Last week at SAP Sapphire, we made the announcement to reinvent carbon accounting and lead companies to a green ledger. As a single solution to calculate and manage the full range of corporate, value chain, and product-level greenhouse gas emissions, we announced SAP Sustainability Footprint Management.
In this blog post, I’ll provide you an introduction into this new product, covering:
- Product Overview
- Product Capabilities
- Business Architecture
- Road Map
- Deep Dive Blog Series
- Free Trial and Learning Journey
- SAP Community Call
- Additional Information
Product Overview
Sustainability is a top priority for executives, and accurate carbon accounting is vital in addressing climate change. Carbon accounting, however, is still primarily done with spreadsheets and semi-automated tools, providing limited visibility into emissions. SAP is introducing future-proof solutions for transactional carbon accounting to enable more precise and granular tracking of emissions across business operations and supply chains:
- SAP Sustainability Footprint Management: A solution to calculate and manage carbon flows across GHG Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, integrating with SAP S/4HANA for accurate and efficient emissions calculations.
- SAP Sustainability Data Exchange: An application for securely exchanging standardized sustainability data along the value chain using the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT) standards.
- Green Ledger: Combining financial and environmental data for better decision-making and insights, embedded in RISE and GROW with SAP for SAP S/4HANA Cloud.
These solutions provide accurate, transparent, and auditable carbon data for improved decision-making, enabling companies to set accurate net-zero targets and maximize decarbonization impact. By embedding sustainability data into core business processes through ERP, executives can achieve a holistic, enterprise-wide performance capability.
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management is the first step in this pathway to move from average to actuals, towards transactional carbon accounting. It provides you with the full picture of your carbon footprint and enables you to Record, Report, and Act to decarbonize your value chain.The calculations integrate supplier data and existing ERP business data – dramatically improving the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of emissions calculation and management.
Here’s a summary of the key benefits:
- RECORD: Easily leverage existing data with seamless integration and automation – Seamlessly integrate data from SAP S/4HANA, 3rd party data, supplier data, and facility energy flows for data acquisition and footprint distribution.
- REPORT: Get auditable corporate and product carbon footprints at scale – Assess your sustainability footprint with granular cradle to gate carbon footprint calculations that consider materials, transportation, and production.
- ACT: Decarbonize along business processes through granular transparency – Act on your reduction targets with carbon accounting software that supports Scope 1, 2 and 3 transparency and generates analytical insights from footprint data.
Product Capabilities
The capabilities of SAP Sustainability Footprint Management can be broken down into five major steps along your footprint journey: You start with acquiring master and transactional data from your connected business system, then you combine those data with emission factors to evaluate the environmental impact. Based on that, the application is calculating the sustainability footprints. Afterwards the calculated footprints can be analyzed in detail, and they can be integrated back into connected business systems.The capabilities and footprint journey, and what is already available with the current release, are visualized in this metro map:
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management – Product Capabilities (subject to change)
In the following, I’ll give a brief overview of the product capabilities. For more details and all insights, I recommend you to check out my deep dive blog series.
Data Acquisition
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management offers various options to reuse ERP data, including master data and transactional activity data (material movements). It integrates with SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP S/4HANA (2021 and later) out-of-the-box, while other ERP systems can be connected via Public APIs. An IT project is needed for this integration, with SAP Services support available. Additionally, data can be imported via flat-file uploads using templates. Freight-transport specific master data entities like plant or supplier locations can be imported via file upload. The system further offers a starter package, including location information for various transportation hubs and vehicle data for different transport modes.
Import Business Transactions
We plan to enhance the SAP S/4HANA integration in future releases, including replicating product cost estimates for footprint calculations and reusing master data in freight transport calculations. Further, we plan an integration with SAP EHS Environment Management for incorporating GHG emissions calculations, and connections to Business Networks like SAP Ariba and Catena-X for data collection and sharing, supporting the PACT-Standard.
