Indian companies can no longer afford to think about ESG as an annual report, but as a topic of daily business. With mandatory reporting like the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) and the heightened attention from investors and the national agenda, most notably Net Zero by 2070, the immediacy to act on sustainability is at an unprecedented high. The question is how to comply with these requirements with the least possible impact on operational efficiency and without overwhelming existing teams.
SAP has become the trusted business partner for companies that want to reduce the complexity of the journey for companies to enact change. Their sustainability solutions provide a roadmap to integrate ESG into existing business processes like finance, procurement, logistics and product development. SAP brings processes together, replacing disconnected systems and manual workflows across the company, and enables a real-time, data-driven approach to sustainability.
In this blog, we will delve into five major areas in which SAP Sustainability Solutions are enabling Indian businesses to remain compliant, gain trust and harness long-term business value.
Understanding India’s ESG Landscape
The sustainability journey for India is determined by both global demands and local regulations affecting what businesses must comply with. The government has committed to Net Zero emissions by 2070 and so has implemented regulations that address the role of businesses in environmental disclosure and responsible practices.
Some of the key changes include:
• Compliance to BRSR for the top 1,000 listed companies as per SEBI
• The introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations, particularly to account for plastics, packaging and e-waste.
• Mandatory disclosures as per the GRI, the TCFD and the IFRS Sustainability Standards.
The developments are largely irreversible and make ESG reporting and compliance mandatory for Indian companies.
Why Legacy Systems Fall Short
Despite good intentions, many companies still rely on disconnected spreadsheets, outdated reporting tools, and siloed departments to track ESG performance. This makes it difficult to produce consistent, auditable, and timely reports. It also prevents leadership teams from making informed, sustainability-driven business decisions.
What businesses need now are scalable, integrated platforms that can capture real-time ESG data and align it with financial outcomes. SAP offers just that through its intelligent sustainability suite.
1. Centralizing ESG Oversight with SAP
Sustainability Control Tower
One of the biggest obstacles faced by
Indian companies is the fragmented nature of ESG data. There are different
teams for each metric, making the process to consolidate data and report
difficult.
SAP
Sustainability Control Tower (SCT) fixes that by providing a single view of
the enterprise’s ESG data. It does this by connecting with the organization’s
SAP systems and third-party platforms that generate and/or collect
sustainability data and collects and harmonizes data in real-time.
SCT has several advantages for
organizations seeking to ‘do good and do good effectively’.
Key capabilities include the following:
•
Predefined KPIs in alignment with Indian national standards and
international standards such as BRSR,
GRI, IFRS.
•
Real-time dashboards and visualizations for executives and
sustainability teams.
•
Prebuilt templates for reporting including an audit-ready report.
SCT connects with SAP Signavio to
understand how internal processes influence the performance against
sustainability measures, enabling organizations to turn ESG from an
it’s-a-burden-to-report burden into a actionable strategy.
2. Calculating and Reducing Emissions
with SAP Product Footprint Management
India’s Net Zero commitment means it is
vital for every organization to calculate carbon emissions at the scope level.
Unfortunately, most organizations inadequately account for Scope 3 emissions
(the emissions resulting from their supply chain, logistics, and product use).
SAP
Product Footprint Management (PFM) allows organizations to capture carbon
emissions at the product level. By integrating with SAP
S/4HANA, use of SAP PFM brings together data from all parts of the
organization—material, manufacturing, logistics, and sales; in order to provide
complete visibility of the environmental impact.
With SAP
PFM, an organization can;
• Monitor
their carbon emissions across the entire product lifecycle
•
Model carbon reduction scenarios to understand impacts of operational
change
•
Benchmark suppliers against environmental impacts
Consequently, enabling better sustainable
decision-making and ensuring the organization is ready for the first iteration
of carbon pricing and reporting against forthcoming global norms.
3. Automating Compliance and Risk
Management with SAP Joule and EHS Tools
Manual tracking of compliance data and
environmental health and safety (EHS) incidents can result in missed deadlines,
hidden risks, and legal complications. As the regulatory framework within India
develops, businesses require a more intelligent approach towards managing
compliance.
SAP Joule, SAP’s AI-enabled assistant,
integrates with sustainability modules to include automation and predictive
analysis. When integrating with SAP’s EHS products, Joule will automate:
•
Incident tracking and reporting documentation.
•
Using machine learning to identify risks early.
•
Automate all workflows and generation of regulatory reporting and
compliance
For any Indian enterprise facing multiple EPR
obligations, or determining how to respond to unfamiliar safety
regulations, Joule’s automation can reduce the errors of the human element
while minimizing the burden on internal teams.
4. Promoting Circular Economy with SAP
Responsible Design and Procurement
With India pushing for circular economy
models, businesses need to rethink how they design, source, and package their
products. Complying with regulations like plastic taxes and EPR requires
end-to-end material visibility.
SAP
Responsible Design and Production (RDP) allows companies to:
•
Track material usage across the supply chain.
•
Optimize packaging design based on recyclability and regulatory needs.
•
Automate EPR reporting and manage product labeling requirements.
The module also connects with SAP Ariba to
assess supplier ESG compliance, ensuring that sourcing practices align with
corporate sustainability goals.
5. Building Trust with Transparent,
Audit-Ready ESG Reporting
Stakeholders of today expect transparency
with data. Today, Indian businesses must produce publishing ESG reports to meet
regulatory requirements but to also to bring their values to life for
investors, partners and customers alike.
SAP enables to do this via our Green
Ledger and reporting features within SAP Sustainability Control Tower. Specifically, integrated financial and
non-financial reporting, double materiality to display sustainability impact on
business performance and vice versa, and templates that align with Indian and
global reporting requirements, including BRSR and EU CSRD.
This level of transparency creates
credibility with companies and addresses the opportunistic expectations from
regulators and responsible investors.
Final Thoughts
India’s sustainability journey is
accelerating and the price of inaction is getting higher. Companies with
antiquated processes or disconnected data will fall behind on compliance
mandates, much less generate long-term ESG value.
SAP Sustainability Solutions offer a path
to the future.
By integrating ESG intelligence into daily
operations, companies in India can be regulatory complaint and innovate at the
same time, while enhancing resilience and stakeholder confidence.
Through data centralization or intelligent
carbon tracking and AI based compliance, SAP will enable companies to lead with
purpose while maximizing measurable business outcomes.
