THOUGHT LEADERSHIP—SUSTAINABILITY
Making Profitability Sustainable and Sustainability Profitable Companies are now being challenged to ensure their ongoing relevance in a completely different world. You can write this down and take it to the bank: the enterprises that will thrive in a post-pandemic world will be those that put the societal element of sustainability at the core of their business strategies, avers Claudio Muruzabal, President, SAP— Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, in this OpEd.
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or the past over 18 months, the business world has been so focused on Covid-19 that it’s taken its eye off the other C-word – CSR, or corporate social responsibility. Before the pandemic, many companies could get away with an old-school approach to CSR and how they engaged and managed their people. They would bring out pretty reports and say smart things about being a socially responsible business. They would put up posters proclaiming bold visions and values, but not live them every day. Now they’re being challenged to ensure their ongoing relevance in a completely different world. What do I mean by that? We know that the business world has changed irrevocably. Companies that still want to be in business in the next 10 to 20 years will have to wake up to the fact that to create longterm value, they will have to align their goals with those of the communities in which they operate.
Beyond shareholders
They will have to get used to the
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idea of working not just for their shareholders, but also for employees and their communities, as well as the planet. The days of chasing shortterm gain at the expense of long-term value are rapidly receding in the rearview mirror.
However, here’s the thing; social responsibility doesn’t have to just tick compliance boxes. The fact is that working to address humanity’s greatest risks, especially inequality, offers real business opportunities to savvy enterprises with an eye on the future. Note carefully that the businesses that are going to stand out over the next decade will be those who see market opportunities in social responsibility, and develop business models, products and services that have societal elements and sustainable practices baked in, as it were.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) In September 2015, world leaders adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – or the SDGs, as they’re commonly known. They talk directly to our responsibility to innovate with purpose to create a world without poverty, a healthier planet, and a just, peaceful society by 2030. At SAP, we stand for this higher purpose beyond
economic success. We help countries, private and public sector organizations, and ordinary citizens control risk, achieve regulatory compliance, use resources efficiently, measure and reduce emissions and innovate new business models to thrive in the digital and experience economy. Our solutions help eradicate slavery from supply chains, propel a low-carbon, zero waste and circular economy, eliminate inequality, and educate people who never had the chance to enter a classroom.
What we’ve learned, though, is that meaningful contributions to the SDGs require tangible connections between an activity or tool and the intended social, environmental, and economic impact. There must be a material link between our own operational activities and the impact we can have as a company. Otherwise, the story becomes arbitrary.
Engagement
How do you make these links? For a start, you actively engage with issues like educating and upskilling your own employees as well as the youth. You find ways to promote and increase diversity in the workforce and ensure that every employee has access to the same development
