SAS accelerates sustainability and improves global outcomes through social innovation

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Jun 29, 2021, 12:03 ET

CARY, N.C., June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With a spirit of curiosity driving analytics innovation for more than four decades, SAS continues to prioritize corporate citizenship and pairing technology with advocacy to guide its business and climate strategy. In addition to helping customers with their green business initiatives and sustainability needs, SAS has a long-standing reputation for supporting clean energy and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) while also using its software to address economic, social and environmental issues.

In addition to the solar farm, the campus at SAS’ headquarters features many sustainable practices to operate more efficiently. (photo courtesy of SAS)

"This past year has shown us how closely connected we are and how we can truly make an impact by working together," said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. "At SAS, we know the power of technology in helping find better answers to drive better decisions – decisions that protect our environment, save lives and make our world a better, safer place with a more sustainable future."

Growing through innovative sustainability practices
For SAS, an environmentally friendly workplace incorporates a sustainable business model that supports the Paris Climate Accord and fosters employee curiosity and creativity. From streaming data to improve operations through its smart campus project to powering office buildings with clean energy from its solar farms, the company uses SAS^®Visual Analytics to collect, manage, calculate and report its environmental performance. As a corporate sustainability leader and advocate, SAS works closely with employees, suppliers and customers to reduce its environmental footprint with programs focused on energy conservation, emissions management, pollution mitigation, water conservation, green building and other initiatives.

In 2020, SAS' top environmental achievements included:

Committed to 2050 net-zero carbon emissions.
Submitted 2025 and 2030 emission reduction targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for review.
SAS emissions across all scopes were 39.5% lower than the SBTi 2018 base year submission.
Decreased global emissions across all scopes by 37.7% in 2020 from 107,267 to 66,875 MTCO2e.
Achieved 40% by 2025 energy use intensity target for office buildings – a 46% base year improvement.
Achieved 50% by 2025 carbon use intensity target for office buildings – a 56% base year improvement.
Diverted 50% of operational and construction waste from landfills globally.
Earned Energy Star certifications for 11 buildings.
Generated 3.8 million kWh of clean, renewably sourced energy from rooftop and ground-mounted solar systems.

Improving society through positive contributions

SAS' social innovation initiative works to find creative ways to accelerate global progress and move the world toward a more sustainable future. These social impact programs rely on both the curiosity and expertise of SAS employees who are passionate about using their skills for social good as well as the company's partnerships with customers, industry groups, nonprofits, governments and global organizations. SAS continues to discover new opportunities for analytics to serve the greater good through the Data for Good movement, which encourages using data in meaningful ways to solve humanitarian issues around poverty, health, human rights, education and the environment. From helping to boost healthy bee populations and combating deforestation to revealing racial disparities in homeownership and investing in patient wellness, SAS is contributing to building a better world for the people and the planet – work that has been recognized by Fast Company and Inc. Magazine, among others.

Contributing to meaningful work is just part of the award-winning workplace culture that is dedicated to treating employees like they make a difference and focusing on their well-being. SAS' culture has always been an integral part of who it is as a company, connecting the curious nature that started SAS and the spirit of innovation that moves it forward. It's because of this curiosity – and SAS' passion for doing good – that the company and its employees quickly stepped up to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to helping several customers manage the spread of the virus, SAS created a data analytics resource hub to assist businesses and individuals combat the virus through free tools and resources. SAS provided its software at no cost to the COVID-19 Research Database – the largest single repository of de-identified patient data related to COVID-19 in the world – for public health and policy researchers to better understand the pandemic. SAS also built an interactive Vulnerable Populations Dashboard to understand which populations are most at risk by geography.

This commitment to caring for others and securing the future extends to SAS' philanthropic philosophy of supporting data literacy and education initiatives for all. From preschoolers to graduate students, SAS supports countless educational programs to help students from all backgrounds reach their full potential as future leaders and innovators. To meet the needs of learners and professionals adapting to new daily routines brought on by COVID-19, SAS launched flexible, free options for learning SAS last year. For preschool-12, more than 2.5 million educators and students used SAS' free digital tools, resources and apps in 2019, with nearly 50,000 teachers and 200,000 students creating new accounts during 2020. For higher education and adult learners, downloads and registrations of free SAS software for academics jumped 59% in 2020.

Read the latest SAS Corporate Social Responsibility report and learn what makes the company a sustainability leader.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative software and services, SAS empowers and inspires customers around the world to transform data into intelligence. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW^®.

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2021 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

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