Capgemini, SAP & Microsoft: Unlocking Sustainability

The deadlines on sustainability regulations are starting to get closer. 

With the Paris Agreement’s 2050 net zero goal and regulations setting in around the world, businesses need to embrace sustainability and start taking action. 

The world’s biggest companies can have bigger challenges with operations and supply chains stretching around the globe, but they could also have an opportunity to make a bigger difference. 

Capgemini, Microsoft and SAP are three giant businesses looking to not only improve their own environmental impact, but also support others on the journey.

A Capgemini podcast brought together Miguel Sossa, Vice President - Americas Sustainability GTM Lead at Capgemini, Sean Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft and Japen Hollist, Head of Sustainability, GTM - North America at SAP to explore the intricacies of sustainability. 

Regulations and new approaches

The regulatory environment for sustainability reporting is evolving rapidly. 

This includes the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Japen explains: "People focus on AI for business efficiencies and put their resources there. Then they fail to remember we've got ESRS regulations that are barreling down on us."

The enterprise software company SAP provides business management software to help companies run their operations. 

He notes a change in sustainability conversations: "You're going to see sustainability folks start talking about sustainability less in ESG terms. 

“They'll start talking about it in terms of business efficiency, effectiveness and improvement."

Real-time decision making

Traditional sustainability reporting has relied on annual data collection. 

This approach no longer meets the demands of modern business operations.

Miguel says: "Several years ago, it was challenging enough to bring data to the table once a year. But if we're driving a vehicle, we need that data now. 

“We can't wait for a year to decide whether to turn left or right."

Capgemini has established an ambitious target, aiming to help clients reduce their carbon footprint by 10 billion tonnes by 2030.

Miguel explains how technology enables faster decision-making: "Companies are going from having 10 or 15 suppliers to hundreds and hundreds. 

“We can take information that could have taken six months to a year to act on and now do that more quickly."

AI for sustainability

AI technology is becoming integral to sustainability efforts across all three companies. 

The integration helps organisations process vast amounts of data and make faster decisions.

Japen says: "You've got to be in the cloud to uptake innovation at speed and scale. The world is going to move much faster if you can harness AI all around it."

Microsoft's approach includes using AI for operational improvements. 

Sean explains: "We created applications for calculating carbon, water and waste. 

“The biggest topics now are about scaling and moving from reporting compliance to operations improvement."

Embedding sustainability

All three leaders envision a future where sustainability becomes integral to all business decisions. 

This transformation goes beyond environmental metrics to include social and economic factors.

Miguel explains: "Companies are going to look from within and say, are we ourselves really sustainable? In product development, they're going to take a look at all their product lines and say, how do we take waste and cost out of this?

"There is no business on this planet that says we do not want to reduce costs, be competitive or attract great talent.”