Chapter 11: Making Your Business Processes Environmentally Friendly 195
Green on the scene: How SAP practices
environmental awareness
Innovating new technology to optimize business
processes is not the only thing on the SAP radar:
This is one company that is highly concerned
with how its practices impact the environment,
as well. To that end, SAP has established a firm
protocol of green procedures that begin inside
the company itself. For example, to reduce CO 2
emissions at its Palo Alto campus, SAP uses
electric vehicles and shuttles, and purchases as
many local goods as possible. Moreover, its uri-
nals are waterless, its lighting system has been
revamped to considerably decrease energy con-
sumption, and all paper products are recycled.
On a larger scale, SAP has a clearly defined
global environmental policy that will be fully
implemented by the end of 2009. To ensure this,
a global head of Social Responsibility who
reports directly to the SAP C-suite and board of
directors has been appointed.
As a further reflection of this commitment to the
environment, SAP has begun construction on a
brand new complex in Philadelphia, PA to house
its American headquarters (shown in the
figure), the entirety of which will be LEED certi-
fied. Among the many features to be included in
the campus structures areThe ability to harvest natural daylight via
sensors in the lighting system, which auto-
matically dims lights as required (for exam-
ple, rooms will go dark as soon as they are
unoccupied)
A geo-thermal cooling system that cools
water underground before transporting it
into buildingsGreen roofing