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    Sustainability

    11 Posts authored by: Brittany Lothe

    We live in an increasingly interconnected world. Access to education, scarcity of natural resources, volatile energy prices, an increase in connectivity through rapid expansion of handheld devices and population growth with one billion people aspiring for middle class, all have an impact on business and society. And we need to identify solutions collectively to help the world run better and improve people’s lives.

    That’s why we introduced “Power of Your Ideas” at SAP SAPPHIRENOW. If you’v ever have an idea on how innovations in education, the role of technology or how SMEs can strengthening local economies this is your chance to tell us all about it.

    The top three ideas, based on voting, will be implemented by SAP.

    And best of all, for every idea submitted, SAP America will donate $10 to high schools in New York City and Chicago.

    Help us to improve people’s lives around the world. Log your idea  or vote on submitted solutions today at www.sapcsrideas.com.

    http://www.sapcsrideas.com/sapphire2013/

    Ready to change the world with a story? If so, the TechSoup Digital Storytelling Challenge is for you! 

     

    TechSoup is a nonprofit with a clear focus: connecting  nonprofits, charities, and public libraries around the world with technology products and learning resources  needed to make informed decisions about technology and tell its story of impact.  And, all April long new and seasoned storytellers around the globe can participate in free interactive trainings to learn valuable production techniques, then create your own story to enter the challenge.

     

    TechSoup's digital storytelling resources have you covered with webinars on demand, blog posts, and articles including everything from before you hit record to how to share your story. you can also sign up for digital storytelling webinars so you don't miss the opportunity to bring your skills into sharp focus.

     

    TechSoup will accept submissions until 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on April 30. Expert and community judging happens during the first two weeks of May, and winners will be announved at an awards gala in San Francisco on May 28. Prizes for the top three submissions include access to world class technology from sponsors to help your organization run better!

     

    Entering is easy! Just create a short video or a five-image slide show, upload video to YouTube or slide show to Flickr and submit your entry by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on April 30th. logo-digital-storytelling-challenge_Big.jpg

    Through its partnership with TechSoup, SAP offers a range of business intelligence software and services are offered to eligible nonprofits, charities, and public libraries helping improve organizational decision-making and performance. Learn more at http://www.techsoup.org/SAP.

     

    December 1st marks the 24th annual World AIDS Day to bring awareness to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, unite people worldwide in the fight against HIV and commemorate people who have died from the disease. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.

     

    Partnering to achieve an AID Free Generation

    SAP has teamed up with (RED) and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to help raise funds and awareness to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, an important milestone of the global health community for the Beginning of the End of AIDS. By educating people to change behavior while simultaneously raising awareness with expectant mothers and healthcare workers on preventative techniques, donors can help to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission in the next three years.

     

    Established in 2002, The Global Fund is the world’s leading financer of programs to combat AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria and is the sole recipient of funds raised by (RED) partners. Since its inception, The Global Fund has committed more than US$22.4 billion to more than 1,000 programs in 150 countries. It accounts for a fifth of all international financing to combat AIDS globally and two-thirds of the world’s funding to combat malaria and TB. More than 7.7 million lives have been saved through Global Fund financed projects.  With continued funding, education and focus, the “AIDS Free Generation“ could become reality as early as 2015.

     

    Providing organizational transparency to Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF)

    The progress made against AIDS is largely dependent upon the capacity of NGOs, particularly as AIDS moves from being a terminal to a chronic disease. One such NGO, the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF), is one of the leading clinical providers and advocacy groups in South Africa. The DTHF experienced 90 percent growth in four years, not just in the number and size of grants but also the complexity of the grants and the related reporting needed that was global in nature.  While a good problem to have, it became increasingly difficult to track critical information moving across various work streams within its 12 operational divisions. Divisional leads were spending increasing time mired in administrative tasks, diverting attention from the critical on-the ground activities.

     

    DTHF was in need of technology that could power its growth, providing real-time mobile access for employees regardless of location, and the accurate reporting of DTHF’s increasingly complex grants, as well as expenditures, expected by global donors.  Corporate partner SAP stepped in to donate its SAP Business One management solution that provided DTHF with a system that provides organizational transparency needed by an NGO with the size and influence of DTHF.

     

    Hear how SAP Business One has given DTHF the control and insight that allows them to secure future funding from organizations through fund management, grant control, and financial transparency-- all while saving up to 400,000 Rand a year at http://www.sap.com/asset/index.epx?id=684ce8a5-3cf8-4044-ad8a-060e0116c40a.

