Yann Arthus-Bertrand introduces his wonderful movie Home at TED. ERP vendors won’t change the world alone. However, they play an important role in the socio-political game aiming at achieving a sustainable way of life. This change will not happen tomorrow. It took nearly 15 years between the sustainability discussion in academia – the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology where I studied was and is one of the leading institutions in the field – and the broad adoption by large companies. Hopefully we have reached a tipping point and the time has come to embrace sustainability.
I’m glad that my company SAP has embarked on this journey. The second Sustainability Report shows that SAP also works on the internal performance and expects a lot from business opportunities tied to sustainability. Another positive aspect of the new strategic direction on sustainability is the priority on “digital inclusion” and e.g. the collaboration with the microfinance organization PlanetFinance. Sustainability sells – in the software industry too.
June, 2009
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Sustainability Sells
Monday, June 22nd, 200901 A département to discover
Monday, June 8th, 2009
The département Ain (01) in France is barely known. Even our friends in Geneva – an one-hour ride away -haven’t explored this region. We came across this beautiful landscape after having seen the movie “Le renard et l’enfant” (“The fox and the child”). Luc Jaquet shot the movie mainly in the surroundings of the Plateau du Retord where we stayed for one week. The landscape is fantastic: panoramic view on the Alps from the Col du Grand Colombier, hidden highlights to be discovered along the rivers, meadows full of various flowers and a incredible diversity of butterflies. Whoever is interested may first have a look at the tourism office of Valromey Retord.
The Lac d’Annecy where we enjoyed again sunny days during the second week is also a lovely place. Annecy has a wonderful old town worth more than a visit. The mountains which surround the lake offer a perfect ground for hikes and are a paradise for paragliders. My children particularly appreciated the four-hour hike on a overhanging path (Grand Balcon Nord) from the Montenvers station to the Plan de l’Aiguille station in Chamonix.
