Cloud-based customer relationship software provider Salesforce is expanding on a pre-existing alliance with Accenture, the IT services and technology consultancy, to focus on incorporating sustainability services for businesses. This is a partnership with much promise for clients needing help with the strategic incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cloud technology into their business plans.
Accenture’s Sustainability Services will be bolstered by Salesforce’s Sustainability Cloud and Customer 360 features. The trifecta provides an objective, top-down assessment of a company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and offers targeted initiatives to encourage growth in sustainability. Executives get an objective breakdown of how their business might be falling short of meeting important ESG goals, and then a suggested course of action for redirecting resources to shore up any weak spots.
Accenture’s Sustainability Services take a multifaceted approach in adjusting the behavior of a company to maximize sustainability potential. Clients are challenged to evolve their business model while keeping an eye on meeting regulatory requirements. Crucially, the implementation of low-carbon energy, carbon footprint tracking, and cost-effective supply systems are often useful stopgaps for problems with environmental safety standards.
Salesforce’s Sustainability Cloud is a tool that evaluates corporate environmental impact in order to reduce carbon footprints and present climate data objectively for financial reports. Investors and stakeholders have called on advisory firms to increase transparency and develop initiatives targeting climate change, labor issues, and more. Further expansion of the Accenture/Salesforce platform will direct the joint effort of these companies into establishing a wider-ranging set of ESG goals, including waste and water management and diversity in the workplace.
In the era of COVID-19, the newest software and IT service innovations come in handy for companies facing problems with resource management as more and more business is done remotely. “As industries reimagine and rebuild from the pandemic, they have the opportunity to embed sustainability by design to drive their customer agenda. We are delighted to expand our partnership with Salesforce to help organizations both create value and deliver on their values,” said Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture. As Accenture’s own research reports, companies emphasizing a healthy mix of sustainability and technology are more than twice as likely to out-perform competitors.
The collective effort is growing by the day. Accenture has acquired Future State, a consulting firm specializing in business transition and adaptation to give insight into life sciences, post-merger integration, and more. More than 1,000 engineering professionals are also joining the team as Imaginea, a cloud-based engineering company, will fold into Accenture and bring cloud modernization across many web platforms.
With firm commitments to SDGs and the World Economic Forum to advocate sustainability, the Accenture and Salesforce collaboration has pinpointed a focal point of success in modern business.