     

     

    Everyday, more than 900 babies are born with HIV even though 98% of these mother-to-child transmission incidents can be prevented. About half of these babies will die before their second birthday without medication. We need to get 1.5 million HIV+ pregnant women on medication costing 40 cents a day. Through individual acts of engagement, private public partnerships, focus on education and innovation solutions to help transform they way the organizations are responding to the ongoing epidemic, an AIDS Free Generation IS within our reach by 2015.

     

    Make a difference. Get involved.

    Can a done in a day project really have lasting impact?

     

    Can employee skills really align to support team building?

     

    What about the 90% of employees who tell us that they would prefer to get their hands dirty during corporate led volunteer experiences, as opposed to leverage their expertise?

     

    It’s about this time every year as SAP Month of Service 2012 wraps up the question of the “Ideal Employee Volunteer Experience" is raised.

     

    How we do balance the interests of employees, a drive to engage as many employee volunteers as possible and a desire to leverage employee skills, create lasting impact and align to certain areas of focus?  Admitedly, the ingredients of an ideal volunteer experience can be a balancing act and ensure that the CSR team of any company earns their salary for the day!

     

    So, what is the sweet spot to maximize benefit to employees, the corporation and the community? Well, this depends are corporate culture and what your volunteer program is trying to achieve. But, a continuum of engagement – from microvolunteering to team volunteering to skills based – is one option to consider.

     

    Microvolunteering

    Micro-volunteering -- volunteer service that you can do from your desk in small bits of time - was born of two realities: that many people with valuable skills spend a lot of time at their desks and that nonprofits are in great need of those skills, but can’t easily access them or make use of them.  It’s about convenience, requires limited training, and allows for collaboration via a crowdsourced model with likeminded volunteers. High-impact, high-efficiency do-gooding in the digital age!

     

    Team Volunteering

    Never underestimate the power of building a house or playground with your colleagues. In my experience, I have learned more about my colleagues while volunteering than I ever could at a team dinner. Executed in a professional and structured way, team volunteering can be a refreshing and unqiue way to explore team dynamic, develop a fresh approach to problem solving, improve communication and making a difference.

     

    Skills Based Volunteering

    Skills based volunteering utilizes a specific skills and professional expertise of volunteers. Often the engagements involve a longer commitment but that’s not always the case. For example, at SAP, our Social Sabbatical which is a skills based assignment for high potential employees, is 19 intense days.  The benefits of skills based volunteering are immense. For the employee, leadership and skll development can occur. For the corporatation, brand awarenecess can be built and employee loyalty and productity can be incldeased. And, last but certainly not least the community partner receives a skilled and talented volunteer pool that can bring direct cost savings while proving qualifitable social impact.

     

    There’s no silver bullet to how corporate volunteer programs should be established and run. But what is a clear trend is a mix of offerings that support social investment goals, align to culture, engage a variety of people, interests and focus on leveraging the skill sets of employees can offer both business and social impact at a time when the need in our communities in greater than ever.

     

    Happy volunteering!

    High Potentials from across the globe are ascending on Pretoria, South Africa and Bangalore, India this weekend as they embark on a once in a lifetime experience: The SAP Social Sabbatical.

     

    The SAP Social Sabbatical is an innovative learning opportunity for select SAP high potential employees to contribute their time and talent to working with entrepreneurs and small businesses in an emerging market, a primary area of focus for SAP’s social investments.

     

    The cross-functional teams bring their specific expertise – in areas such as strategy, marketing, IT, finance, consulting, development or legal – to non-profit organizations, government agencies or educational institutions to solve a pressing business or organizational challenge.

     

    Since being selected, participants  have virtually prepared for their assignment, taking part in pre-work sessions that focus on local culture and business practices, consulting and getting acclimated to their clients and their needs so that they can hit the ground running upon arrival.  

     

    Assignments range from developing a measurement framework to map the progress of job creation activities at one of India’s largest NGOs supporting entrepreneurship to creating strategic action and marketing plans for clients in South Africa.

     

    Join me as the SAP Social Sabbatical journey continues over the next month following Team Benda Kaalu and Team Jacaranda's experiences while on assignment via Twitter (handles below) and check out blog posts regularly in SAP’s Community Network - Sustainability.

