Danone uses SAP to reduce carbon footprint

Heath food maker Danone, which makes products like Actimel, the yogurt,  has used SAP to reduce its carbon footprint by 22%.

SAP provided the analytic software and sustainability services that allow Danone to measure carbon emissions for its 35,000 products to assess the environmental impact across the products’ lifecycle.

By using SAP tools and services Danone is able to compare the carbon footprint that it takes to produce different products, the company said. The system can be used to measure the impact of green initiatives or reduce carbon emissions such as in the logistics organisation where staff can plan transportation routes for products that have the lowest carbon footprint. 

Every staff member is held accountable for the quality of carbon data in their business area. Danone has also linked bonuses for 1,400 global managers to environmental objectives.

Danone said it plans to simulate emissions when introducing a new material, process or brand. It also plans to improve reporting so track emissions  by product, factory, division and set benchmarks based on that data. Eventually the company would like to treat sustainability performance similar to financial performance with monthly closings and evaluations.