SAP Feeding Knowledge

Famine is the ultimate consequential failure in global sustainability management. It is a tragic expression of our inability to prevent disruptions in global food supply, even though the planet is more than capable of providing for all our needs.

It is little known but not a secret that SAP has supported the UN World Food Programme over the past few years. Some senior executives have even taken time to visit WFP field missions for a more personal experience. WFP is also a valued SAP customer.

This year SAP has decided to link contributions to WFP with employee engagement in voluntary service to their local communities. I will expand on this relationship in following posts. Our goal is to recognize and promote local action on behalf of the individual whilst as a community we show solidarity for a single cause of fundamental concern.

But perhaps more importantly we want to engage our broader ecosystem community: you too should own this virtual space, contribute your ideas, opinions and experience to the dialogue. If you feel so inspired WFP too would be glad of your financial support and you can follow the links provided to do so.

We have chosen the hunger issue as a place to start our debate on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability as it represents an issue of universal concern at the base of the hierarchy of personal needs.

From here we would like to introduce a conversation about broader corporate responsibilities including what our obligations should be to the UN Millennium Development Goals, UN Global Compact, and Transparency International business principles. How do we tackle climate change without harming global economic development? What is the role of effective corporate volunteerism from the point of view of the employee, employer and local community? How do we assure the greater public through effective Corporate Sustainability Reporting using Global Reporting Initiative reporting standards and assurance standards such as AA1000 and ISAE3000? What is the role of the technology industry in promoting sustainability both as an exemplar and enabler?

We will invite experts to lead blog discussions on these topics over the coming weeks and we do hope that you will join in the conversation early and often. If you would like to blog yourself please drop me a line at this address: james.farrar@sap.com.

To get things rolling I invite your comments and ideas in two areas:

1. Personal Activism - tell us about your experience as a volunteer, the social problem you helped to tackle, its outcome, and your outlook on the issue.
2. Corporate Activism - tell us what you think corporations, particularly from the IT sector should do to better recognize and meet their global social responsibilities and contribute towards global sustainability.