At SAP Sapphire 2025, SAP unveiled a major step forward in its sustainability ambitions, launching a suite of AI-driven tools for ESG management, carbon reporting, and compliance. These new solutions aim to streamline environmental oversight for enterprises, embedding sustainability into the heart of business operations.
The German enterprise software giant introduced a new data unification platform, promising to simplify ESG compliance and carbon accounting across complex corporate structures. Announced on May 23 during SAP’s annual flagship event held across multiple global locations, these innovations are part of SAP’s broader strategy to elevate sustainability data to the same level of importance as financial and operational metrics.
AI-Powered Compliance: From Paperwork to Proactive Insights
Set for beta release in August 2025, SAP’s enhanced Business AI capabilities will support a range of applications in environmental, health, and safety (EHS) as well as product compliance. These tools aim to reduce manual effort, accelerate processes, and improve accuracy.
One standout feature is the AI-powered permit management functionality in SAP S/4HANA for EHS, which automatically extracts key information from regulatory documents and suggests follow-up actions—essentially acting as a digital advisor for sustainability professionals.
Other enhancements include:
Conversational Safety Reporting: With the help of Joule, SAP’s AI copilot, employees can now submit incident reports using a chat-based interface, speeding up health and safety workflows.
Smart Safety Instruction Generator: AI analyzes risk assessments to suggest relevant safety measures.
Automated Product Compliance: AI extracts and maps data from certifications and safety sheets, minimizing errors and boosting efficiency.
These innovations are being bundled into SAP’s new SCM premium package, reflecting a growing focus on embedding AI into everyday business processes.
Real-World Applications: AI in Action
SAP’s AI tools are already supporting customers in real-world sustainability use cases:
Sustainability Control Tower: Helps streamline ESG reporting with editable templates, generative text, and data visualizations.
Sustainability Footprint Management: Uses AI to automate emissions mapping, matching products to lifecycle data with confidence scoring.
SAP Green Token: Automates validation of supplier declarations (such as ISCC certifications), giving businesses clear visibility into the sustainability of their supply chains.
According to SAP Chief Sustainability Officer Sophia Mendelsohn, businesses that fail to integrate sustainability into their AI initiatives risk falling behind. “Sustainability is emerging as one of the most impactful enterprise applications for AI,” she said.
What’s Coming Next: The Roadmap for 2025
Later this year, SAP plans to integrate its Sustainability Control Tower into the SAP Business Data Cloud, transforming it into an Intelligent Application that unifies operational and sustainability data on a single platform. This integration aims to give companies consistent, enterprise-wide reporting and decision-making capabilities.
Other upcoming releases include:
Structured emissions data (air, water, wastewater) from SAP EHS and S/4HANA.
Expanded datasets available through Sustainability Footprint Management for cloud users.
Early access previews for selected customers ahead of general availability.
Bridging Strategy and Execution with AI
SAP’s 2025 announcements reflect a strategic pivot—moving beyond tools and dashboards to embed sustainability into core operations. Gunther Rothermel, Co-GM and Chief Product Officer at SAP Sustainability, emphasized the shift: “These changes go well beyond technical updates. They represent a strategic shift: scaling sustainability within the core of business operations, powered by AI.”
SAP’s ultimate goal is to turn sustainability data into “decision-grade” intelligence—on par with financial reporting. Whether these new AI tools can close the execution gap many companies face in their ESG efforts will depend on adoption and outcomes. But with these launches, SAP has clearly positioned itself as a frontrunner in the next generation of enterprise sustainability solutions.
