Companies use enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to manage different business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations for large, mission-critical workloads. While ERP platforms are usually seen as profit-enhancing business solutions, they can assist firms in achieving sustainability goals such as lowering carbon footprint and safeguarding the environment in general.
Rudy Abrahams, Managing Director for the Philippines of SAP, a multinational German software company, said: “We know that customers, clients, and partners must report on the top and bottom lines. However, one of the things that is very important is sustainability. With our 4th generation ERP, we can start recording your carbon footprint. When you are doing business with another customer and, for example, you want to know how much it took to create a bottle of shampoo, we can start recording that into an enterprise system. That is powerful because we have a conscious obligation to the planet to do what is right for the generations to come. This is business for higher meaning.”
Abrahams pointed out that businesses should adopt technologies like ERP and cloud computing not only for the sake of cool tech. Organizations must adopt technologies that make a difference. Whether they are in the field of engineering, construction, financial or humanitarian services, SAP technologies allow customers to start gaining access to data.
“Today, the machine or application is so much more than what it ever was before. With embedded analytics, you must no longer spend an inordinate amount of time trying to take cubes and dimensions to make sense of data. It helps business leaders make decisions much quicker because the real-time attachment between the analytics engine to your backend finance engine or logistics engine is real-time,” he added.
In the Philippines, one example of a company that uses ERP for analytics to achieve its business and sustainability goals is Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC). MPIC is the first in the country to adopt RISE with SAP, a bundle of tailor-made enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, transformation services, business analytics, and partner expertise guides designed to help organizations push their personalized journey to the cloud. MPIC implemented RISE with SAP toward the end of 2021.
The implementation took only three months, and it was a considerable feat for a conglomerate like MPIC. For context, MPIC is the largest infrastructure group in the Philippines. Through Meralco, the company is into power generation and distribution, covering more than 50% of the country’s power requirements. MPIC is also into water distribution and toll road management, through which the company services about two million vehicles each day. MPIC also provides health care through its hospitals across the country.
“RISE with SAP is an answered prayer and perfect solution. Because we grew by acquisition, we have large businesses and smaller ones. Applying the EESG (economy, environment, social, and governance) approach and starting with the economic perspective, we can streamline processes and enhance cost efficiency. For the environment, with the push of digitalization across the group, we can go paperless and reduce our carbon footprint, preventing the cutting of more trees. Being in the cloud is also more sustainable because it requires less energy and GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions,” said June Cheryl “Chaye” Cabal-Revilla, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer, MPIC, during a panel discussion at SAP NOW Southeast Asia, which was held in Singapore.
Cabal-Revilla further shared that MPIC aspires to transition and invest more in green technologies, such as the capability to convert wastewater into potable water. The company is also investing in biodiversity protection projects, creating designs with fewer social and environmental disruptions. One example is the Cebu-Cordoba Link Expressway (feature photo), which was featured in a National Geographic article titled “A bridge of tomorrow”.
“Instead of doing a straight bridge, which is more efficient but will disturb 300 hectares of mangroves, we veered away from it because it is the right thing. We must protect the communities living there. The mangroves protect them from storm surges and enable fisherfolks to fish more. That is our thinking now. It is not just about doing our business, but we now have a foresight of the impact of what we do,” she added.