The report, Carbon Accounting: A key step toward broad sustainability management, follows news that SAP is the leading software supplier in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for a fourth consecutive year. A statement from the company confirmed it had “sector-leading scores” in over half of the 20 assessed areas, including customer relationship management, risk and crisis management, innovation management, human capital development, corporate citizenship and labour practice indicators. 

 

“Carbon accounting regulations are one of the early drivers of sustainable practices, forcing companies worldwide to re-examine their operations and awakening them to the role that IT can play in helping them meet carbon reporting and reduction requirements,” explained Warren Wilson, Ovum senior analyst for IT and sustainability.

 

“Leading IT firms are looking at the problem more broadly, seizing the ‘chance to do well by doing good’ and helping clients to implement greener approaches that don’t just help them comply with regulations but also help them save money, grow their companies and enhance their products and brands. We expect this to be a major growth area for the IT sector and over the next few years to become a multi-billion-pound market.

 

Wilson, who also authored the report, added, “There is a wealth of opportunity for IT firms in sustainability, so companies that have not yet taken advantage of it should not feel that they have missed the boat. However, those that are making the most of the shift to sustainable practices are those that take an innovative approach, often thinking outside of the standard services they offer.”

 

“They see that the opportunity extends well beyond traditional ‘green IT,’ or energy-efficient computing, and encompasses all the ways in which IT can enable greener practices across the business – in industrial processes, building operations, fleet management, and more.”

 

On SAP’s performance in sustainability, Wilson said, “We believe SAP is on track to claim a substantial share of what will be a huge market. This is true for two key reasons: sustainability management is a natural extension of ERP — SAP’s home turf — and its value proposition is simple: sustainable practices are good business.”