Emission Factors Management
After importing business data from your ERP system, SAP Sustainability Footprint Management helps evaluate the environmental impact of this data by importing and managing emission factors. Today, we’re focusing on climate change impact through Global Warming Potential (GWP) in CO2-equivalents (CO2e). The plan is to extend to other impact categories, like water or land use in the future. Emission factors can be imported via Excel-file from primary sources, representing actual data directly from your suppliers, or secondary sources, such as lifecycle assessment (LCA) databases, representing industry averages. SAP partners with ecoinvent and Carbon Minds, to provide LCA content through the SAP Store, allowing easy import into the application. You can further utilize custom data from your operations or LCA software tools or use estimated proxies for specific materials or activities. To support the move from average to actual footprint calculation we plan to launch an API for sharing product footprints along the value chain, adhering to global standards like the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Partnership for Carbon Transparency (WBCSD PACT) and the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative. This will provide direct access to supplier footprints, simplifying the mapping process and improving data quality with primary data. We further plan to integrate with SAP Sustainability Data Exchange to leverage its carbon sharing capabilities.
Import Emission Factors
The application further provides a functionality to map emission factors to your purchased products, based on your imported ERP data, at different granularity. It auto-generates a mapping template with prefilled information like products, commodity codes, and suppliers. You can edit this template in-app or via a CSV file, and associate emission factors to each item via filtering and searching your imported emission factor databases for the best match. For improving this process, we plan to introduce automated mapping recommendations, a mapping wizard with validation checks, and an API for external providers. These improvements aim to boost user experience and automation. Our goal is to achieve intelligent emission factor mapping using AI technology, allowing automatic and transparent mapping.
Footprint Calculation
Our goal for SAP Sustainability Footprint Management is to address the entire product lifecycle – from cradle to grave. With the current release, we’re already covering cradle-to-gate, therefore including upstream emissions from material acquisition & pre-processing and transport, as well as direct emissions related to own production activities. We plan to include downstream emissions (product use and end-of-life) in future releases. Reflected on the corporate footprint, we’re covering the corresponding GHG Scope 1, 2, and 3 categories related to material, freight transport, and facilities. More Scope 3 categories associated to downstream emissions and people transport are planned for future releases.
You can maintain individual inventory scopes in the system to define the organizational boundaries of the footprint calculation, including companies, plants, and value chain steps. The application uses energy flow models to connect energy-related elements with the resources replicated from the ERP system. This includes energy carriers, energy sources, resources (e.g., assembly line or oven), and infrastructure (meters, process infrastructure, and facilities). These elements can be fully modeled and updated, allowing for the creation of models using a list display or a graphical flow modeler with drag-and-drop functionality:
Energy Flow Model
When a direct energy flow connection is unavailable, you can set allocation rules to distribute emissions to products and GHG Scopes and Categories. Currently, fixed factors are used for distribution, but further automation – e.g., based on product mass – is planned for future releases.
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management calculates a company’s total carbon footprint and attributes emissions to products and corporate overhead, aiming to achieve a balanced emission level throughout all production stages. Two methods are provided: Calculating Organizational Footprint Inventories, which considers GHG Protocol Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and requires input data like energy bills, meter readings, and manual emissions. It’s leveraging the imported master and transactional activity data, the mapped emission factors, as well as the energy flow model and allocation rules that have been set up previously, to calculate the footprints. The second option is Calculating Product Footprints, which provides insights into a plant’s product footprints by uploading a Bill of Material (BOM)-like Excel file. The calculated footprints can be monitored in an easy-to-read graphical format with drill-down possibilities into main emission drivers. A Sankey Diagram is the core tool for investigating emission results, offering transparency on input factors, such as purchased energy. You can explore various levels of detail, including calculation data and formulas, to understand the carbon footprint emissions. The app allows publishing results to connected SAP S/4HANA Cloud or SAP S/4HANA systems.
