SAP SE announced that the company has joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 (CE100) Network.
The CE100 is a collaborative network of businesses, innovators, cities and governments, universities and thought leaders who work together to accelerate adoption of circular economy practices and processes that maximize the use of resources. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is an organization that leads in transitioning to a circular economy model built on three principles: design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural capital.
“SAP believes that business can deliver circular solutions at scale,” said Daniel Schmid, Chief Sustainability Officer, SAP. “We aspire to a world of zero waste and enable companies with digital solutions to enhance their resource productivity. We are excited to join and collaborate with CE100 Network to bring our technical capabilities to both large and small companies across industries, and to help them to innovate ways to advance the circular economy.”
Many of the world’s largest companies are SAP’s customers, and 77 percent of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP system. SAP frequently collaborates with industry partners to contribute to Goal 12 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: “Responsible Consumption and Production.” The objective is to create new circular solutions that accelerate marketplaces for waste materials, enable more responsible production methods through the use of advanced data, provide waste management insights and ensure better consumer and citizen experiences.
“Having SAP join CE100 is exciting because they have experience working across major industries,” said Joe Murphy, CE100 lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “It will be great to have their unique expertise in the network.”
The SAP product portfolio includes cloud software designed specifically to support corporate materials management, such as plastics and packaging, metals, wood and paper products, electronics and capital equipment. The company’s Ariba Network, the world’s largest business-to-business network, is creating a new global marketplace for suppliers of recycled plastics and plastic alternatives. It will allow brands to connect more sustainably with recycled plastics and alternative supply sources through waste-picker communities.
SAP is committed to eliminating single-use plastics in the organization by the end of 2020 and aims to be a carbon-neutral organization by 2025.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was launched in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the transition to the circular economy. Since its creation, the UK-registered charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision-makers around the world. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE100 Network is the world’s leading circular economy network, providing a precompetitive space to learn, share and put ideas into practice.