As the effects of climate change continue to make themselves felt around the world, both public and private sector organizations are struggling to make good on their pledges to reduce their carbon footprints. In fact, countries are both underreporting emissions and exaggerating the impact of mitigation efforts, according to a study from the Washington Post. With private-sector climate pledges coming under ever-greater scrutiny from regulators, investors, and consumers, companies are finding themselves in need of specialized assistance to meet their goals. Recently, business process software company SAP and marketing consultancy firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) announced a joint offering to help large companies transform their climate action strategies.
With operations spanning the globe and supply chains growing increasingly complex, getting a grip on the impact of emissions is no small task for some of the world’s largest corporations, many of which have made pledges to reduce their carbon emissions to zero in the coming decades. In a recent study by BCG, only 9% of executives from 1,290 companies surveyed said they were able to fully measure their emissions. The new SAP and BCG Sustainability Transformation offering is currently being trialed ahead of a formal launch in the third quarter.
The new partnership between BCG and SAP offers clients a combination of carbon tracking and measurement technologies and services to help inform strategic decision making, blending the strengths of both companies to provide clear and actionable guidance to help companies achieve their climate goals.
"Being sustainable requires coordination across the value chain, and this is where SAP’s partnership with BCG plays a key role," noted SAP Chief Executive Christian Klein in a press release. "Bringing together BCG’s expertise, tools, and services with SAP’s technology gives companies the transparency, actionable data, and strategic guidance they need to successfully tackle end-to-end sustainability and create value for all its stakeholders.”
Taking decisive action now not only helps abate the ongoing climate crisis, but also comes with a competitive advantage, according to BCG Chief Executive Christoph Schweizer: companies that choose to act first could receive up to 15 years of competitive advantage, as well as a share price premium of 10%.