Manage and Monitor Footprint Results (Sankey-Diagram)
The calculation of inbound and outbound transport footprints is done by uploading CSV files, containing transport information. The application uses client-specific routes or automated calculation logic based on distances to determine emissions. Data is validated, and feedback is provided for any issues. We plan to include calculated transport footprints in organizational footprint inventories and overall product footprints in future releases, and further plan to reuse the replicated ERP data for the calculation itself. The Calculate Transport Footprints – Lite app enables quick calculations and assessments for single shipments without importing data, with results visualized in charts, tables, and maps. This allows you to quickly compare emissions related to different transport mode choices (e.g. plane vs. train) and helps your company to make informed decisions on how to reduce your transport related carbon footprint.
Footprint Analytics
For analyzing the calculated footprints and gaining new insights, SAP Sustainability Footprint Management offers built-in analytics. With various dashboards you can analyze your corporate balance with all emission inflows and outflows, as well as your emissions per purchased and sold products and energy consumers. You can also drill down into emissions by GHG scope, category, and energy source, and view trends.
Footprint Analytics
For transport footprints, there are own dynamic dashboards available with highly customizable charts and detailed reports on various transport relevant KPIs. You can also visualize and analyze inbound & outbound transport flows and emissions on a world map, including a heatmap to display emission hotspots.
To incorporate calculated footprints into your preferred analytical application, such as SAP Analytics Cloud or non-SAP solutions, an updated version of the OData API on SAP Business Accelerator Hub will be available soon. For future releases, we plan to provide simulation capabilities for various footprint scenarios and what-if analyses, enabling sensitivity analysis and comparison of product carbon footprints. This assists in sustainable decision-making regarding product design, production efficiency, and supply sourcing.
Footprint Integration
Last, but certainly not the least capability is integrating the calculated footprints into the end-to-end business processes, providing transparency and insights into sustainability metrics for not only sustainability experts in central sustainability departments but all business users in the company and its respective lines of business. From SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, the footprints can be published into the connected SAP S/4HANA Cloud or SAP S/4HANA (2021 and later) system to make the information accessible to users, enabling them to incorporate these criteria into their decision-making processes. To integrate footprints into business processes, Key User Extensibility can be used. Over time, we plan to integrate footprints natively into more SAP S/4HANA applications and processes, with first scenarios already available: In Purchasing, product footprints are integrated into Purchase Requisitions (PR). This allows approvers and operational purchasers to assess the environmental impact of PRs. The Monitor Purchase Requisition Items app provides insights into current and future emissions, enabling proactive optimization of the environmental footprint. Future releases plan to integrate footprints into Purchase Orders as well. Another integration of footprints is available in Inventory Management, starting with the Stock – Multiple Materials app to provide insights into the environmental impact of stocks. Previously used for stock quantities and financial values, the app now allows for sustainability criteria in decision-making processes.
Displaying Footprints in SAP S/4HANA Monitor Purchase Requisition App
Carbon footprints are also available in SAP Integrated Business Planning (IBP), enabling users to track greenhouse gas emissions according to supply planning heuristic results. Furthermore, we delivered the first data exchange use case leveraging the SAP Business Network, by integrating footprints into Logistic Business Network – Material Traceability (LBN-MT). Much more is planned to publish product footprints into networks and portals, for improved customer relationships, streamlined processes, and better information transparency. Additionally, an integration with SAP Sustainability Control Tower is planned as well, allowing holistic steering and reporting of emissions data linked to specific business operations.
Business Architecture
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management – Simplified Business Architecture (subject to change)
SAP Sustainability Footprint Management is a cloud application that is built on the SAP Business Technology Platform. In the application, you manage the import of data to call the Data Extractor in the Sustainability Integration Component in ABAP. This reuse component is included in SAP S/4HANA and pulls the relevant business and master data from your SAP S/4HANA Cloud or SAP S/4HANA system and sends the aggregated data back. Alternatively, APIs can be leveraged to import data from ECC or other ERP sources, and data can further be imported via file upload. Emission Factors from own or third-party databases can be imported via file upload as well. For future releases, we further plan an integration with SAP S/4HANA EHS Environment Management for leveraging GHG Scope 1 & 2 emission as well as waste data. We also plan an integration with the Business Networks and SAP Sustainability Data Exchange for collecting primary and actual footprint data from suppliers.
