EnBW AG’s path to climate neutrality

Challenge

The EnBW AG (Energie Baden-Württemberg AG) is one of Germany's largest energy supply companies, headquartered in Karlsruhe. With a comprehensive portfolio including electricity, gas, water, and energy solutions, the EnBW AG plays a critical role in providing energy to millions of customers in Germany and beyond.

EnBW AG’s strategy strongly focuses on sustainability. The company aims to significantly reduce its carbon footprint and boost renewable energy capacity, pledging to become climate-neutral by 2035. EnBW AG engages in innovative projects and partnerships to promote energy efficiency and sustainable practices, including digitalization, electric mobility, and smart grid technologies.

In line with its company strategy, EnBW AG’s travel procurement and management recognized the need to transform its corporate lodging strategy due to manual, time-consuming processes and travelers booking outside the managed channel. The goal was to create a more sustainable and efficient lodging program that enhances traveler satisfaction and program compliance. By digitizing and automating the end-to-end process from procure-to-pay, the EnBW AG increased productivity and program adoption. Additionally, by procuring and prioritizing sustainable hotel options in their managed hotel program, the EnBW AG significantly contributes to its key performance metrics and sustainability goals.

Key 2023 vs. 2022 outcomes included:

• 28% CO₂ emission reduction
• 98% virtual credit card acceptance
• 33% program adoption growth
• 122% total savings increase

Solution

Consulted by HRS, EnBW AG launched an innovative project by implementing the HRS Lodging-as-a-Service platform to manage transient spend from procurement to expense. The solution delivers savings, improved experience, and risk mitigation. HRS supports EnBW AG in responsibly and sustainably gathering and analyzing accurate data from procurement to payment, enabling continuous monitoring and optimization of lodging procurement, booking, and payment processes powered by AI technology.

With the introduction of the HRS payment solution, EnBW AG gains total transparency and oversight of employee spending. Employees benefit from a seamless experience before, during, and after trips, making it more convenient to comply with the managed hotel program. AI consolidates spend data from multiple sources, generating high-quality data that exceeds transactional and booking information by incorporating granular invoice and sustainability data.

This helps EnBW AG to optimize spend and measure the carbon footprint impact of their lodging program and operations.

The HRS Green Stay Initiative, the only solution to receive ISO+GHGP certification, actively helps EnBW AG report, reduce, and remove emissions in their corporate hotel program. Travel procurement can implement a sustainable strategy in the sourcing phase, while corporate travelers are automatically guided to book sustainable hotels. HRS AI promotes hotels with high emission reduction and compensation efforts in the hotel list, ranking them based on sustainability scores to reduce the carbon footprint of EnBW AG’s trips.

This comprehensive approach to sustainable corporate lodging aligns with EnBW AG’s environmental goals, reducing emissions by 28%, and sets a benchmark for other companies aiming to enhance their travel programs with a focus on sustainability and efficiency.

Results

EnBW AG achieved:

• 28% CO₂ emission reduction
• 98% VCC acceptance
• 33% growth in program adoption
• 122% increase in total savings

These outcomes demonstrate the impact of AI-powered lodging management, a fully digital procure-to-pay process, and a sustainability-driven hotel strategy aligned with EnBW AG’s climate-neutrality goals.

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