SAP Sustainability Control Tower provides a centralized platform for collecting, analyzing, and reporting GHG emissions data. Business activity types and business activities play a crucial role in structuring and organizing this data for effective reporting and analysis.
Business activities are specific instances of business activity types that occur within an organization. For example, a specific business trip and a particular fuel combustion process are considered business activities, which fall under the Air Travel and Stationary Fuel Combustion business activity types, respectively.
A group of such business activity types is concerned with recording GHG emissions. Business activities can be collected per GHG scope and associated scope category.
Activities and activity types are part of the Emission DPI and belong to the SAP Sustainability Control Tower Master Data category of dimensions with user-defined values. This means that activity types and associated activities must first be created in the Manage Master Data app. Then, associated transactional emission data for the activities is uploaded and maintained in the Manage Quantitative ESG Data app.
Key Differences Between Scopes
GHG emissions are classified into three scopes: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. Understanding the differences between these scopes is essential for accurate reporting:
Comparison of GHG Scopes
| Source of emissions | Level of control | Complexity of measurement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | Come from sources directly owned or controlled by the company | Companies have direct control | Easier to measure as they come from sources that are directly owned or controlled by the company |
| Scope 2 | Come from purchased energy | Companies have indirect control | Not easy to measure as they come from sources that are indirectly controlled by the company |
| Scope 3 | Come from other indirect activities | Companies have limited or no control | Not easy to measure as they come from sources over which companies have limited or no control |
Companies consider all three scopes when accounting for their GHG emissions to get a comprehensive understanding of their environmental impact. Typically, Scope 3 emissions (value chain emissions) are the most significant for most organizations, but Scope 1 and 2 emissions can also be substantial and should not be ignored, especially in energy-intense industries such as oil, cement, or steel.
The View GHG Dashboard
Many countries and regions have regulations that require companies to report their GHG emissions. The scope of emissions that must be reported can vary depending on the specific regulations. For example, some regulations only require reporting of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, while others include Scope 3 emissions.
The View GHG dashboard in SAP Sustainability Control Tower provides a graphical representation of GHG emissions data. It enables users to visualize emissions by business activity type, organizational unit, or other relevant parameters. The dashboard can be customized to meet specific reporting requirements or to support decision-making.
To effectively use the View GHG Dashboard, it is important to perform the following actions:
Define and manage business activity types that accurately reflect the different sources of emissions in your organization using the Manage Master Data application.
Assign activities to the appropriate business activity types to ensure accurate data collection and reporting using the Manage Master Data application.
Regularly review and update business activity types and business activities to ensure that they remain relevant and up to date.
By using business activity types and business activities, organizations can gain a comprehensive understanding of their GHG emissions and make informed decisions to reduce their environmental impact. The View GHG Dashboard is a powerful tool for visualizing and analyzing this data, enabling organizations to track progress, identify reduction opportunities, and enhance sustainability performance.