking the talk is key, providing digital solutions and services to help every business run as an intelligent and sustainable enterprise is how we can scale these efforts. We can support thousands of customers in managing their carbon footprint, reducing material waste, and becoming socially responsible businesses.鈥� For example, helps businesses gain material sourcing transparency and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data across their supply chains. This includes the material input scope 3 carbon footprint as it moves from supplier to supplier. 麻豆原创鈥檚 new green ledger initiative helps companies track their carbon accounting with more precision and control by using actual data across their business operations and supply chains instead of estimates.

Increasing global, low-carbon electricity sources from 39% to 75% would move the date by 26 days.*

At 麻豆原创, we have been using 100% renewable energy to power all our data centers and offices since 2014. It enables us to offer customers carbon-neutral cloud software solutions that help them reduce their overall carbon emissions.

In alignment with our commitment to the RE100 initiative, we use two strategic levers. Firstly, we invest in high-quality, EKOenergy-certified EACs to foster renewable energy generation. Secondly, we produce renewable electricity at selected 麻豆原创 locations. One example is the 麻豆原创 Labs India location in Bengaluru. It runs on the power generated from the on-site solar power grid along with Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting systems. To innovate and scale businesses in support of the clean energy transition, we work with energy customers such as , , and .

Reducing the footprint from driving by 50% around the world and replacing one-third of car miles by public transportation and the rest by biking and walking would move the date by 13 days.*

According to , 20% of the world鈥檚 carbon emissions are from transportation. To help reduce this, we track our impact in the global 麻豆原创 commuting survey. According to the survey, average CO2e emissions per employee per day dropped by 70% from 4.38kg in 2018 to 1.30kg in 2022 due to working from home and emission-free commuting.

麻豆原创 also stated that from 2025, all new company cars will be emission-free in operation. In support of this transition, we are enhancing the charging infrastructure at our facilities and intend to leverage 麻豆原创 E-Mobility, a standardized, cloud-based solution. It can provide a complete package that enables charge point operators to run their business efficiently and profitably.

These are just three examples that would move Earth Overshoot Day closer to New Year鈥檚 Eve 鈥� the day when human consumption and Earth鈥檚 regenerative capacity would be in balance. But we are not there yet. Today, Earth Overshoot Day serves as a poignant reminder that despite the strides made, our efforts are not yet enough to mitigate the growing ecological crisis. We have witnessed positive shifts in attitudes and actions towards sustainability, but the urgency of the moment demands that we intensify our commitments and actions.

It is time to rethink, recalibrate, and redesign our way of living and doing business in alignment with the planetary boundaries. The responsibility to protect and nurture our planet does not rest solely on the shoulders of policymakers or industry leaders; it rests on each of us. Let us collaborate towards a more balanced relationship with our planet and a sustainable future that safeguards Earth鈥檚 resources.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer at 麻豆原创.
*Source:

While many organizations have established environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals and made ESG commitments, driven by purpose and emerging regulatory requirements, they face a number of challenges when making the transition from ambition to action. In fact, a recent IBM study found that global executives cite (41%) as the biggest obstacle to their ESG progress, followed by regulatory barriers (39%), inconsistent standards (37%), and inadequate skills (36%). The impacts of data challenges are becoming visible to company stakeholders, with based on a company鈥檚 progress toward their ESG goals.

Those who have committed to closing the green gap have embraced sustainability-focused processes and are reaping the benefits. If data is a key barrier to success, companies should consider implementing an environmental strategy that encompasses an all-in organizational commitment to specific targeted outcomes and leverages technology to accelerate and track progress.

A recent study from the surveyed 2,125 senior executives involved in their organizations鈥� environmental sustainability strategies. The study yielded a surprising result: organizations that outperform their competition in both environmental and financial outcomes also boast the most deeply engaged enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

ERP is the technology of record, touching virtually every organizational business process. It can connect financial and environmental goals, keeping metrics accountable and accessible. When implemented in conjunction with other systems, ERP enables cost transparency and visibility 鈥� allowing environmental, regulatory, and business-critical decisions to be made with improved consistency and reliability.

Uncovering Hidden Possibilities with ERP

An organization鈥檚 sustainability data can be difficult to attain due to siloed business processes, unreliable data, and misaligned business priorities. ERP uncovers real-time material information across business functions and gets necessary data into the hands of corporate decision-makers and operators for a streamlined user experience. This newfound access to data gives businesses the capability to record, report, and act on enterprise-wide ESG commitments and help resolve many of the complex challenges and demands of sustainability. With this visibility, people can see the impact of their decisions and trust the results being reported. This trust can accelerate the culture change needed to support and accelerate overall sustainable business transformation.