     

    India – Team Benda Kaalu  #BendaKaalu 

    Michaela Degbeon - @MDegbeon
    Barbara Trentini - @latrentini
    Nace Sapundziev - @sapunce
    Jody LeBlanc - @jodyanneleblanc
    Kathrin Hettel - @kathtl
    Erica Lailhacar - @ericalailhacar 
    Christopf Zeidler - @1zei3

    Julian Jimenez - @julianestebanj 

     

    South Africa – Team Jacaranda #sapjacarandas

    Julie Scanlon-Young - @JulieScanlon2
    Amarnath Jayaraman - @jamarnath
    Vatsala Kakroo - @vatsalakakroo
    Frank Kochendoerfer - @fkochend
    Philipp Koenig - @KoenigPhil
    Saswato Das - @sdasSAP
    Alexander Prus - @prusalex
    Emily Gyory - @egyory
    Suresh Ramanathan - @sapsuresh
    Nathalie Magnier - @mag_nath
    Jan Teichmann - @JanTeichmann1

    Small, medium and micro-sized businesses (SMBs) are the engines of job creation worldwide, are critical to the health of our global economy and to fostering growth and wealth distribution in emerging and developed countries.

     

    In fact:

    • More than 90% of all European businesses are SMBs.
    • In the US, small companies have generated 65% of net new jobs over the past 17 years.
    • In Africa, 40% of citizens plan to start a business in the next 12 months.
    • Indian SMBs will account for 22% of India’s GDP over the next three years.

    At SAP, we see every day how access to critical resources enables fledgling organizations to grow into robust enterprises that create jobs and strengthen communities. Across the globe, technology, talent, and capital are like “rocket fuel” for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

     

    For example, innovative patient capital models can help entrepreneurs to create sustainable businesses with significant social impact in bottom of the pyramid countries. In partnership with Peace Nobel Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, SAP is fostering entrepreneurship in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010 to empower Haitians to help themselves and to create employment.  By setting up an incubator and a Haiti social business fund, SAP is helping to establish at least 30 social businesses by the end of 2014, and thus a minimum of 450 jobs will be created in a country where more than two thirds of the labor force does not have a formal job.

     

    But capital is just one piece of the puzzle. Education and mentorship opportunities are necessary to support a skilled workforce and a new generation of entrepreneurs with the ability to create meaningful jobs. And technology enables businesses to scale their operations and/or kick start fresh innovations that will nourish sustainable economic growth.

     

    Underserved communities often lack these resources, despite the wealth of potential they possess. Together, we can change that. Let’s work together to help unlock the potential of entrepreneurs and small businesses in underserved communities to create economic, social and environmental impact.

    Join our global, online competition “The Power of Small: Entrepreneurs Strengthening Local Economies”. We look forward to partnering with you and hearing your innovative strategies to help emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities.

    On my last afternoon in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, I stopped by Association of Paper, Carton and Recyclable Material Pickers (ASMARE) to see how SAP Social Sabbatical team members were settling in.  They were in fine shape, especially after a surprise guest joined us for a  visit and candid conversation. It was none other than Dona Geralda Marçal, ASMARE founder and CEO.

     

    Dona Geralda has lived a life that few of us could imagine.  She was born into a poor family in Belo Horizonte. She lost her father at the age of 3 and began to work as a catadora – a garbage collector -- at the age of 8. By 16, she was living on the streets and had had the first of twelve children. After spending most of her life as a homeless catadora, she keenly remembers the persecution she faced and the inability of some people to distinguish her from the very trash that she collected.

     

    In 1990, Dona Geralda founded ASMARE, the first association made up exclusively of catadores to help them organize to meet their social and economic needs and to push for a waste policy.  Her vision was to organize the workers so that they could effectively influence and develop a municipal policy for waste collection and recycling.


    As members, catadores receive technical training and agree to ASMARE’s rules which include no sleeping or separating materials in the street, no alcohol or drugs and no transportation stolen merchandise. They also commit to ensure that their children are in school, to find housing, to help with warehouse cleanup, and to take part in ASMARE meetings.

    In return, ASMARE supports its catadores with several benefits, such as legal assistance, medical and dental, life insurance, microcredit for housing construction, and improved salaries and dividends.

     

    Dona Geralda has already replicated her model in approximately 30 Brazilian cities in the state of Minas Gerais and increasingly attracts international acclaim for her work. Her approach is rooted in firsthand knowledge that catadores can find success as people, as entrepreneurs, and as responsible citizens.

     

    With all her achievements, in my view, Dona Gerlda’s most striking quality is her humility. She personifies the concept of “changemaker”.

