Mercedes-Benz & SAP's Whole New Level of ESG Data Management
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mandates extensive ESG data collection and reporting for a wide range of companies in the EU.
Under the EU's new CSRD, Mercedes-Benz required an integrated, cloud-based solution for real-time ESG data collection and analysis, according to SAP.
By adopting SAP Sustainability Control Tower, Mercedes-Benz is able to centralise its data, streamlined reporting and establish robust KPIs, supporting its drive towards a carbon-neutral future.
A data platform for sustainability management
Sustainability remains a top priority for the Mercedes-Benz Group, which has set clear, measurable goals as part of its journey to achieve net carbon neutrality across the entire value chain by 2039, as outlined in its Ambition 2039 strategy.
The group has identified six core sustainability focus areas critical to its ESG performance:
- Decarbonisation
- Resource use and circularity
- People (employees)
- Human rights
- Digital trust
- Traffic safety.
The introduction of the CSRD brought new challenges.
To meet the demands of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), Mercedes-Benz required a scalable, centralised and data-driven reporting architecture – capable of being deployed within 12 months according to SAP.
The system also needed to automate reporting for more than 50 business stakeholders spanning various functions, departments, entities and geographies.
“We had obviously been reporting on sustainability since 2006, but this new regulation brought things to a whole new level in terms of the sheer volume of data required,” says Jochen Herold, Project Manager for Sustainability Performance Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG.
“We had to report in a standardised and auditable way on a huge range of KPIs, for example energy consumption and break these down into numerous data points, such as the individual energy sources involved.”
To date, SAP reports:
- ~95% of EU CSRD data points collected through audit-ready workflows
- 70 compliance-based, auditable KPIs covered
- 220 data points included within these KPIs.
Beyond compliance, the right solution would provide Mercedes-Benz with a foundation to steer and monitor sustainability efforts more effectively, increase stakeholder engagement and clearly demonstrate the business value of its sustainability strategy.
Data management and model systems
After assessing multiple options, Mercedes-Benz selected SAP Sustainability Control Tower, integrating it with SAP Datasphere to create a central hub for sustainability data.
The solution was also connected to SAP Analytics Cloud and the group’s third-party disclosure management tool, ensuring a seamless and efficient reporting environment.
The scale of the project posed a considerable challenge.
Data had to be collected from departments and business units across nearly 40 countries in a centrally coordinated process.
"We’re a large company with three different divisions - cars, vans and mobility - and a complex organisational and master data structure," says Jochen.
Under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), companies must report on a wide range of KPIs, using prescribed formulas and data points.
While firms can build their own data models, SAP Sustainability Control Tower comes equipped with a semantic data model aligned with the directive.
This allows users to select the necessary indicators and import the corresponding data.
The solution also offers broader ESG reporting capabilities and helps lower IT maintenance costs through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.
Following a successful proof of concept, Mercedes-Benz rolled out the system to its global sustainability reporting team over the course of a year.
“After months of working closely with one of our most strategic global customers Mercedes-Benz AG, having them realise real value from SAP Sustainability Control Tower is truly inspiring,” Anita Varshney, Global Vice President, Strategic Customer Engagements, SAP Sustainability, wrote on LinkedIn.
“Our joint ambition was to enable them to efficiently collect, analyse and report on ESRS within a short time frame, automating this reporting process across 50+ business stakeholders.”
SAP’s Business Transformation Services team played a key role, supporting the implementation with strategic guidance, issue resolution and expert advice on best practices and solution functionality.
ESG scalability
By implementing SAP Sustainability Control Tower, Mercedes-Benz successfully met its first CSRD reporting deadline.
The majority of required data was collected via automated workflows drawing from group consolidation systems, significantly improving efficiency, accuracy and reporting speed.
Business units welcomed the platform’s intuitive interface and features such as change tracking, real-time validation, email alerts and report previews.
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model further lowered costs by eliminating infrastructure and server management.
