Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Sustainable economic growth
• Information security and data protection
• Corporate culture and diversity
• Employer attractiveness
• Product and service quality
• Innovation and the impact of our products
• Tech for good
• Energy and CO2 emissions
• Respect of human rights
• Combating corruption and bribery

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced energy consumption at reviewed locations from 7,662,965 kWh to 7,545,717 kWh
• 100% green electricity at German locations
• Use of waste heat from servers to heat the Darmstadt building
• Significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from employee commuting through Sagathlon initiative

Social Achievements

• SoftwareAGain program awarded DEI Initiative of the Year 2023
• Establishment of two additional women’s networks (USA and Asia)
• Launch of Motheo Innovation Centre in South Africa
• Give Back to the World initiative engaged in three additional projects
• MoveYourFeet campaign raised €28,200 in donations

Governance Achievements

• Election of an independent Supervisory Board chair in 2022
• Improved ISS Corporate ESG Rating from C- to C
• Maintained MSCI ESG rating of AAA
• Establishment of a Chief Compliance Officer

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Competition for skilled individuals
• Uncertainty about Software AG’s future success
• Global economic downturn
• Geopolitical risks
• Rising inflation and interest rates
• Technological evolution of IT industry
• Long sales cycles and complexity of products
• Ineffective sales organization
• Insufficient sales efficiency
• Sales channel conflicts
• Inadequate remuneration for partners
• Insufficient product readiness for OEM business
• Age structure of A&N employees
• Growing cost pressure on customers
• Risk of customers changing to competitor products
• Risk of patent infringement lawsuits
• Liability risks relating to lost license fees
• Increased legal risk associated with cloud agreements
• Growing IT complexity increasing attack surface for cyberattacks
• Challenges of ensuring compliance with emerging regulatory requirements (CSRD)
• Financial impact of carbon pricing and emission trading
• Reputational risks related to ESG matters
• Risk of falling behind competitors offering low-emission technologies
• Exchange rate risks
• Interest rate fluctuations
• Liquidity risks

Mitigation Strategies

• Realignment of corporate strategy in 2023
• Implementation of a comprehensive information security management program
• Annual employee training on information security and biannual training on data protection
• Continuous improvement of data protection management system (DPMS)
• Implementation of a third-party risk management (TPRM) program
• Updated Code of Conduct training for all employees
• Active sourcing concept for talent acquisition
• Various targeted initiatives to attract and retain talent
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Hybrid work model
• Net retention rate (NRR) metric to measure long-term product deployment
• Customer Success Manager (CSM) to ensure customer benefit from software
• Fast-track services for customers
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure customer satisfaction
• ISO 9001, ISO 22301, and ISO 27001 certifications
• Global 24/7 support
• Enterprise Active Support model
• Escalation Management team
• Roadmap for incorporating AI into Support processes
• Sustainability data gathering roadmap
• University Relations Program
• Software Campus participation
• SoftwareAGain program in India
• Energy-saving measures and initiatives
• Use of renewable energy sources
• Move to Cloud and Application Harmonization IT strategy
• Employee commuting initiatives
• Roadmap of actions aimed at reducing emissions from suppliers and products
• Development of a reduction path to net zero CO2 emissions
• Improved due diligence processes for acquisitions
• Detailed analysis of target company’s economic fitness
• Intensive review of technological, sales, staff, strategic, and operational integration
• Harmonization of corporate culture
• Risk assessment of transitional and physical risks (TCFD framework)
• Derivative financial instruments for hedging currency risks
• Active working capital management and Group-wide liquidity control
• Global Deal Desk for customer contract approval
• Constant monitoring of partner banks’ creditworthiness
• Intellectual Property (IP) Rights team
• Updated inventor remuneration system
• Central storage of source code files and documentation
• Evaluation of new products for potential patent infringements
• Trademark research
• Audit rights included in customer contracts
• Review and modification of third-party software sales agreements
• SecureBiz program for IT security improvement
• ISO 27001-certified information security management system (ISMS)

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Partner Code of Conduct
• Investment and Expenditure policy

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Chronic physical risks

Transition Risks

• Market risks
• Policy and legal risks
• Reputational risks
• Technology risks

Opportunities

• Resource efficiency
• Energy sources
• Products and services
• Markets
• Resilience

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 22301, ISO 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 3
• SDG 4
• SDG 5
• SDG 8
• SDG 9
• SDG 10
• SDG 12
• SDG 13
• SDG 16

Software AG's initiatives contribute to these goals through various programs and projects

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Products that help customers become more sustainable

Awards & Recognition

• SoftwareAGain program awarded DEI Initiative of the Year 2023