While moving the needle on making progress toward ESG goals can seem nearly impossible for some, there are organizations that have managed to crack the code to greener success. The recent IBM and 麻豆原创 study found a group of high-achieving business leaders (15%) 鈥� the Environmental Sustainability Enabled (Enabled) 鈥� that actively prioritize environmental sustainability and implement concrete, well publicized plans to achieve goals at a far higher rate than their peers. The study found that Enabled organizations place environmental sustainability on par with financial performance because they see sustainability fueling financial results.

The recent study also found that the Enabled rely on ERP data structures to address sustainability goals, among other standout findings, including:

• The Enabled report 47% of sustainability performance data is collected in their ERP, but they expect that to increase to 55% by 2025, a 17% increase.
• 94% more of the Enabled believe ERPs are helping manage manufacturing sustainability goals. And 31% more believe the same as relates to labor management.
• The Enabled report accumulating almost 70% of their carbon capture and energy use metrics in their ERP.
• Enabled organizations use ERP to establish standard environmental measures across ecosystems 39% more often than the Reluctant, organizations that do not view environmental sustainability as important to their success.
• 43% more Enabled versus Reluctant organizations use ERP to established shared environmental targets.

All organizations should take note: in an interwoven economy, ERP can help populate and standardize shared sustainability initiatives.

The Time to Act Is Now

Sustainability and ERP are team sports acting on actuals, and no one team can achieve success on its own. As strategic partners for and , IBM and 麻豆原创 bring together technologies and services with enterprise-scale platforms to help companies break down silos and embed solutions across critical business functions and operations.

Learn more about the recent IBM Institute for Business Value study and how we are helping clients leverage ERP to operationalize sustainability .

麻豆原创 and IBM understand how to help companies move the needle on their ESG commitments, without sacrificing their business needs or profitability. Learn more at 补苍诲听 .

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer of 麻豆原创.
Jonathan Wright is global managing partner, Sustainability Services and Business Transformation Lines, IBM Consulting.

During the 1950s and 1960s, industries were emitting vast amounts of pollutants with hardly any consequences from the law, consumers, or the media. People were mostly oblivious to environmental concerns and the threat to human health. This perception changed when a massive oil spill in California inspired an unprecedented movement that united students, politicians, and everyday citizens to demonstrate against the devastating impact of 150 years of industrial development.

The first Earth Day in 1970 signaled the birth of the modern environmental movement.

A Turning Point

As the chief sustainability officer at 麻豆原创, I am keenly aware of the fundamental impact business and industry have on society, the economy, and the environment. Despite growing environmental awareness, the Earth has continued to take a massive amount of abuse since the first Earth Day.

The facts are alarming: according to the World Wildlife Organization, wildlife populations have . Human activities have doubled the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing climate change that severely impacts weather and natural habitats. Plastic pollution is growing relentlessly, with being recycled. The devastation to life on land and in the oceans is heartbreaking.

But there is good news as well. The modern-day grassroots movement triggered by young people has been highly successful, inspiring older generations with their determination to make the world a better place. At the same time, there has been a strong surge in governmental action and other movements such as the United Nations (UN) Convention on Climate Change and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for Circular Economy.

Importantly, business can be the game changer as companies realize that environmental preservation and social justice must be a prominent element in their holistic strategy to ensure long-term survival.

Enabling Sustainable Impact

At 麻豆原创, we are very aware of the challenges our customers face as they strive to meet their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. Being able to reliably track and manage their progress is one major challenge. Our products and services aim to address this and help our customers record, report, and act on their ESG ambitions while incorporating sustainability in their business end to end.鈥嬧��

麻豆原创 customers around the world generate 87% of total global commerce, which comes with a social and environmental footprint. We have an opportunity here to influence for the better — and we are taking it, with solutions supporting companies to measure and improve sustainability across entire networks, allowing them to effectively work toward an aspiration of zero emissions, zero waste, and zero inequality.

This journey is impossible without partnerships. with customers as well as a variety of other stakeholders. For example, we were among the first 50 signatories of the UN Global Compact and we co-founded the Value Balancing Alliance. In , we work to enable companies to gain full transparency of their product life cycle and supply chain emissions. And we joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation network to accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices and processes.

Leading by Example

At 麻豆原创, we do not have a sustainability strategy, we have a business strategy that is sustainable. We believe economic, social, and environmental factors and performance are interrelated and integrate these in the holistic steering of our business. Consequently, 麻豆原创 executive short-term incentive compensation includes sustainability targets (key performance indicators for sustainability) such as our carbon impact on top of financial targets.

We have set ourselves ambitious environmental targets in our to foster the continuous enhancement of our environmental impact. This includes our science-based target to achieve net zero along our entire value chain in line with a 1.5掳 c future in 2030 — 20 years earlier than originally planned.

