SAP on track to achieve 2011 greenhouse gas emissions target

Enterprise software maker SAP decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 2% per employee in the quarter ended 30 September, compared with the same period in 2010, according to the company's quarterly sustainability report.

Individual reductions were achieved as a result of targeted energy efficiency programmes and a decrease in air travel, the company said.

However, overall greenhouse gas emissions, not including Sybase, were up 2% compared with the same quarter a year ago, on a 3% increase in the number of employees worldwide.

SAP also announced that it is one of the first companies to sign up to the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard to assess its entire value chain emissions impact.

The new standard was launched by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

SAP plans to offer visibility into how it is performing against this new standard, beginning with the release of the 2011 SAP Sustainability Report next year.

Overall, the company said its focused sustainability initiatives led to a cost avoidance of approximately €195m between the start of 2008 and November 2011, in comparison with a "business as usual" extrapolation.

SAP remains on track to meet the year-end emissions target of 460 kilotons, in line with its long-term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to year-2000 levels by 2020.