Sustainability and ERP: The Perfect Match

The Crucial Role of ERP in Managing Sustainability within Your Company

Sustainability has been a subject of contemplation since the 1950s, and its importance has just grown over the years.  It was about a decade later, that sustainability's companion, the ERP system, was born. However, the ERP systems back in the days were not sufficiently developed to address current sustainability challenges.

The Ideal Partner to Support Your Sustainability Strategy

Today, ERP has evolved to become the ideal partner in supporting your sustainability strategy. As all data and processes related to sustainability are housed within ERP, it plays a crucial role in capturing and managing circular processes. By streamlining the entire chain, manufacturers can enhance collaboration with suppliers and extend the lifespan of inventory to reduce their ecological footprint.

ERP vendors, including SAP, have been proactive in developing specific software solutions within their packages to help companies operate more sustainably and monitor and manage their efforts. An example of such a software solution is SAP Product Footprint Management, which allows organizations to calculate their Product Footprint throughout the entire Product Lifecycle. We explain how this works in the McCoy TV episode on Product Footprint Management.

Our Vision

Now is the time for action. In our vision, we not only report emissions, but we also actively try to improve it. Within SAP, several applications are available to promote more sustainable processes. It supports solutions that contribute to the efficient use of limited resources or optimize processes.

One example of how we support a sustainable solution with SAP is "Collaboration Transportation," which optimizes the transportation process and helps reduce emissions and material usage. Another example is "Upgrading," where additional features are added to the same product, allowing products to be reused (refurbished) and prevent waste. It also leads to reduced emissions and material usage.

Interested in discovering more ways SAP can support sustainable solutions? Read our Intelligent Operations whitepaper.

Want to learn more?

How does IT contribute to your sustainable enterprise? What do future challenges in sustainability and it’s reporting look like and how can SAP help you? Find out the answers and our vision of the future with our whitepaper - ‘ Digitalisation and Sustaianability’