    Know someone like Dona Geralda who is helping emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses grow and thrive in underserved communities?  Nominate them for the The Power of Small: Entrepreneurs Strengthening Local Economies Competition. Four winners will each receive a comprehensive package from SAP – including a cash prize of US $10,000 and a technology donation. The deadline to enter is September 5, 2012.

     

     

    asmare.jpg

    The ASMARE team - Evan, Jan, Olena – with Dona Geralda – founder of ASMARE and Ashoka fellow

     

    Recently, SAP pledged its support as part of A Billion + Change — a campaign to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono service from corporations to nonprofits to address core issues that communities face across around the world.

    The campaign was launched in 2008 as a public-private partnership by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. At a time when nonprofits were faced with increased difficulty raising funds and a greater demand for services, businesses were looking for ways to more effectively recruit, retain and engage employees who expect social responsibility from their employers.

    Reinvigorated in 2011 with expanded leadership under the honorary chairmanship of United States Senator Mark Warner, it is now housed and managed by Points of Light Institute. The initiative is powered by the support of Deloitte, HP, the Case Foundation and IBM, all of whom provide strategic direction for the initiative.

     

    Why Pro-Bono?
    Through pro-bono and skills based volunteering, corporations of all sizes can transform how employee skills are utilized to have a lasting impact on society and help build the capacity of non-profit organizations so that that can better address community needs.

     

    From a corporate perspective, such programs can:
    • Develop employee skills
    • Improve employee engagement and morale
    • Enhance reputation, especially among millennials
    • Shift thinking as a result of experiential learning from a non-profit experience

     

    While nonprofits can:
    • Leverage corporate expertise that they may otherwise not be able to afford
    • Support organizational development
    • Improve staff skills and increase bandwidth
    • Advance service provision

     

    Join the Movement!
    A Billion + Change has mobilized more than $1.6 billion in pledges for pro bono service as a result of commitments from 80+ companies. Pledge companies range in size from small businesses with fewer than 10 employees, such as GothamCULTURE, to larger organizations like Starbucks, Adobe and PepsiCo.

    Be a catalyst for change in this important movement. As an individual, consider volunteering with your company during a pro-bono or skills based volunteer experience. As a corporation, join SAP and the other member companies by pledging to create, increase or expand a pro bono program and help A Billion + Change reach its goal of $2 billion in pledged pro bono by 2013.

     

    The Billion + Change team can help any company develop a pledge for pro bono that fits with its culture, size, and goals. For more information, please visit www.abillionpluschange.org.

    Any guess what SAPers Monika Bloching, Olena Demeter, Judy Hoffman, Heike Kolar, Tijs Van Lier, Jan Seger, Michael Wachter, Andre Wagner and Evan Welsh have in common?

     

    Let me give you a few hints:

    •        They are all currently on assignment in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

    •        They all have a passion for blending social impact with delivering business results to transform operations for clients.

    •        They call themselves The Belo Bunch.

    •        They are about to embark on a once in a lifetime experience.

     

    They are the first pilot participants of SAP’s Social Sabbatical!

     

    The SAP Social Sabbatical is an innovative learning opportunity for SAP high potential employees to contribute their time and talent to working with entrepreneurs and small businesses in emerging markets, a primary area of focus for SAP’s social investments.

     

     

    The international, cross-functional teams bring their specific expertise – in areas such as strategy, marketing, IT, finance, consulting, development and legal – to non-profit organizations, government agencies and educational institutions to solve a pressing business or organizational challenge. The pilot phase begins in Brazil this week and is followed by assignments in India and South Africa in October.

     

     

    Since being selected, The Belo Bunch has spent more than 300 hours virtually preparing for their assignment. Pre-work has included sessions about Brazil’s culture and business practices, consulting and primarily needs assessments with their clients.

     

     

    Over the next month, The Belo Bunch will bring their business expertise to the client site, honing their leadership skills, deepening cultural knowledge, and connecting with other emerging leaders from around the world. Their projects range from the development of a supply chain strategy to promote and strengthen the local artisan sector, to a communications strategy for an association of thousands of catadores, local recyclable material collectors. 

     

    Join me in following the experiences of The Belo Bunch during their assignment. Follow Olena, Evan, Heike, Judy, Michael, Andre, Monika, Jan and Tijs on Twitter and check out blog posts regularly in SAP’s Community Network - Sustainability.