Executing on these targets is a company-wide effort and I am proud of our collaborative achievements. Our data centers and buildings worldwide have been running on 100% renewable energy since 2014. We use internal carbon pricing to offset business-related carbon emissions.鈥疻e are phasing out single-use plastics.鈥疊y 2025, one-third of our fleet will be ecofriendly cars, and all cars procured thereafter will be electric. 麻豆原创鈥檚 environmental management system is implemented in over 50 sites in 29 countries worldwide and is certified by the renowned ISO 14001:2015 standard.

麻豆原创 is also one of the most diverse and inclusive software companies in the world, dedicated to building a business without bias. We have built an inclusive workplace, giving people the skills to thrive in a digital world and a culture that supports their health and well-being.

Besides following ethical business practices that respect and promote human rights and secure human rights due diligence as required, for example, in the , we are very active when it comes to promoting social and inclusive entrepreneurship, offering programs and partnerships that range from inspiring early-stage innovation to scaling mature social enterprises.

Earth Day 2023 is a day to remember what we can accomplish together and how much more we still need to do. The movement pushed by the first Earth Day in 1970 has become a global force that has changed the way people think and act upon the environment. Regulators, investors, companies, consumers, and everyday citizens increasingly recognize the need to invest in our planet. But time is of the essence: 鈥淭here is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all,鈥� .

I feel humbled by the contributions we have achieved as a company. These results were only possible thanks to visionary leaders and 麻豆原创鈥檚 highly motivated, dedicated employees working in every line of business and every region of the world. As our latest employee engagement surveys showed, 82% of 麻豆原创 employees actively contribute to the company鈥檚 sustainability goals. Many of them are driving specific programs today to inspire even more colleagues to join in.

In celebration of Earth Day 2023, I want to acknowledge our employees鈥� outstanding efforts, alongside those of like-minded supporters across the globe, and invite all of us to collectively step up in safeguarding our planet.

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer of 麻豆原创 SE.

It鈥檚 an historic milestone, and the declaration — available in 500 languages — has since become the most translated document in the world.

Why is this relevant now, more than 70 years later? Because human rights are still constantly questioned, undermined, and violated by many different actors, including companies. We still have a long way to go to address discrimination, forced and child labor, unsafe working conditions, unfair pay, and further human rights abuses in today鈥檚 economy.

According to a recent , 27.6 million people around the world were in conditions of forced labor in 2021, 11% more than 2016. Twelve percent of all those in forced labor are children. As a father of three, such a number touches me deeply and makes me outraged.

It is also beyond saddening that annually more than 2.78 million deaths result from occupational accidents or work-related diseases. Every single day, 7,500 people on average die from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. Additionally, there are some 374 million non-fatal work-related injuries each year, as the .

These could be largely prevented if businesses would live up to their responsibility to respect human rights as laid out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Yet too many are still failing to do so. While , that is by far not enough. In response, governments are continuing to expand that are taking human rights seriously.

As I laid out last year for Human Rights Day, making human rights a priority might therefore be an obvious necessity for business. However, how to make it real and integrate human rights as part of your holistic corporate sustainability journey is not a trivial thing. As John Ruggie, former Special Representative for Business and Human Rights to former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, underlined:

鈥淣o company that I know of has ever said, ‘We don鈥檛 respect human rights.’ My question was: how do you know that you respect human rights? And can you show that you do? Do you have systems in place that would allow you to back that claim?鈥�

Finding the answers can seem overwhelming — especially when it comes to addressing the more complex challenge of human rights due diligence across your company鈥檚 entire value chain — beyond your own operations. But this should not keep you from embarking on this endeavor.

During the past year, we have learned a lot in our interdisciplinary human rights due diligence project that we established at 麻豆原创 to take our to the next level and prepare for compliance with legal requirements from, for example, the UK/AUS modern slavery acts, German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), or the upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. We identified gaps in our policies and procedures, which we have been working to close.

Among others, we piloted new concepts for identifying human rights risks across our own operations and our supply chain. This went hand in hand with collaboratively evolving the focus from primarily looking at risks to 麻豆原创鈥檚 business to equally including risks to people. This is not an unknown challenge in the business and human rights space, but was still a learning experience for our teams across 麻豆原创 when putting it into practice.

For the first time, we also used impact measurement and valuation to assess our performance on selected human rights. As a founding member of the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA), we applied the living wage methodology co-developed within the VBA. This helped us find few employees in 麻豆原创 Brazil whose compensation had to be adjusted to meet our ambition of ensuring quality of life measured through VBA鈥檚 living wage methodology.

At the same time, we continued to to support our customers鈥� human rights and social responsibility ambitions. For example, 聽solutions now further enhance supplier risk management and supply chain transparency through network-enabled collaboration. The data and insights support them in detecting and eradicating forced and child labor or . The application additionally helps to proactively identify, analyze, and mitigate environment, health, and safety risks and to make operations safer.