Based on the extracted and imported data, you define the inventory scope, mappings, energy flow models, allocations, and derivations. Consequently, the footprint calculation can be initiated. The calculated footprints are stored in the Footprint Inventory and can be viewed and monitored.
Via the Sustainability Integration Component, the Footprint Inventory is also connected back to your SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP S/4HANA system, so that your business users can access the footprints directly in their end-to-end processes and applications. In the future, we plan to deliver holistic steering and analytics capabilities by connecting SAP Sustainability Footprint Management and its Footprint Inventory to SAP Sustainability Control Tower. Further, an integration of the footprints into the Business Networks and SAP Sustainability Data Exchange is planned, as well as Public APIs to connect to third-party applications for analytics, disclosure, or other purposes. In the next days, an updated version of the existing Analytical API will be available to integrate the calculated footprints into any analytical application of your choice.
Road Map
Our sustainability footprint journey has just started – over the next months and years we plan to add many more features and functions, widely expanding the scope of SAP Sustainability Footprint Management. I already touched on some of the highlights that we plan to release in the upcoming months when talking about the product capabilities previously: For bringing SAP’s sustainability portfolio closer together, we plan an integration into SAP Sustainability Control Tower for including product and corporate footprints in companywide holistic steering and reporting. The planned integration with EHS Environment Management enables the incorporation and allocation of calculated GHG Scope 1 & 2 emissions into the footprint calculation. For collecting and managing Emission Factors, we plan enhancements and further automation of the current mapping. To support the next steps in transactional carbon accounting, we plan inbound and outbound integration options for collecting supplier-specific product footprint data and for sharing calculated footprints with customers – supporting common standards like PACT. This also includes the integration with SAP Sustainability Data Exchange. For extending the product and value chain calculations to the entire lifecycle – from Cradle-to-Grave – we plan to include the calculation of downstream emissions (product use and end-of-life). Further, we plan to extend the GHG Scope 3 to also cover people transportation (business travel and employee commuting). For simulating and modeling alternative scenarios we plan to provide simulation capabilities, such as what-if analyses.
And there’s much more to come – for an overview of all planned features have a look into SAP Road Map Explorer. There you find all our delivered and planned innovations, as well as their benefits for you and your company.
Deep Dive Blog Series
For a deep dive into each of SAP Sustainability Footprint Management’s core capabilities I’ll start a new blog series and publish separate blog posts on a weekly basis in the SAP Community:
- Data Acquisition
- Emission Factors Management
- Footprint Calculation
- Footprint Analytics
- Footprint Integration
Follow me here to receive notifications, I’ll also update the above list with the respective links once published.
Free Trial and Learning Journey
For exploring and experimenting in a live system, register for the free SAP Sustainability Footprint Management Trial. You will receive an e-mail with access information within seconds after your registration and can then test the solution at your own convenience within a 30-days trial period. It also includes a wide range of guided tours designed to help users navigate through all the features and functions comprehensively. Our aim is to provide an enriching hands-on experience to better understand the capabilities of SAP Sustainability Footprint Management and how it can be used effectively for sustainable business practices.
Furthermore, we’re also creating a new Learning Journey on the free SAP Learning platform, the release is planned soon, so stay tuned. This training will feature three courses with various units providing you with an overview & introduction, details on system setup & configuration, as well as trainings on all apps for calculating, monitoring, and analyzing sustainability footprints. This will also include many hands-on simulations and exercises. After successful completion, you’ll receive a Record of Achievement with a digital badge.
