SAP and BT Group have announced a new partnership to showcase how carbon accounting can be standardized by piloting the recently launched SAP Sustainability Data Exchange (SDX).
With SAP SDX, BT Group can collect, trace and share carbon data across its supplier base, to provide visibility into the carbon footprint of its products and services. BT Group can share this data directly with its customers when they purchase products through the SAP Business Network.
In complement to this, BT Group can utilize data-driven insights from its Digital Carbon Calculator and Carbon Network Dashboard to help customers optimize their IT for both carbon and energy.
SAP SDX adheres to the carbon data interoperability standards set by the Partnership for Carbon Transparency (PACT), hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) so that UK business customers no longer have to implement their carbon accounting platforms to calculate, collate and share emissions data, rather they request it through SAP SDX for their BT products and services.
BT Group is the first UK organization to adopt this process, driving the standardization of sustainability reporting across global value chains to tackle Scope 3 emissions and drive environmental progress. This will additionally contribute to the delivery of the BT Group Manifesto pledge to help customers avoid 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2030.
To build scale, BT Group is working with key partner Cisco to deploy SDX to receive product carbon data for core network devices, simplify and secure data exchange with business customers backed by its global connectivity services, and boost traceability.
Sarwar Khan, global head of digital sustainability, business, BT Group, said: “Typically, value chain emissions represent a greater proportion of a business’ carbon footprint than operational emissions. Tracking, measuring and acting on these and bringing more suppliers and partners on the journey will not just accelerate net-zero targets, but set a new precedent for sustainability reporting. Collaboration fuels progress and access to data is fundamental to getting it right.”
Ryan Poggi, managing director of SAP UKI, said: “The lack of standardization in sustainability reporting has been a roadblock to progress for too long.
“This creates confusion and an inability to validate real change. Our partnership with BT gives us an opportunity to refresh the guidelines and offers a blueprint for a universal standard in sustainability reporting. The aim is to create an environment for organizations to transparently tackle global challenges together.”
