21 October 2025
Hosted in collaboration with PwC, the recent “Sustainability vs Beyond Compliance” session brought together sustainability experts to unpack one of today’s most critical business imperatives — moving beyond compliance towards meaningful, strategic sustainability.
From Compliance to Competitive Edge
“Sustainability is no longer a peripheral task – it’s here,” opened Karen Theys from PwC and a volunteer on AFSUG’s Digital Finance and Real Estate Steering Committee.
The discussion explored central questions: What if …
- Key data sets your need for sustainability compliance and performance already exists within your SAP systems?
- SAP’s solutions can bring all your disparate data together, including the data from non – SAP systems?
Rather than treating sustainability as an external reporting exercise, the session encouraged organisations to leverage their existing SAP environments to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) data — transforming compliance into a driver of innovation, operational efficiency and long-term business resilience.
Demystifying ESG and Sustainability
Chantal van der Watt, PwC’s sustainability strategist, offered clarity on a topic often clouded by terminology.
She emphasised that ESG and sustainability are not interchangeable.
ESG, she explained, emerged as an investor-focused framework — a way to assess enterprise risk — whereas sustainability is about creating enduring value that balances financial growth with social and environmental responsibility.
“You can disclose every emission,” she noted “and still increase them year on year.
ESG metrics alone don’t make you sustainable.”
Chantal further highlighted the importance of understanding materiality — identifying which sustainability topics are most relevant to a business’s impact and future prospects.
By focusing on what’s material, organisations can “cut out the noise” and make sustainability actionable.
Global Regulations, Local Relevance
The conversation turned to international reporting standards such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) from the EU and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under IFRS.
Although not yet mandated in South Africa, these frameworks signal the direction global reporting is heading.
“South African organisations,” Chantal advised, “should start thinking through what’s material to their operations now — like energy and water — as these are immediate business risks and opportunities.”
Practical Pathways and the Role of Technology
Sankarshan Govender took attendees through a practical view of the sustainability journey — from scoping and materiality assessments to data readiness and implementation.
He outlined how organisations can use existing systems to drive auditable, reliable and transparent sustainability reporting.
“Bad data leads to fast, bad results,” he cautioned. “Groundwork in data governance, people skills and process control is essential before layering on technology.”
SAP’s Role in Enabling ESG Reporting
Marco Bronze concluded by demonstrating how SAP’s Sustainability Control Tower (SCT) and DataSphere enable integrated ESG reporting.
He showcased how SAP’s ecosystem connects multiple data sources — from environmental sensors to procurement systems — into a unified view, ensuring traceability and auditability.
“Think about scalability from the start,” he advised. “Your ESG architecture should evolve as your sustainability goals mature.”
Final Reflections
The experts agreed that sustainability transformation is best achieved step by step. As Sankarshan summarised, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Chantal closed with a practical takeaway: “Figure out what’s truly material. Cut out the noise. Then plan your agile response.”
In summary, the AFSUG community gained not just regulatory insight, but a clear, technology-enabled roadmap for embedding sustainability into strategy — turning compliance into a source of competitive advantage.
