Paul Marriott, president of SAP Asia Pacific and Japan. | Photo source: Special solution
India is uniquely positioned to lead on climate change, sustainability and ESG initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region, said Paul Marriott, president, SAP Asia-Pacific and Japan.
“The Asian market accounts for over 50% of global emissions, and as one of the fastest-growing hotbeds of innovation and economic activity in the region, India is uniquely positioned to lead on climate change,” he said at the company’s annual technology expo event, SAP NOW India 2024.
Mr. Marriott, a technocrat with a master’s degree in artificial intelligence, said it was encouraging that several Indian companies recognize the need to invest in sustainability and ESG activities.
Sounding confident, Mr. Marriott said that mighty leadership, newborn talent, huge artificial intelligence, and the startup landscape and enterprise innovation capabilities will assist India achieve its GDP target of $30 trillion by 2047.
“That’s an astounding 10x escalate from today, but it’s made possible by the innovation we’re seeing in businesses across all segments,” he said.
He said that SAP, the German cloud software company, is investing heavily in India to strengthen cutting-edge technologies and provide enterprises with the next large opportunity in the era of artificial intelligence.
Citing a recent SAP study, he said that 86% of Indian companies saw a positive correlation between sustainability and profitability, leading to greater investments in sustainability. He added that we need to integrate carbon emissions and financial data to make decisions.
“Sustainability is now a business imperative, not just a moral obligation, and ESG initiatives can no longer be viewed in isolation from a company’s overall financial performance,” said Manish Prasad, managing director of SAP for the Indian subcontinent.
When it comes to reaping profits and increasing productivity from sustainability investments, SAP found that 77% of Indian enterprises have seen sustainability strategies that have contributed to revenue or profit growth to a moderate or great extent.
SAP research shows that approximately 58% of Indian enterprises expect a positive financial return on their sustainability investments in the next five years, and 39% of enterprises intend to escalate their sustainability investments in the next three years.
(The author was invited by SAP India to attend the event in Mumbai)
