SAP’s latest collaborative partnership with Coldplay, one of the most celebrated and purpose-driven acts in music, reflects the enterprise giant’s increased focus on championing a sustainable business network across industries.
Aside from being known for intelligent business software applications that have been helping organisations worldwide run better, SAP is also recognised as one of the global enterprises that have taken expansive actions in tackling sustainability. The German software company has not only updated its vision to “reinvent how the world runs as a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises” but has also embedded an executive compensation rewards program for Executive Board members who demonstrate customer loyalty, employee commitment, and SAP’s carbon impact, along with financial performance. Furthermore, the company has set its goal of becoming carbon neutral in its own operations by 2023.
Through its almost 50 years of driving innovation and digitalisation, SAP now currently serves 94% of the world’s 500 largest companies and has created partnerships from across industries that enable the company to bring change at scale. In this article, we take a peek on SAP’s sustainability partnerhsips across industries, from backing Coldplay’s world tour to pledging allegiance with global organisations for the World’s To-Do List campaign.
Harmonising with Coldplay’s Sustainability Initiatives
SAP has built several partnerships in the entertainment industry, providing solutions that enhance viewers’ experiences– whether in arenas or across mobile devices– providing insights and engagement opportunities that bring them closer to the action. One of the software company’s latest entertainment collaboration is with British rock band Coldplay centred on supporting the group’s sustainability initiatives for their upcoming Music of the Spheres World Tour, which will kickstart on March 2022 in Costa Rica then in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, USA, Germany, Poland, France, Belgium and the UK.
With a shared commitment on making the world better, SAP and Coldplay are leveraging technology to drive change across the globe. At the core of the sustainability partnership, SAP will design a tour app that will help raise awareness for the importance of sustainability and show how fans can help protect the future of our planet by making smarter choices when attending shows.
“We are very excited to launch SAP’s new partnership with Coldplay today! Together, we want to establish a more sustainable way of bringing the band together with their millions of fans around the world. A tour app will help fans better understand the carbon footprint of their personal concert experience, suggesting more environmentally friendly travel options and so much more. Very much looking forward to seeing this exciting partnership come to life soon!,” SAP CEO Christian Klein wrote in LinkedIn.
Coldplay pledged to make its Music of the Spheres World Tour as sustainable and low-carbon as possible supported by three principles: Reduce, Reinvent, and Restore. Some actions they will take during the tour include the use of solar power, sustainable biofuels, kinetic floor, and 100% renewable sources for the main power whenever possible.
Coincidentally, the band’s latest song My Universe was made in collaboration with K-pop sensation BTS, who participated at the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Moment in the UN General Assembly hall last month.
Engaging in the World’s-To-Do List
The Global Goals Business Avengers– comprised of SAP, Arm, Avanti, Commvault, Diageo, DPDgroup, Google, Mars, NTT, Reckitt, Salesforce, Unilever and Wood– spearheaded the launch of the ‘World’s To-Do List’ campaign in September 2021 in partnerhsip with Project Everyone, a not-for-profit creative communications agency creating campaigns to support the 17 UN SDGs. The world’s leading companies that represent over 700,000 employees, with a combined social media reach of over 100 million champion one of the Global Goals and is actively working to raise awareness of them. The companies take actions to contribute to the achievement of particular Goals, whilst also stating what is on their ‘To-Do List’ for the near future.
As part of the advancement of the Global Goals, the campaign will also be part of COP26, the UN climate change conference taking place in Glasgow in November.
Championing a Sustainable Business Network
In an article by Thomas Saueressig, a Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE for SAP Product Engineering, he highlighted how building a sustainable business network and green partnerships have enabled the company to accelerate climate actions. He said:
“As we near our 50-year company anniversary, we build on that legacy today by enabling business to meet new challenges. We know that dashboarding is not enough. When we embed emissions data into underlying business processes, leaders can drive real change by making conscious decisions across the entire value chain. That’s what scales the transition to low carbon pathways, and SAP is uniquely positioned to drive this change across collaborative, intelligent, and sustainable business networks.”
SAP is an innovation partner in World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Value Chain Carbon Transparency Pathfinder, dedicated to enhancing transparency in corporate carbon emissions with the objective to ultimately decarbonise supply chains. In addition, as a founding member of European Green Digital Coalition, SAP underscores the role of technology for the green transition and EU taxonomy. These alliances complement the company’s previous engagements with the UN Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the Value Balancing Alliance, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Our own TRP platform, InsideSAP Careers powered by Availery, supports sustainable SAP project management through green recruitment and offsets the project’s carbon footprint by planting trees for every talent acquisition.
