Collaborative business software giant SAP is urgently
looking to reduce its carbon footprint caused by business travel after a big
increase in trips undermined its sustainability efforts in the second quarter,
the company said last week.
The Waldorf, Germany-based company has started to issue
sustainability updates on a quarterly basis and said that it reduced CO2
emissions to 115 kilotons in the three months ending June 30 from 120 kilotons
in the first quarter, "despite a surge in business travel." The
company managed to reduce emissions overall owing to lower energy consumption
and increased purchase of renewable electricity, but it added that "compensating
travel needs will be instrumental to meet SAP’s 2010 objective of staying below
460 kilotons CO2 … SAP plans to further expand its teleconferencing
capabilities and introduce smart commuting options."
SAP’s emissions hit an annual high of 540 kilotons in 2007,
after which the total declined with the onset of recession, in part because of
a drop in business travel. The company aims to reduce its emissions to 275 kilotons
by 2020. It uses an in-house tool, SAP Carbon Impact OnDemand, to analyze its
emissions data.
SAP’s statement is noteworthy not only for what it says
about travel but also for the fact it has been made at all, said Bernard
Harrop, head of sustainability for Icarus, the sustainability program run by
the United Kingdom’s Institute of Travel & Meetings and NBTA Europe. "Over
the last couple of years, travel has reduced and therefore carbon emissions
have reduced," said Harrop. "However, business travel can account for
as much as 80 percent of a company’s carbon footprint, so now that it is
starting to come back, we are seeing companies getting interested in this
again.
"Emissions reporting has become a key requirement for
many companies, but until now companies have tended to report only internally
on a quarterly basis—external reporting has been done annually. That is
changing because sustainability is appearing as an agenda item in the
boardroom," Harrop said.