Sustainability has been at the top of the societal agenda for many years, and 8 out of 10 consumers want to live more sustainably. It has gone from being of particular interest to becoming a natural part of our choices in everyday life. Young talents opt out of workplaces that do not take social responsibility. Established businesses are being challenged by start-ups with sustainability and social responsibility at their core.
This means that the answer is not to embellish the communication strategy a bit. If you are to succeed, sustainability and social responsibility must be integrated into the business model, the brand strategy and the real strategic decisions.
Only then can you create increased value both for the business, your customers and society.
Go from talk to action
Boards all over the world have taken notice of this. The minority has done something concrete about it. Part of the challenge is that reporting is not required by law, yet. But it will be in the future.
More and more professional owners require ESG reporting and your company potentially gets a higher valuation if you are good in this area. At the same time, the Transparency Act has entered into force from 1 July 2022. Can we see them in context and make an effort in both areas?
Regardless, we see in unison that the demands customers place on their partners and suppliers are increasing. They expect to receive their own climate accounting for the trade they make with you. Are you ready for it?
How can Pearl help you gain a competitive advantage?
We at Pearl cannot help you with everything. What we can help you with is using your data to tell the story that is important to your customers, your employees and your suppliers.
What is it that you want to tell that gives your company a competitive advantage? What is the topic of conversation when they have visited your store or website? What is the impression you want to present to your employees who sit in the canteen every day? What can you show to convince the candidate that this is the right place to work?
Today, there are many sources of data that can help you get your message across. You have much of the data in your SAP ERP system or other business applications and internal systems. Then you have partners. What about your travel agency? Your logistics partner? Do you have your own cars with a fuel agreement? What about waste? Solar energy? Water consumption? Reuse? Service system - stand against the “use and throw away” mentality. All the above are sources that can help you get your company's message across.
Through the SAP Business Technology Platform integration services, Pearl can connect your sources, gather data and turn them into visual narratives with real-time data through the SAP Analytics Cloud. You use this when you meet your customers, suppliers or employees. Perhaps you have a large proportion of your business online? How about making the customer's climate statement available under "my pages"? Or make your data available so that your customers can retrieve this themselves by offering a digital service platform with APIs linked to the customer's climate accounting - all via the SAP Business Technology Platform - easily delivered from Pearl.
What about the board and my owners then?
There are many solutions for ESG reporting on the market. From the very simple ones where you have to enter all the numbers manually, to advanced solutions that integrate various sources and also offer simulation options, and advanced report generators.
SAP's alternative is of the latter kind. Take overall control by setting goals for your company. Monitor progress and gain actionable insights from reliable sustainability data. Gain trust by establishing robust and auditable ESG reporting – in real time. The solution is called SAP Sustainability Control Tower and below you can see a video that describes more about the solution in detail.
Whether you need to satisfy requirements for ESG reporting or gain a competitive advantage around sustainability - Pearl is ready to help you from talk to action.
Get in touch today.