The science is clear that human activity, primarily burning fossil fuels and massive deforestation, has accelerated climate change. Companies need to set science-based net-zero targets to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C in alignment with the Paris Agreement. Achieving net-zero emissions worldwide requires fundamental changes to many of our social and economic systems.

Up until now, nearly 1,800 companies, including SAP, have committed to becoming net zero across their value chains. These commitments aim to achieve an emissions state consistent with societal climate and sustainability goals and within the biophysical boundaries of the planet. At the beginning of 2022, SAP committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines net zero as that point when “anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.” The Paris Agreement sets out the need to achieve this balance by 2050.