Explore Farmacia San Pablo’s formula for ESG success
Prioritizing the “s” in ESG sparked a social sustainability ripple effect at Farmacia San Pablo. With the SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution, the company can cost-effectively collect, track, and manage disparate data sources and provide more transparency for ESG investors—resulting in supply chain improvements and partnering opportunities.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Retail | Mexico City, Mexico | >10,500 employees | Stratesys Technology Solutions S.L. |
employees who are now brand
ambassadors.
improvement in customer experience.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Farmacia San Pablo Corp.
| Industry | Region | Company Size | Partner |
| Retail | Mexico City, Mexico | >10,500 employees | Stratesys Technology Solutions S.L. |
employees who are now brand
ambassadors.
improvement in customer experience.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Farmacia San Pablo Corp.
Administering company-wide change to consolidate ESG data
At Mexico-based Farmacia San Pablo Corp., the “social” aspect of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework is not just a guiding principle; it’s also a business driver. The full-service pharmacy retail chain’s model is rooted in a strong foundation of people development and empowerment. Hiring people with no experience—including many who have not completed high school—and growing them from the inside allows employees to learn every aspect of the business while building confidence and knowledge along the way.
In 2015, the company started its journey toward sustainable, evidence-based people development with SAP SuccessFactors solutions. In 2016, the company acquired the Mexican Center for Philanthropy’s CEMEFI badge. Seven years later, it achieved the next big milestone of becoming a certified B Corporation.
But Farmacia San Pablo faced another challenge when it came to its ESG initiatives. It needed a way to measure impact along three axes: people, environment, and compliance. The company had formalized many social and environmental initiatives and was gathering huge volumes of data but couldn’t monitor all of this data with existing tools. It set out to consolidate data to improve traceability, data management, and data quality; gain insight into the performance of social initiatives; and empower employees.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Farmacia San Pablo Corp.
Injecting rigorous HR processes to aid transparency and collaboration
Over the past decade, Farmacia San Pablo had successfully used SAP software and built trusted relationships with SAP experts. It had implemented SAP Business Technology Platform, as well as a broad range of SAP SuccessFactors solutions to underpin an employee experience strategy that promotes meaningful work and personal growth.
The company had built a robust, cloud-based HR platform that connected smoothly with its IT landscape. With the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution at its heart and including SAP SuccessFactors Learning and SAP SuccessFactors Talent solutions, the platform had become the system of record for people data. It also supported personal training and development plans that help align the company’s growth strategies with workers’ individual needs.
Providing one single source of truth opened the door to true collaboration across every level of management. To consolidate its sustainability data and enable transparency with stakeholders, Farmacia San Pablo decided to implement the SAP Sustainability Control Tower solution.
SAP Sustainability Control Tower would help solve the company’s data quality, traceability, and management issues. Additionally, the solution would support its HR objectives and provide transparency both internally to employees and managers and externally to ESG investors.
Bolstered by the positive outcome achieved with SAP SuccessFactors solutions, the HR team led the implementation—aided by SAP partner Stratesys, which has extensive expertise in implementing SAP Sustainability Control Tower.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Farmacia San Pablo Corp.
Unlocking ESG success with a healthy dose of social responsibility
Farmacia San Pablo had already experienced multiple social benefits from its earlier implementation of SAP SuccessFactors solutions.
By integrating these with SAP Sustainability Control Tower and linking sustainability efforts with employee empowerment programs, the company has taken its ESG initiatives to a whole new level. Sustainability and other projects can now be seeded across diverse areas and flourish with cross-functional collaboration.
Functionality in SAP Sustainability Control Tower allows for a more efficient and cost-effective way to collect, track, and manage data from disparate sources. The pharmacy chain made social KPIs more traceable and transparent and now has more accurate data and deeper insights on performance. It has also identified potential supply chain and partnering opportunities. According to the company’s chief human resources officer, Carmina Sander, “With comprehensive data, extensive supply chain improvements are now possible, whether across supplier activities, distribution methods, or energy consumption. And we can more easily certify both ourselves and partners in areas such as ESG performance, energy management, and financials.”
Farmacia San Pablo has transformed the employee experience, offering empowerment initiatives enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and wage fairness. And it’s had a firsthand learning experience in how specialized training increases engagement, loyalty, and retention.
With enhanced sustainability credentials, the company can also safeguard its brand image, build trust with partners and customers, and strengthen its reputation with ESG investors and analysts.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Farmacia San Pablo Corp.
Moving beyond compliance and helping to heal the planet
Farmacia San Pablo intends to continue and expand its sustainability efforts.
The company plans to use SAP solutions to target environmental issues such as decarbonization of the supply chain. To support these efforts, Farmacia San Pablo is looking at additional SAP solutions including the SAP Environment, Health, and Safety Management and SAP Sustainability Data Exchange applications and the SAP Sustainability Footprint Management solution.
On the potential offered by SAP solutions, Sander remarks: “We’re able to measure our efforts, report on them, and follow up on pending issues. Now we have a path that is sustainable and consistent over time.” Wherever that path may lead, SAP Sustainability offerings provide the monitoring, methodology, and momentum to help the company’s ESG efforts thrive.
Want to know more about Farmacia San Pablo?
Farmacia San Pablo: Prescribing a Social Approach to Sustainability (SAP Video)
Turning Workforce into Brand Ambassadors (SAP Innovation Awards 2023 Entry Pitch Deck)
Featured partner
Technology services provider Stratesys has a strong and consolidated presence in Europe and Latin America, supported by a team of more than 1,100 professionals. Stratesys’s deep knowledge of SAP Sustainability Control Tower was a key contributor to the success of Farmacia San Pablo’s implementation project.