Introducing Measures, Dimensions, Metrics, and DPIs

In this lesson, we consider measures, dimensions, metrics, and data provider interfaces (DPIs). Let us start with measures.

Measures:

Measures are the quantitative values that you want to measure, such as the number of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions along several dimensions. In essence, a measure is the raw quantitative data that you intend to record and track along several dimensions. An example of a measure is the total quantity of GHG emissions.

Two types of measures exist:

• SAP-provided: Ready-to-use measures from SAP
• Custom: User-defined measures to extend the SAP-provided ones

Here are some examples of SAP-provided measures that can be tracked and managed in SAP Sustainability Control Tower:

Environmental measures:

• Water
• CO2e emissions
• Waste

Social measures:

• Workforce Headcount
• Human Rights Incidents
• Training Duration

Governance measures:

• Complaints
• Business Conduct Incidents

Dimensions:

Dimension is a property of a measure. For example, the dimension 'Scope 1' is part of the 'greenhouse gas emissions' measure. A dimension essentially provides context and specificity to a measure. With the previously mentioned GHG emissions, 'Scope 1' is a dimension that refines the data by categorizing these emissions as direct and stemming from sources owned or controlled by the organization.

Two types of dimensions exist:

• SAP-provided: Ready-to-use dimensions from SAP
• Custom: User-defined dimensions to extend the SAP-provided ones. For all Data Provider Interfaces (DPIs), you can assign up to 20 custom dimensions.

You will learn about DPIs in detail later in this lesson.

Dimensions are also categorized into the following:

Common Dimensions

These are the same for all DPIs and shared across all metrics, for example periodicity and organizational structures.

DPI-Specific Dimensions

These are related to the DPI domain and are different for each DPI, for example, "GHG Scope Category" for GHG emissions data.

Metrics:

A quantitative sustainability metric enriches a measure by integrating its dimensions, yielding more nuanced and often relational insights. A metric, also referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), transforms raw data into a tangible indicator of performance, which can be monitored as per the availability and time frame of the data.

SAP Sustainability Control Tower provides a wide range of quantitative sustainability metrics under the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework.

For instance, the metric "GHG Emissions Scope 1 – Direct emissions" is available within the environmental category. This metric calculates an organization's direct emissions in a manner that is customizable to the organization's data reporting cycle.

Next to quantitative metrics, SAP Sustainability Control Tower also provides qualitative metrics to collect textual information for selected time periods. Supported reference types are narrative text, semi- narrative text and Boolean (yes/no).

Two types of metrics exist (for quantitative and qualitative):

• SAP-provided: Ready-to-use metrics from SAP
• Custom: User-defined metrics to extend the SAP-provided ones

There are two types of custom metrics (for quantitative):

1. Basic Custom: A metric that is not calculated from a measure. It acts as a result container provided with a name, ID, area of the metric and unit of measure. The calculation methods "sum", "weighted division", and "no aggregation" are available. Basic custom metrics are calculated in a separate system and uploaded to SAP Sustainability Control Tower.
2. Custom: A metric that is calculated using SAP Sustainability Control Tower’s existing measures and dimensions. Using a flexible Formular Builder, you create variables based on measures and dimensions and define custom calculations applying mathematical operators. Qualitative metrics are not further differentiated into basic custom and custom metrics.

Manage Metrics Application:

In the Manage Metrics application you manage SAP-provided sustainability metrics (quantitative and qualitative) as well as configure and manage custom metrics (quantitative and qualitative) to measure your organization's performance in the ESG and economic areas. The applications acts as a central repository of all available metrics in SAP Sustainability Control Tower. The properties of the metrics include the assignment of the disclosure reference, assurance information and performance tracking.

For performance tracking, the sustainability metrics allow you to identify trends over time, by showing how a specific metric's value increases or decreases. Whether an increase or decrease is desirable depends on the type of metric. For example, a decrease in CO2 emissions has a positive sustainability impact, whereas a decrease in community investments does not.

Data Provider Interface (DPI):

A data provider interface (DPI) serves as the way for importing data into SAP Sustainability Control Tower. Every DPI consists of a set of measures that share mutual dimensions. For example, consider the "People" DPI. It comprises various measures such as "Trainings Costs" and "Hours Worked".

The measure "Hours Worked" includes a number of common dimensions, which are shared by all DPIs, such as the reporting structures, "Data Source", or dimensions related to time. Additionally, it includes several DPI-specific dimensions, such as "Working Time" (full time or part time) and "Age Group", that are not shared by other DPIs.

A DPI structures the data for the upload into a format that can be read by the system and used across SAP Sustainability Control Tower. The DPI structure is independent of the way data is imported. It needs to be fulfilled in a flat file upload as well as in a system integration.

SAP Sustainability Control Tower provides a wide range of DPIs covering various sustainability aspects, including:

• Environmental: Carbon emissions, energy consumption, waste generation, water consumption
• Social: Employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, supply chain ethics
• Governance: Corruption Incidents
• Economic: Financial performance, resource efficiency, product lifecycle management

The list presented here is illustrative and not comprehensive.

SAP Sustainability Control Tower also enables organizations to create custom DPIs to meet their specific needs (General Measures and Generic DPI).

Every DPI consists of a set of measures that share mutual dimensions. DPIs are a means to import measure and dimension data in a structured way. They specify the format for the import, which is required by SAP Sustainability Control Tower to read the data. Data can be imported through a variety of ways, e.g. by sourcing data through integrated systems such as SAP Datasphere, or by uploading a CSV file.