SAP has released a report into measures it is taking to improve sustainability, and how it could support customers' corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

The SAP Sustainability Report 2008, the first of its kind from the company, highlights the key programmes and measures that SAP has in place to improve its own sustainability and to help its customers meet their own requirements.

SAP claimed that the report would play a "leading role in the public policy debate" about CSR.

In order to encourage collaboration, SAP has created an exchange based on Web 2.0 tools. Anyone can log onto the SAP collaboration workspace and share their views on the firm's sustainability efforts and interact with other parties.

An online stakeholder survey, meanwhile, asks more specific questions about what the company could be doing.

"SAP is in a unique position when it comes to sustainable development," said Léo Apotheker, co-chief executive at SAP.

"Along with ensuring that our business operates in a sound and ethical manner, and leaves a minimal environmental footprint, we are also responsible for providing IT solutions that help businesses of all sizes better manage their sustainability performance.

"As a result, we aspire to take a leadership position by addressing social, environmental and governance challenges on a global scale, and ensuring that sustainability performance continues to be an intrinsic part of SAP's corporate and product strategy."

SAP said that the report tracks the firm's footprint in areas such as facilities management, business travel, water use and waste management, and added that its software solutions enable businesses to implement their own sustainability strategies.

"Since the rise of enterprise resource planning, enterprise software has played a vital role in enabling profitable and sustainable operations for businesses around the world," said Henning Kagermann, co-chief executive at SAP.

"The report issued today is a major step in an ongoing dialogue we will maintain with employees, customers, investors, partners and stakeholders from the public and civil society sectors to keep sustainability at the forefront of all business activities."