Gamifying SAP’s sustainability goals in association with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Wheel of Purpose is an innovative, digital showcase that provides an educational experience tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In September 2020, the United Nations Global Compact — in association with SAP, Accenture, and 3M — published the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Ambition Guides to mobilise industry around SDG Ambition and scale impact for the 17 SDGs. The guides encourage the world’s leading corporations to establish more ambitious targets on building sustainable solutions and accelerate the integration of the SDGs into key business systems and reporting.
Placing sustainability at the core of its values, SAP makes use of the disruptive power of innovative technology to deliver tangible outcomes for the UN SDGs. In particular, SAP solutions are aimed at enabling the integration of sustainability insights into business processes, educating the public, and raising awareness to help the company achieve joint sustainability goals with its ecosystem of partners and customers globally.
Indeed, collaboration is key to achieving the SDGs. With “Partnerships for the Goals” one of SAP’s key focus areas, it has recently announced a joint effort with UNCTAD to launch a digital tool called the Wheel of Purpose that explores how the organisation’s daily operations contribute to long-term sustainability. It is the latest in a series of SAP’s initiatives aimed at encouraging purpose-driven discussions among employees, customers, and partners.
First introduced in 2018, the Wheel of Purpose is an online quiz that allows people to learn more about the SDGs and the German enterprise software giant’s efforts to help accomplish them. According to Christine Mueller, Director of Global Sustainability Transformation and Change Management at SAP, the Wheel of Purpose has driven positive experiences when it was first launched as a tool to drive awareness and engagement with SAP employees. Commenting on the latest collaboration with UNCTAD, Mueller said in a LinkedIn post:
“It is great to see the impact of this technology now amplified in partnership with UNCTAD. The more people we can reach together to explore with fun how to advance progress towards the SDGs the better.”
The Wheel of Purpose Reinforces UNCTAD and SAP’s Sustainability Commitment
Meanwhile, SAP Chief Sustainability Officer Daniel Schmid said that the company’s collaboration with UNCTAD on the Wheel of Purpose is a “powerful example” of a public-private sector relationship that shares a common goal. He added:
“We are excited to amplify the reach of this engaging digital showcase and inform others about how UNCTAD and SAP engage in meaningful efforts to accelerate the UN’s global agenda.”
Moreover, UNCTAD aims to amplify the reach of the tool, which is powered by SAP technology, at its various forums including the UNCTAD Youth Forum, the UNCTAD 15 Conference in Barbados, and the World Investment Forum throughout the year. The two organisations have also collaborated last year on the Growth Stage Impact Ventures for SDGs (GSIV) selection process, along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), EPFL’s Tech4Impact initiative, and Orange.
Sharing more about the new Wheel of Purpose partnership, Arlette Verploegh, Chief of Communications and External Relations at UNCTAD, said:
“Sustainable development is a complex challenge, but it is a responsibility shared by everyone. We need tools that humanise and explain different pathways to sustainability. The Wheel of Purpose does that. Applied to UNCTAD’s work, it showcases what we do in a simple, gamified way. The wheel is at once educational and inspirational to our audiences and reinforces our commitment to the 2030 Agenda.”
