• Green Digest
  • Posts
  • Evaluating a company's impact (the case of SAP)

Evaluating a company's impact (the case of SAP)

A deep dive into SAP's environmental and social impact

This week’s read time: 4 minutes

You are reading Green Digest Impact, a weekly newsletter that provides in-depth analyses of companies’ environmental and social impact.

OUR APPROACH

Central to our narrative is the principle of double-materiality, which recognizes that a company's impact is twofold: it affects both the environment and society at large, and in turn, these external factors influence the company's financial and operational performance.

While traditional ESG assessments focus on the latter, we aim to examine companies' direct impacts on these factors. In pursuit of this, we introduce a unique scoring system that quantifies a company's impact.

The insights and analyses presented in Green Digest Impact are brought to you by a partnership between Green Digest and Impaakt, a Swiss-based impact data provider. Contact Impaakt here to explore how they can assist you.

TOGETHER WITH ECONOMIST IMPACT

Economist Impact’s 10th anniversary Sustainability Week will empower businesses to go beyond “reduce and reuse” and accelerate their sustainability strategies. With more than 200 speakers and over 1,500 in-person attendees, the event will present original insights and practical solutions focusing across all industries, driving action on sustainability. Meet the most influential speakers and experts who will deliver discussions on achieving net zero by 2050, with sessions for challenging sectors, technology, agriculture, supply chains, and more. Register for the event today at this link.

Exclusive for Green Digest readers: Enjoy a 20% discount with the code GD-SW/MP20

THIS WEEK’S COMPANY

SAP

This week we dive deep into SAP’s environmental and social impact.

SAP is a global leader in enterprise solutions, renowned for its market-leading solutions in various categories, including enterprise applications and resource planning software, supply chain management applications, procurement applications software, and travel and expense management software, among others.

Some interesting facts:

  • SAP was founded in 1972 in Germany by five former IBM engineers who left to create their own company after a project they worked on was scrapped by IBM.

  • Without realizing it, we interact with SAP-powered systems almost daily—when we book a flight, order something online, or even pay for groceries. It’s a hidden backbone of many industries.

COMPANY’S IMPACT

SAP’s overall impact score

SAP has a general impact score of +1.94 (on a scale from -5 to +5). Its impact is spread across 10 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 6 topics, split between positive and negative analyses.

In the socio-economic sphere,

SAP is a leading provider of enterprise software, offering modular and suite solutions available in the cloud, on-premise, and hybrid. Its software integrates critical business functions including finance, procurement, HR, supply chain management, and customer experience, driving business success. SAP's software solutions support 26 industries and 12 lines of business, enabling enterprises to manage resources, spending, employees, and customer relationships effectively. 

SAP has an extensive and impactful presence, with a global network of over 26,000 partner companies and 107,000 employees. Its cloud solutions serve over 300 million users, including 98 of the world’s 100 largest companies, while 80% of the company’s customers are SMEs. SAP customers also collectively generate approximately 84% of total global commerce, showcasing the critical role its solutions play in enabling efficient operations, seamless transactions, and robust supply chains. The SAP Business Network facilitated over 729 million B2B transactions in Q3 2024 alone, supporting over $6.2 trillion in annual commerce.

However, SAP has also been criticized and fined in the past over business ethics and cases of misconduct. In 2016, a former executive was sentenced for bribing Panamanian officials to secure $3.7 million in contracts. In 2018, SAP admitted to improper payments exceeding $9 million to secure a $60 million tender in South Africa. Additionally, the company has faced allegations of market dominance, restricting customer options, and suppressing competition.

Environmentally,

SAP has an annual carbon footprint of over 6.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, comparable to the annual electricity usage of over 1.2 million homes. It withdraws over 710,000 m3 of water annually and has 20% of its sites located in high and extremely high water-stressed areas. Additionally, it generates 1,500 tonnes of electronic waste, with a 93% recycling or reusing rate.

*The impact score is current as of January 2025 and may be subject to changes as it is continuously updated.
**You can find details about the scoring methodology here and the information sources here.

ESG VS IMPACT SCORE

What is SAP’s ESG rating?

For comparison, SAP has an AAA rating in MSCI's ESG evaluation.

However, ESG Ratings from MSCI ESG Research are designed to measure a company’s resilience to financially material ESG risks and they provide a window into one facet of risk to financial performance. They measure how effectively companies manage ESG risks, not their impact on these factors.

SCORES BY SDG

SAP’s impact scores by SDG

Positively (and by weight), the company scores the highest in Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure SDG (+2.50), followed by Quality Education (+3.53) and Zero Hunger (+3.42).

Negatively, the company scores the worst in Peace, Justice and Strong Institution SDG (-3.75), followed by Climate Action (-2.52) and Reduced Inequalities (-0.87).

*the analysis takes into account the weight of the SDGs

CONCLUSION

Materiality Map & Final Words

So, SAP’s key social and environmental impact lies in …

its role as a global leader in enterprise software, empowering businesses to operate more efficiently and sustainably. By serving a diverse range of industries and business functions, SAP solutions drive innovation, optimize resource management, and strengthen global supply chains. SAP’s vast customer base, spanning SMEs to multinational corporations, underscores its integral role in facilitating commerce and supporting economic growth worldwide.

Environmentally, SAP demonstrates a commitment to reducing waste and improving sustainability, achieving a high recycling rate for electronic waste and enabling its customers to pursue greener operations through its digital solutions. Nonetheless, the company’s high carbon emissions remain an area requiring further improvement.

With an overall impact score of +1.94, SAP stands out for its contributions to advancing business transformation, economic prosperity, and sustainability while navigating challenges tied to business ethics and environmental stewardship.

If you’d like to delve deeper into SAP’s impact, you can explore it here.

If you'd like to learn more about the scoring methodology, you can do so here.

Do you have a specific company you'd like us to cover? Send your suggestions to [email protected]

Did you like today's newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

PARTNER WITH US

Increase your brand awareness and visibility by reaching the right audience and target market. Showcase your company, solutions, services, products, reports, surveys, events, or other content in front of our highly targeted audience of +4,000 Sustainability & ESG professionals. Contact us at [email protected] if you think we can partner in some way.