BCG and SAP launch joint sustainability transformation offering

SAP and Boston Consulting Group are collaborating to help the world's biggest companies overhaul their business strategy and cut carbon emissions. The combination of strategy, technology and business model change could provide firms with a key financial advantage in the years ahead.

Companies acting first could achieve up to 15 years of competitive advantage, and a share price premium of 10%, according to BCG Chief Executive Christoph Schweizer. Citing analysis by the company, he added BCG and SAP’s new offering presented “an enormous opportunity for companies around the world”, as it could allow clients to transform at an unprecedented pace.

Thousands of large companies have pledged to cut their planet-warming emissions by the middle of the century, but emissions across the economy are still continuing to rise. Policymakers are pushing companies to get a better grip on the environmental impact of their supply chains, with legislation like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive in the EU – but most companies are some way from being able to do so.

A recent BCG study found that only 9% of executives from 1,290 companies surveyed were able to fully measure their emissions; a key aspect of getting their climate efforts off up and running. In a bid to fix this problem, SAP – which boasts 85 of the world's 100 biggest companies as customers – is partnering with BCG to combine their carbon tracking and measurement technology and services to help inform clients' decision making.

"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. "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.”

According to BCG and SAP, the partnership offers four key differentiators. It supplies a comprehensive, holistic offering, from sustainability strategy to technology solutions. It provides enterprise-grade abilities cascading from strategy to information systems and embedded across the organisation. The partnership also supplies the ability to quickly scale up digital solutions, with access to the full power of the SAP ecosystem. And it gives an integrated package where BCG insights build on SAP data, technologies, and processes.

“BCG and SAP make a great team. Together we’ll offer three services to accelerate our clients’ sustainability drives,” concluded Schweizer. “Zero emissions allowing a company to analyse its carbon footprint. Zero waste helping companies assess and manage the circularity opportunities of its portfolio. And sustainability steering and reporting helps implement the steering of the enterprise driven by sustainability.”