     

     

     

     

     

    belo bunch.jpg

    In today’s global economy, the most successful leaders are those citizens who can effectively collaborate and communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives.
    At SAP, we’re always exploring innovative ways to increase leadership development, employee engagement and impact on society through our business expertise. To that end, earlier this year we launched the application process for the SAP Social Sabbatical pilots.

     

    The SAP Social Sabbatical is designed as a short term, exclusive development opportunity in which an international, cross-board area team of High Potential employees will build capacity and solve business challenges with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with emerging entrepreneurs in select markets. This is just one piece of our overarching social investment portfolio to support emerging entrepreneurs in Brazil and India. South Africa will be the third pilot location for the Social Sabbatical.

     

    This initiative was developed by SAP High Potential employees for SAP High Potential employees, as an alternative to our traditional fellowship. The Social Sabbatical will be an excellent leadership development opportunity for our High Potential employees and we expect applicants from all over the world.

    In my view, it’s a win-win-win proposition:

    For Participants, they can:
    • Develop leadership and cross-cultural skills
    • Be part of an experiential learning opportunity
    • Have the chance to connect with other emerging leaders, which can lead to new ideas and business relationships that can last well beyond the assignment

     

    For clients, they can:
    • Support organizational development
    • Advance service provision
    • Improve staff skills
    • Build capacity
    • Impart the learnings and knowledge gained in conjunction with our top employees to others

     

    For SAP, it can:
    • Extend strategic social investments in key markets
    • Teach us more about the needs of NGOs and emerging entrepreneurs
    • Support social innovation
    • Energize employees who participated in a once in a lifetime experience

     

    As Margaret Mead so eloquently put it: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” It is my belief that the SAP Social Sabbatical can deliver on this ambition by engaging High Potentials through thoughtful and high impact assignments that leverage employee skills and expertise to help the world run better!

     

    In today’s ever-changing economic climate, we must look to innovative solutions that unlock small and medium sized businesses’ potential for driving economic growth, innovation and job creation.

     

    One such organization that is doing just that is long-time SAP partner, Endeavor. Endeavor is leading the movement to identify and support a distinct group of entrepreneurs with the greatest capacity to create jobs in emerging markets and generate the economic growth the world needs.  To date, Endeavor’s 600+ high impact entrepreneurs have created more than 180,000 jobs, generating more than $5 billion in revenue.

     

    Endeavor came to us earlier this year to discuss how we could help them clearly and powerfully illustrate the impact of the “Endeavor Effect” – a phenomenon that suggests that Endeavor supported entrepreneurs dramatically outperform peers in revenue growth, job creation and personal development. The answer was clear, thanks to SAP Crystal Dashboard Design. And together, we worked to create analytical dashboards to bring the data to life.

     

    The dashboard analysis combines internal data from the companies of Endeavor entrepreneurs with international company-level data from the Enterprise Surveys of The World Bank. Key metrics include revenue growth, job creation and the direct social effect through the quality of jobs created, including job satisfaction, employee income and employee health and education benefits.

     

    Today, SAP’s Ed Weber previewed the technology dashboards at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs’ (ANDE) “Metrics from the Ground Up” conference.

     

    Some interesting facts, uncovered in the initial data analysis:

    o    By examining data across countries and industry sectors, we can see that Endeavor high-impact entrepreneurs are growing revenue 2.4x faster than comparable firms.

    o    Endeavor firms grew revenue 35% per year for 3 years on average, from $3.8m to $12.7m. Layering in data from the World Bank lets us do some comparisons. Comparable firms grow revenue 14% per year for 3 years.

    o    We see a similar pattern in job growth. Endeavor high-impact entrepreneurs are creating jobs employees 5.4x faster than comparable firms

    o    Endeavor firms grow jobs 39% per year over three years, from 89 jobs to 243 jobs.   Comparable firms, from World Bank data, increase jobs by only 7% per year.

     

    Endeavor and SAP plan to showcase  the success stories of high-impact entrepreneurs and their power to transform local economies. In the process, their hope is to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to create businesses and spark a global dialogue about the power of entrepreneurship.

     

    Learn more about how high-impact entrepreneurship can serve as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. Check out the dashboards at www.endeavor.org/impact/assessment.   

     

    And if you're a qualified non-profit, SAP's business analytics solutions are available through our software donation program. Visit http://home.techsoup.org/Pages/Category.aspx?category=BusinessObjects to learn more. 

     

     

     

    endeavor dashboard.jpg

     

     

     

     

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