SAP Community Call
If you’re interested in gaining deeper insights into the new product and want to see the system live, I strongly encourage you to join the SAP Community Call Start your Carbon Accounting Journey with SAP Sustainability Footprint Management on June 14th, 14.00 CET. In this call Gunther Rothermel, Senior Vice President and Head of SAP Sustainability Engineering, and myself will provide you with the overall context of SAP’s sustainability and climate action solutions and deep dive into SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, including a system demo. For sure there’s also the possibility to ask your questions.
You can watch the session live or later the replay on YouTube: Start your Carbon Accounting Journey with SAP Sustainability Footprint Management
Additional Information
For in-depth details on SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, including concepts, setup, and the application help, I recommend you browsing through theSAP Help Portal. For an overview of all new features and functions that have been released, check the What’s Newsection, which is updated with every new software release.
To stay up to date on SAP Sustainability Footprint Management, follow me here in the SAP Community. In regular cadence, I will publish blog posts giving you updates on all the product’s new features and functions as well as deep dives into the product capabilities. I’m also looking forward to engaging with you directly, feel free to leave your feedback in the comment section. For questions, see the Q&A here in theSAP for Sustainability Community. Of course, you can also reach out to me directly.
FAQs
How is carbon footprint related to sustainability? ›
The carbon footprint is also an important component of the Ecological Footprint, since it is one competing demand for biologically productive space. Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel accumulate in the atmosphere if there is not enough biocapacity dedicated to absorb these emissions.
Can carbon footprint be measured by carbon accounting? ›Governments, businesses, and individuals can all use carbon accounting to calculate their greenhouse gas emissions. The total greenhouse gas emissions created by a person, country, or company is known as their carbon footprint. Carbon footprints most commonly show a yearly snapshot of an entity's continuous emissions.
What is carbon footprint accounting? ›Carbon accounting, or greenhouse gas accounting, is the process of quantifying the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced directly and indirectly from a business's or organization's activities within a set of boundaries. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most common greenhouse gas emitted by human activities.
What are the key pillars of SAP sustainability? ›- Circular Economy.
- Climate Action.
- Holistic Steering and Reporting.
- Social Responsibility.
These emissions are an important component of a business's impact on the environment – the E in ESG. Therefore, carbon accounting is essential for businesses to report their full environmental impact – especially when it comes to mandatory disclosure requirements – and determine their ESG ratings.
What are the 8 categories of carbon footprint? ›We analyze the contribution of 8 categories: construction, shelter, food, clothing, mobility, manufactured products, services, and trade.
What is the difference between carbon footprint and carbon accounting? ›Carbon accounting doesn't require someone to reduce their carbon emissions, whereas a carbon assessment insinuates that one would like to alleviate their carbon footprint – as it is the process of using the data revealed through carbon accounting as an effort to implement new, better environmental habits.
What are the methods of carbon accounting? ›Carbon accounting calculates an organization's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using two methodologies: spend-based and activity-based. The hybrid methodology combines spend-based and activity-based methods.
How do I start carbon accounting? ›The first step is to take an inventory of all carbon emitting assets, the most obvious being buildings, cars and/or trucks. Additional assets could include gas boilers and air conditioning units. Once the list is complete, it's time to gather energy consumption information which is found on utility bills.
What is the future of carbon accounting? ›The future of carbon accounting will be shaped by trends such as the increasing use of technology, the growing importance of transparency and disclosure, and the need for more comprehensive and accurate measurement and reporting.
What is the purpose of carbon accounting? ›
Carbon accounting not only provides the insight needed to quantify and measure your company's carbon emissions but it also assists you in making informed decisions when it comes to your carbon and mitigation strategies.
What are the problems with carbon accounting? ›The main challenges include errors in calculations and in collecting data, the definition of emissions boundaries, a lack of credible standardization, and more.
Who is the leader of SAP sustainability? ›Hear from Daniel Schmid, our Chief Sustainability Officer, how sustainability drives innovation at SAP.
