The Commerzbank paper highlights how aggregating complex data from various sources is fundamental if corporates are to meet sustainability targets.
Commerzbank has released a comprehensive whitepaper that explores the potential of application programming interface (API) technology to encourage collaboration and facilitate sustainable supply chains through digital ecosystems, positioning businesses to adapt to the sustainability focused landscape.
The whitepaper, titled “How API based ecosystems can serve circular economy”, looks at the role of APIs as facilitators of data exchange and how this technology can be deployed by financial institutions – and their clients – to enable more sustainable business models. It explains how, by aggregating complex data from various sources, APIs can provide the building blocks for solutions such as digital ecosystems. This method of data distribution is crucial, reveals Commerzbank, if corporates are to meet their sustainability targets, comply with regulators, and transition to a more circular economy.
The paper highlights the immediate need for API-enabled digital ecosystems, stating: Ecosystems based on APIs are going to be integral in the transformation from traditional economy models into new business models, as they are founded through collaboration. They will not only allow for sustainable services but also the reusing and sharing of already established competencies and services between participants – as in a circular economy business model.
“We are convinced that the challenges of today cannot be solved alone. We all need to collaborate to develop circular business models embracing the idea of true sustainability,” said Christoph Berentzen, Head of API Banking at Commerzbank. “Banks have always been committed to answering clients’ evolving financing needs with the right lending products and we are now seeing demand for embedded finance services – supplementary services to development such as digital ecosystems. This is something Commerzbank is currently working on and prioritising in our API banking cluster, and we are looking to offer more and more open banking solutions.”
Alexander Pawellek, Principal Product Owner responsible for digital innovation and strategy in trade finance at Commerzbank added: “Currently, market players all hold valuable data, but the system landscape is fragmented. The timely sharing of relevant information would deliver cost and time savings while also opening up new business opportunities. Such a solution is not created overnight – it is established by taking small, concrete steps.”
With this in mind, Commerzbank has also developed a prototype digital ecosystem, the Sustainable Supply Chain Platform, to provide a working example of how APIs can best be applied to solve sustainability reporting challenges with supply chains. The aim of the prototype is to bring together partners from trade and sustainability finance to identify potential synergies. The platform will allow ESG ratings providers, for instance, to share data on the ratings of certain suppliers. Using the API-enabled platform, buyers would be able to instantly assess whether their own supply chain is a sustainable one.