Being conscious not only of the opportunities for positive impact through our solutions, but also potential risks linked to our technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), we further operationalized our by deploying our internal in the first half of 2022, establishing an AI Ethics Office and maturing our review approach of high-risk AI use cases with support of external experts from our AI Ethics Advisory Panel.

There is still a lot for us to learn and improve on. Along the way, it鈥檚 important that we as business leaders do not get consumed by navigating the regulatory landscape and ensuring compliance, thereby losing sight of the aim to improve peoples鈥� lives.

Let鈥檚 not allow this to become a check-box exercise and sincerely .

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer of 麻豆原创 SE.

As business leaders, we need to urgently shift gears to mitigate the risks arising from the overstretch of our finite planet and amplify the positive impacts of a growing number of solutions that are waiting to be implemented at scale.

As the scientists of the Global Footprint Network who host and calculate point out, it can be overwhelming to think about exceeding our planet鈥檚 limits and demanding more ecological resources and services than what Earth can regenerate within a given year. In line with this year鈥檚 theme #PowerOfPossibility, it is therefore even more important to focus on what can and has to be done to turn around human economy to be more sustainable.

The good news is that companies increasingly understand the business case for sustainability and have put it at the top of their business agenda.

According to recent research by Oxford Economics and 麻豆原创, 63% of the executives surveyed indicated that their company has a formal sustainability plan already in place. They recognize clear business benefits for sustainability efforts, including efficiency (58%), improving brand reputation (46%), and meeting customer needs (44%). Another recent found that 鈥渋ncreasing sustainability in your products and services鈥� was the top choice (34.6%) among respondents who were asked to pick their top three priorities to improve revenue growth.

While opportunities are clearly seen and resource shortages and climate change are rated among the top risks to be prepared for, execution is still lacking. This may not come as a total surprise given the commonly known “” that is particularly applicable in the sustainability space. Still, I would not have expected the disconnect between sustainability plans and action at companies to turn out so stark. — which finds that barely a quarter of supply chain leaders have conducted a climate change risk assessment, much less prepared a reaction plan — similarly shows that despite all progress more work lies ahead for most of us.

Nonetheless, I full-heartedly echo Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who emphasized the solutions he felt encouraged by when three months ago: 鈥淚f these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.鈥�

Earth Overshoot Day organizers have come up with powerful numbers that underline the impact of solutions that can help us #MoveTheDate and turn around 聽while improving the quality of life for all people.

I would like to share three examples while reflecting on 麻豆原创鈥檚 contribution:

Existing off-the-shelf, commercial energy-efficiency technologies for buildings, industrial processes, and electricity production could move Earth Overshoot Day at least 21 days, without any loss in productivity or comfort.

Indeed, helping to optimize building performance, lower carbon emissions, and reduce energy costs while also enhancing occupant experience at the same time is what 麻豆原创 equally seeks to achieve teaming up with Honeywell. Smart innovations to improve energy efficiency are furthermore core to greening 麻豆原创鈥檚 data centers and other facilities owned by 麻豆原创 and powered with 100% renewable energy since 2014.

Reforesting 350 million hectares of forest would move Earth Overshoot Day by eight days.

麻豆原创 too is committed to ecosystem restoration to address climate action. On our journey to achieve our accelerated ambition of net-zero along our entire value chain in line with a 1.5掳C future in 2030, we continuously enhance our comprehensive portfolio of climate protection measures. In 2021, 麻豆原创 has added the goal of planting 21 million trees by the end of 2025 and joined 1t.org, an alliance of the World Economic Forum to conserve, restore, and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030. Since 2012, 麻豆原创 has helped to plant more than 12.2 million trees and annually publishes its tree planting status in the .

If we cut food waste in half worldwide, we would move Earth Overshoot Day 13 days.

With 30% of global food wasted, there is huge potential for . Believing in the power of collaboration to make this happen, 麻豆原创 is working with customers such as Arla Foods Amba, Orkla Foods Ingredients, and many others — as well as startups in the 麻豆原创.iO program, including and — to foster innovation tackling food waste. We have also in addition to .

It is in our hands to align not just government and business policies and strategies, but also actions with the reality of our finite planet to secure a good life for all. The 鈥渄onut model鈥� of social and economy boundaries comes to my mind to guide us 鈥渢o ensure that no one falls short on life鈥檚 essential needs, while ensuring that collectively we do not overshoot our pressure on Earth鈥檚 life-supporting systems.鈥�

With that as inspiration, let鈥檚 leverage the #PowerOfPossibility of the abundance of existing solutions. Which one will you help to scale to #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day?

Daniel Schmid is chief sustainability officer of 麻豆原创 SE.