Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 67 | Page 61

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology

Accenture and Salesforce expand partnership to help companies embed sustainability

Accenture and Salesforce are expanding their alliance to help companies embed sustainability into their business , meet growing customer and stakeholder expectations and contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ).

The powerful combination of Accenture ’ s Sustainability Services , Salesforce Sustainability Cloud and Salesforce Customer 360 will , for the first time , bring sustainability to the front office and provide the C-suite with true visibility into their company ’ s historical and real-time environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) data . Companies will be able to track , measure and act on a range of sustainability initiatives , including reporting on carbon usage , supporting customer engagements , creating positive consumer experiences , meeting regulatory requirements and developing new business models .
“ Our clients ’ commitment to sustainability has never been greater ,” said Julie Sweet , Chief Executive Officer at Accenture . “ As industries reimagine and rebuild from the pandemic , they have the opportunity to embed sustainability by design to drive their customer agenda . We are delighted to expand our partnership with Salesforce to help organisations both create value and deliver on their values .”
“ Every CEO is recognising their responsibilities don ’ t stop at the edge of the corporate campus or Zoom ,” said Marc Benioff , Chair and CEO , Salesforce . “ By integrating sustainability deep into the fabric of our companies , our businesses will become more successful , our communities more equal , our societies more just and our planet healthier . We ’ re incredibly proud to be working with Accenture to help customers more readily drive sustainability programmes that benefit all stakeholders and create business value .”
Salesforce Sustainability Cloud , built on Salesforce Customer 360 , will provide a trusted platform that gives customers a 360-degree view of their corporate environmental impact to help them measure and manage their carbon footprint and transparently report investor-grade climate data . Accenture will help integrate Salesforce Sustainability Cloud into their business strategies , operating models , technologies and core processes and systems with industry-specific requirements and develop sustainability insights that can scale across organisations and their ecosystems . Later this year , Accenture and Salesforce will be working together to expand the platform and services to track and analyse broader ESG metrics-from water and waste management to diversity and inclusion .
“ Climate change continues to be one of the most critical challenges facing business and the broader planet ,” said George Oliver , CEO , Johnson Controls , a smart , healthy and sustainable buildings company . “ We are pleased to be working with Salesforce and Accenture in accelerating sustainability activities for JCI , for our customers and our communities , especially as momentum for action continues to grow .”
Sustainability is now a business imperative , and consumers increasingly expect business to play a leadership role in taking tangible action on the SDGs , which include gender equality , poverty and climate change . p
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA 61