India is uniquely positioned to lead on climate change, drive sustainability and ESG initiatives for the entire Asia Pacific, said Paul Marriott, President, SAP Asia-Pacific and Japan.
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“The Asian market represents more than 50% of global emissions, and as one of the fastest growing hotbeds of innovation and economic activity in the region, India is in a unique position to lead against climate change,” he said speaking at the company’s annual tech exposition, SAP NOW India 2024.
Mr. Marriott, a technocrat with a master’s in AI, said it was encouraging to see several Indian firms recognizing the need to embrace investing in sustainability and ESG activities.
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Sounding confident, Mr. Marriott said strong leadership, young talent, sprawling AI and start-up landscape and innovation capabilities across businesses would aid India reach its $30 trillion GDP goal by 2047.
“It is a staggering 10 times from today, but it is possible with the kind of innovations we are seeing in businesses across all segments,” he said.
He said SAP, the German cloud software firm, is investing significantly in India to empower cutting-edge technology to give businesses the next big opportunity in an AI era.
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Citing a recent SAP study, he said 86% of Indian firms saw a positive correlation between sustainability and profitability, leading to greater investments in sustainability. He added that we must integrate carbon and financial data to inform decision-making.
“Sustainability is now a business necessity rather than merely a moral duty and ESG initiatives can no longer be seen as distinct from the overall financial performance of the company, “ said Manish Prasad, MD, SAP Indian Subcontinent.
On reaping profits and efficiency gains from sustainability investments, SAP said 77% of Indian businesses have witnessed sustainability strategies contributing to revenue or profit growth by a moderate to strong degree.
Some 58% of Indian businesses expect a positive financial return on their sustainability investments within the next five years and 39% businesses intend to raise their investments in sustainability over the next three years, SAP’’s study reveals.
(The writer was invited by SAP India to attend its Mumbai event)