CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
DIALOGUE
At SAP, we are deeply committed to running our business in a responsible manner consistent with the principles of sustainability. Because we understand that no single business or entity alone can be truly sustainable, we strive to engage and collaborate with others who can help us create a genuinely sustainable society.
SAP subscribes to the philosophy that IT-led innovation can drive economic development and parity through resource-efficient growth. An educated workforce, and developed and responsive governance systems are necessary prerequisites to sustainable economic growth and progress.
As part of our ongoing efforts to encourage progress through the exchange of ideas and best practices, we believe that the best approach to helping our clients develop and grow is by working with the concerned stakeholders who enable co-innovation. It is this accountability-oriented approach that SAP's global team uses everyday to openly and responsibly communicate and collaborate with our stakeholders and partners.
To make this all possible, SAP works with the following organizations and contributes to the following efforts:
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AccountAbility – This corporate social responsibility (CSR) think tank promotes accountability in sustainable development efforts, including it principles-based standards – the AA1000 Series – that provides the basis for improving the sustainability performance of organizations. SAP works with AccountAbility to define materiality and stakeholder engagement. Together with AccountAbility, SAP organized its first CSR Expert Advisory Group Meeting in Palo Alto from September 20 - 21, 2007, bringing together representatives from SAP, non-governmental organizations, as well as SAP investors, customers and partners to discuss topics that will influence SAP's future strategic decisions in the area of social responsibility and overall corporate governance. Participants discussed what innovative products SAP will deliver in the future and the role enterprise software and business intelligence play in helping companies become more resource efficient and more responsive to stakeholder demands.
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Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) – SAP participates in the Software Working Group of BSR, a leading CSR research think tank. In 2007, BSR launched an innovative project to define materially relevant risks and opportunities unique to the software sector and to identify positive contributions that the sector can make to sustainability. The Software Working Group – which along with SAP include Adobe, Autodesk, HP, Microsoft, McAfee, and Symantec – are committed to working together to understand and meet society's expectations for a responsible software sector and to develop products and services that enable sustainability. The group continues to reach out to a broad range of key stakeholders and invite them to join the discussion.
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CSR Europe – SAP is a member of CSR Europe, the leading European business network for promoting corporate social responsibility. This organization counts among its members more than 60 leading multinational corporations.
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econsense – SAP is a member of econsense, the forum for sustainable development of German business. This association is comprised of leading, globally-active companies that have integrated the principles of sustainable development practices in their corporate strategies. SAP is working with BASF and Evonik to serve as a leading member in the CSR Laboratory known as "Demographic Change," an initiative facilitated by econsense.
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Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – SAP is an organizational stakeholder of the GRI, an organization dedicated to helping mature the most significant emergent standards that organizations can use to publicly report their sustainability performance.
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International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) – As an international non-governmental organization (NGO), IBLF examines the emerging sustainability challenges affecting economic growth and change in the global economy. SAP – an IBLF member – is supporting a study looking at how public-private partnerships can improve economic development efforts in developing nations.
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UN Global Compact – When this organization was formed in 2000, SAP stepped forward to become one of its first signatories. Today, SAP serves on the organization's 10th principle working group, a committee which supports the global effort to control corruption and reduce associated poverty and injustice.
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