Innovation

Workday has created several solutions to help customers create and meet their sustainability goals, explicitly dealing with UNSDGs 7 and 13 ( renewable energy and climate change). The innovation Workday has created is Accelerate2zero, “an adaptable platform that enables companies to manage their emissions reduction strategy.” This platform helps organizations mitigate emissions using Workday technologies combined with company data. Through Accelerate2zero, companies may “ undertake a cost-benefit analysis of emissions abatement options and allow dynamic emissions budget management, helping organizations to achieve the emissions targets within their ESG strategy.” They have also developed ClimateAdapt, another innovation built on Workday's unique technology and data. It “helps organizations undertake a climate risk materiality assessment, measuring top physical and transition risks and how organizations’ assets, people, and operations may be impacted against potential warming scenarios. This allows optimal future planning and operational and financial modeling.”

Inspiration

Since day one, Workday has set out to revolutionize the world of enterprise software. Today, “Workday aspires to be the intelligent digital backbone of business and the essential partner that organizations turn to as they navigate the current environment and prepare for what’s next. Not only is Workday committed to creating an adaptive future for business, but it is also committed to a sustainable one. As part of Workday’s climate strategy, they have continued to match 100% of the electricity used at global offices and data centers with clean, renewable sources. On top of this, Workday has partnered with Frontier, which allows the company to transition from purchasing carbon credits to supporting carbon removal. Workday understands the benefit of their actions, but they also realize that they can make a more significant impact by helping their customers follow in their footsteps. “Long-term, sustainable success for all can’t happen in isolation—it requires collaboration and strong partnerships. Not only do customers care about whom they are doing business with, but they’re also looking to work with organizations that can help support their own sustainability goals. Workday delivers key people, finance, and supply chain insights and processes to help customers stay on top of their sustainability initiatives and reporting.” For this reason, Workday aims to help 70% of suppliers create Science Based Targets by 2026. They are currently at 33%

Overall impact

Workday developed an enterprise software service to help their customers achieve their business-related goals, focusing on sustainable growth and impacting global business practices. Workday has already demonstrated an ability to make an impact on businesses who need the support the most, as “Ten of the companies [Workday] invest[s] in are led by women CEOs, and five of the companies [Workday] invest[s] in are B-corporations, certified to meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance.

Business benefit

Workday is dedicated to listening to and nurturing its relationships with its customers. They are invested in providing customers with a competitive edge by helping them attain their business goals. “When companies have access to the right technology to help inform, drive, and report change, they have the power to become what we refer to as ‘Changemakers’—those who rise to meet today’s challenges and leverage change to their advantage.” Workday can help companies meet their business and sustainability goals, leading to numerous positive impacts. One of these impacts was a 97% customer satisfaction rating with customers that Workday has employed these techniques to help. “As a company, Workday aims to maintain a customer satisfaction rating of over 95%, and in 2022, we surpassed this rating again— as we have for over a decade. We’ve continued to stay laser-focused on customer success, delivering the vision and innovation that global organizations need to navigate rapidly changing business and workforce circumstances.”

Social and environmental benefit

We know that our changing environment also impacts jobs, as the global shift from fossil fuels to green alternatives results in job losses in coal communities. We believe a robust economy and sustainable planet can co-exist, which

is why we've invested $1 million in organizations, including the Just Transition Grant fund, to retrain workers for emerging green jobs.

In terms of specific benefits for society and the environment, AccelerateZero has several key applications. Firstly, helping eco-conscious companies plan and optimize their transition towards social and environmental responsibility will simplify and thus hasten the transition, which will positively impact the environment. Secondly, the program could help inspire other companies to do the same, given the simplicity and accessibility of the tool, which will further boost the goals of Workday as a company and provide environmental benefits. From a societal perspective, a push towards sustainability and emissions targets by some corporations could lead to more widespread social attention and a focus on CSR, pressuring more giant corporations with high emissions to get with the program, so to speak. This could lead to a virtuous societal cycle where corporations pushing towards emissions targets inspire others to create a cleaner and more sustainability-focused business environment, thus encouraging a societal shift towards sustainability. Furthermore, avoiding adverse climate impacts on consumers will help keep the economy strong as the planet moves towards climate change-induced turmoil. Avoidance of critical climate tipping points should serve as a strong motivation for companies to pursue goals in line with AccelerateZero.

Interview

EriK Hansen, Head of Global Environmental Sustainability