Enter the world of sustainability management

Since the United Nations General Assembly devised the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development back in 2015, the European Union has thrown its weight behind achieving those targets. To that end, measures are now actively being taken, and legislation drawn up, to encourage companies to incorporate sustainable growth into their business strategy.

European legislation requires the collection of a significant amount of information for monitoring and inclusion in reports, which must increasingly be standardised according to the new CSRD directive. Organisations should take advantage of this opportunity to harness new indicators that are more in line with current social and environmental needs. This will help achieve more sustainable financial results and lessen their impact on the planet.

Comprehensive reporting is a discipline that includes not only financial data but also those related to social, environmental and governance factors. It aims to improve a business’s governance of sustainability. In order to do so, an understanding of how to integrate ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) data with existing data on company performance (Enterprise Performance Management or EPM) is critical. This is what was behind the creation of Sustainable Performance Management. The discipline seeks to consider both finance and sustainability as part of the planning process, making the latter a key focus along a company’s entire value chain.

Sustainability through good planning

Focusing on sustainability from the start of the strategic planning phase will ensure an organisation has a sustainable vision based on two key pillars: EPM data and ESG indicators. It will allow evaluation of results and facilitate implementation of the alterations necessary in order to improve business processes.

Sustainability principles will be applied far more successfully if they’re taken into account in a company’s mission, vision and values. We understand any change can be difficult and painstaking, and we know adaptation takes time. That’s why it’s essential that businesses are guided in transition by a knowledgeable partner. NTT DATA helps organisations achieve their transformation goals through a comprehensive strategic, operational and technological vision.

A sustainability-based strategic vision

At NTT DATA, we support businesses in setting their sustainability goals and understanding the impact on their financial objectives. Organisations must have clear strategic guidelines based around sustainability, and identify how they want these to influence their objectives. This is the path to an organisational model which fosters greater harmony between financial and social needs, ensuring a long-lasting and more viable business project.

Our teams of finance and sustainability specialists help companies like yours strike a balance between these two critical areas when it comes to setting business objectives.

A more human operational vision

The fundamental principles of sustainability must be integrated into every single process. These cannot simply be values displayed on a sign that gets hung up in the office; they should be the basis on which every decision is made. Like seeds, they germinate, grow, and accompany a business in its day to day. These values must become the engines of organisational growth. The business must take them on as its own and reinvent its current EPM systems by making the appropriate adaptations. This will ensure sustainability principles begin to form part of annual forecasting and reporting.

NTT DATA has vast experience in carrying out comprehensive EPM projects. We are committed to sustainability and understand that, for our customers, peace of mind comes by having us by their side at every moment, from strategic planning to the efficient implementation of new systems within the company. SAP provides us with vital support in this transformation process. It gives us access to the most innovative sustainability tools, as well as offering integration with transactional information systems covering every aspect of business performance management.

The technological vision: a migration to EPM tools

The vast majority of modern businesses now have EPM metrics available to them. This means the obstacles we came up against in strategic and operational terms now extend to technological elements. The most common question posed by our customers is how and where they can get access to this sustainability data.

One of the greatest challenges is the fact that ESG criteria data are often collected manually, before being standardised and reported. This method slows the integration of data and makes monitoring it more difficult. As a result, verifying whether or not sustainability forecasts have been met becomes more complicated. This is why it’s so crucial to have a previously established repository for sustainability data, which can then be integrated into your EPM.

That repository should include the source of the data, which must then be processed and standardised according to a set of quality standards for inclusion in analytics systems. However, not all transactional systems can provide this data, making integration difficult and throwing up new challenges in terms of building sustainability into existing processes.

Now, SAP has successfully integrated this dimension into its solutions. The perfect example is the human resources information system SAP SuccessFactors, which allows businesses a manageable picture of inclusion and diversity. Another option is SAP S/4HANA, which includes information elements necessary for calculating carbon footprints, while SAP Product Footprint Management, SAP Control Tower or SAP Profitability and Performance Management all allow you to monitor different sustainability elements. These tools centralise sustainability data so it can then be integrated into EPM systems.

NTT DATA possess extensive experience in the implementation of these platforms, added to the benefits of direct support from SAP. Our alliance with SAP reinforces the assistance we’re able to offer our clients, as we integrate their sustainability goals into our Enterprise Performance and Management processes and see them reflected positively in clients’ social and environmental impact figures.

With our guidance, your business will grow sustainably. Get in touch at tguytixi@nttdata.com to find out how we can help you.