Brian Duffy, President of SAP EMEA and member of the Sustainability Council believes the recent crisis provides an opportunity for planning and reflection. It seems quite clear that we won’t be returning to the pre-lockdown scene any time soon as the pandemic continues to have significant impacts on how we live and work.

Aside from all the uncertainty, there are opportunities. This period should be used by business leaders to think, reflect and plan how their business operates and how they intend to re-emerge in the near future. The pandemic is having a major impact on global economies but it has created a number of changes, including a considerable decline in CO2 emissions worldwide.

The Sustainability Council of SAP is an internal service that ensures all parts of the company contribute towards their sustainability goals. The council provides an advisory platform for the business to communicate with both internal and external members on relevant environmental and sustainability themes. The council has a priority of ensuring sustainability becomes a vital topic in both customer conversations and engagement.

Sustainability has risen in terms of priorities for SAP and its customers. During this period and the increase of remote working and virtual meetings, the importance of sustainability is accelerating even further. At the World Economic Forum earlier this year, SAP confirmed its plans to create a cleaner ocean by providing customers, NGOs and other partners with services and solutions required to eliminate waste and enhance resource production. In Davos, SAP also confirmed it had joined the CEO Carbon Neutral Challenge, supporting businesses in the transition towards a low carbon economy.

Now more than ever we are understanding the real potential of technology and the opportunities to become more sustainable and resilient. SAP has two priorities to focus on when approaching the post-lockdown era. The first is focused on their people and meeting the range of needs and requirements of their employees. The second priority is focused on assessing this period in more detail in terms of both business and environmental sustainability. Businesses are using innovative and creative tools to continue working under these new circumstances. Leaders will need to question what should remain and what measures need to be reintroduced once lockdown restrictions are lifted.