What is the SAP commitment to sustainability? ›Ever since this commitment, SAP has prioritized a combination of economic performance, environmental protection, and social responsibility to make businesses sustainable. SAP is committed to achieving net zero along our value chain in line with a 1.5°C future in 2030 – 20 years earlier than the original target.
What are the goals of SAP ESG? ›SAP's purpose is to help the world run better and improve people's lives with sustainability at the core. Our objective is to create a positive economic, environmental, and social impact worldwide within planetary boundaries.
Is carbon accounting the same as ESG reporting? ›ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting refers to the practice of disclosing a company's non-financial performance, including its impact on the environment, society, and corporate governance. Carbon accounting is one component of ESG reporting, specifically related to the environmental aspect.
Is there a difference between ESG and sustainability? ›ESG refers to a set of criteria used to assess a company's environmental, social, and governance impact. In contrast, sustainability is the capacity to maintain or endure, focusing on the interplay of environmental, social, and economic factors. While both terms overlap, they have different scopes and focuses.
What ESG pillar covers carbon and sustainability reporting? ›The E in ESG takes into account an organisation's environmental impact and sustainability, focusing on areas such as carbon footprint, resource management and policy.
What are the 5 R's of carbon footprint? ›reducing carbon emissions by learning the 5 R's: refuse, reduce, reuse, rot, recycle: Going zero waste is a great step toward combating climate change and reducing carbon emissions. Practicing the 5 R's of zero waste can help.
What are 5 activities that contribute to carbon footprint? ›Burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and the rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system.
What are the 4 main carbon footprint categories? ›
The major contributors to carbon footprints are: food, consumption, transportation, and household energy.
What is scope 1 2 3 in carbon accounting? ›Definitions of scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
Essentially, scope 1 and 2 are those emissions that are owned or controlled by a company, whereas scope 3 emissions are a consequence of the activities of the company but occur from sources not owned or controlled by it.
Cost: It really depends here, especially based on company size and scope of carbon accounting. But expect a consultant that will help measure your emissions to cost anywhere from $20K to $200K annually.
What is the world's most widely used carbon accounting method? ›Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards for companies.
What are the 2 major types of carbon capture? ›CCS takes two basic forms: Biological carbon capture and storage: when the natural environment – such as forests and oceans – sequesters CO2 from the atmosphere.
What is carbon footprint methodology? ›Carbon Footprint first calculates energy use as a function of compute usage and data center resource requirements. Then, Carbon Footprint calculates location-based carbon emissions from electricity use, and allocates those emissions across customers and further across each customer's purchased products.
What are the business benefits of carbon accounting? ›Carbon accounting quantifies the climate impact of a business's activities. Using carbon accounting, businesses can stay legally compliant, resistant to risk, and greenwashing-free.
Why carbon credit failed? ›The most prominent reason why carbon projects fail is that they are not additional, meaning that the project does not contribute to achieving additional climate benefits - compared to if the project had not existed. This can happen when carbon credits are issued by protecting forests which were never in danger.
How long has carbon accounting been around? ›But for as essential as carbon accounting has become to modern business, it might not exist if it weren't for the cleverness of a merchant in 13th century Italy. Here's a brief history of carbon accounting, beginning with that Italian merchant and finishing with today's entrepreneurs.
What are the four problems with global carbon markets? ›Based on a critical review of the academic literature, it divides these problems into four categories: homogeneity, justice, gaming, and information. Homogeneity problems arise from the non-linear nature of climate change, which complicate attempts to calculate carbon offsets.
Is carbon an asset or liability? ›
“Carbon credits are an asset, and should be treated as such on the balance sheet,” says Torsten.
Which gases are accounted in carbon accounting? ›The standard covers the accounting and reporting of seven greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PCFs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
How much does the CEO of SAP make? ›Klein received 4.67 million euros ($4.97 million) in fixed income and bonuses, down from 5.87 million euros in 2021, likely putting him in the middle range of DAX (.
Who is the parent company of SAP? ›SAP ERP is an enterprise resource planning software developed by the German company SAP SE.
Is SAP still market leader? ›As the market leader in enterprise application software, we're helping companies of all sizes and in all industries run better by redefining ERP and creating networks of intelligent enterprises that provide transparency, resiliency, and sustainability across supply chains.
What are the 4 C's of sustainability? ›Segera finds that balance between conservation, community, culture and commerce, and puts the environment at the heart of the development.
What are the three pillars of sustainability requires? ›The figure at the top of this page suggests that there are three pillars of sustainability – economic viability, environmental protection and social equity.
What are the three main considerations of sustainability? ›Sustainability's three main pillars represent the environment, social responsibility, and the economic. (These three pillars are also informally referred to as people, planet, purpose, and profits.) It's useful to understand the terms sometimes used in place of the three pillars.
What are the three components of ESG finance? ›Adopting ESG principles means that corporate strategy focuses on the three pillars of the environment, social, and governance.
What is one of the key pillars of ESG? ›The 3 Pillars of ESG. Successful businesses focus on three core essentials: people, process, and product.
What is the importance of ESG accounting? ›
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is the term used to identify matters that are traditionally associated with sustainability or corporate responsibility – focussing on the impact on the environment and wider society.
What is carbon footprint in sustainable development? ›“A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product.”1 It is calculated by summing the emissions resulting from every stage of a product or service's lifetime (material production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life).
What is ecological footprint and how does it relate to sustainability? ›One way of measuring sustainability is the ecological footprint, which is a method of gauging humans' dependence on natural resources. It calculates how much of the environment is needed to sustain a particular lifestyle.
What is the relationship between ecological footprint and sustainability? ›Measuring Sustainability
The footprint is a measure for sustainability. Consumed goods and activities are taken into account when calculating the footprint.
Carbon Footprint first calculates energy use as a function of compute usage and data center resource requirements. Then, Carbon Footprint calculates location-based carbon emissions from electricity use, and allocates those emissions across customers and further across each customer's purchased products.
How does sustainability reduce carbon footprint? ›Solar, wind, water and geothermal energy do not emit any greenhouse gases and provide steady sources of energy, which make them integral to reduce greenhouse emissions. (See References 2) Materials such as wood or ethanol are sustainable resources as well, however they emit greenhouse gases when burned.
What can companies do to reduce their carbon footprint? ›- Change your climate. ...
- Source sustainable energy. ...
- Make the road less traveled. ...
- Upgrade your lighting. ...
- Create a local food stream. ...
- Work with sustainable suppliers. ...
- Reduce, reuse, and recycle on a larger scale. ...
- Don't ignore your data center.
While the carbon footprint measures the emission of gases that contribute to global warming, the ecological footprint focuses on measuring the use of bio-productive space.
What is the difference between sustainability and ecological footprint? ›Put simply: environmental sustainability can only occur when the amount of productive land that people demand (ecological footprint) is equal to, or less than, the supply of productive land available (biocapacity).
What is an example of a carbon footprint? ›For example, we produce greenhouse gas emissions from burning gasoline when we drive, burning oil or gas for home heating, or using electricity generated from coal, natural gas, and oil. Greenhouse gas emissions vary among individuals depending on a person's location, habits, and personal choices.
Is ecological footprint a measure of sustainability? ›
An environmental footprint is an international sustainability indicator that, as defined by its authors, measures "the area of biologically productive land needed to produce the resources consumed and assimilate the waste generated."
What can we do to reduce ecological footprint? ›- What can you do to reduce your Ecological Footprint? ...
- Buy organic if you can, or locally-grown produce. ...
- Make sure all lights are off when not in use. ...
- Walk or ride your bike to school. ...
- Buy products with the least amount of packaging possible (buy in bulk or in big boxes rather than in individually wrapped containers).
The simplest way to define ecological footprint would be to call it the impact of human activities measured in terms of the area of biologically productive land and water required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated.