IBM watsonx: New Technology Powers Sustainability Progress

IBM is seeking to redefine the sustainable technology business.

Having been a key leader in the technology industry for a number of decades, the technology corporation is no stranger to global innovation. In fact, IBM sees technology as a ‘critical enabler’ to achieving environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and Net Zero goals, both within its business and externally.

A significant part of this is AI, as the company sees it as a vital tool to tackle environmental challenges. In fact, its Watson AI platform - including watsonx - enables the use of AI to tackle environmental challenges, developing solutions for monitoring, conservation and sustainability.

By analysing data, IBM’s AI provides insights for informed decisions, from predicting weather patterns to optimising resources. It partners with the likes of the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the Government of Kenya and NASA to make this a reality.

A leader in sustainable technology

IBM currently holds 21 goals for sustainability that addresses the company’s intersection with the environment. These include energy and climate change, conservation and biodiversity, pollution prevention and waste management, supply chain and value chain and management system. The organisation has been annually reporting for more than 30 years. 

Jonah Smith, Vice President, Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Strategy and Programs at IBM, tells our sister publication, Sustainability Magazine: “For IBM, corporate governance is about creating innovations, policies and practices that prioritise ESG progress simultaneously with ethics, trust, transparency and – above all – accountability.

“IBM’s leadership stays true to its commitment towards a transparent and ethical business model. As leaders in the tech industry, this responsibility includes creating better innovations, policies and practices that benefit everyone in society.”

In order to make good on its environmental promises, in addition to helping businesses achieve their goals, IBM has introduced a range of tools over the years that support sustainability. 

Last year, the company found that 46% of executives view AI as important for advancing their company's sustainability, reporting and performance efforts.

New initiatives seek to power sustainable progress

In May 2024, the company announced a range of sustainability software that seeks to empower its clients. Offering more detail, IBM states that these product offerings will help to supercharge business data and further progress their green pledges as a result.

Maximo Application Suite 9.0

The IBM Maximo Application Suite is a set of applications for asset monitoring, management, predictive maintenance and reliability planning.

First previewed at IBM Think 2024, the organisation has announced that new features will be added to the suite. These will be designed to help clients build more sustainable operations by streamlining asset management across their business with an intelligence functionality powered by watsonx. 

This will ultimately help to accelerate work order approval, prioritise business resources and reduce maintenance errors. Likewise, the suite aims to help with emissions management to enable companies better insights to evoke further action.

Environmental Intelligence

First launched in the initial announcement in May 2024, Environmental Intelligence is a new platform that is designed to empower organisations with curated geospatial data, fine-tuned models and AI-driven insights. This is so that companies can build greater climate resilience for their physical assets, infrastructure and natural resources.

The platform can help to anticipate, adapt to and mitigate extreme weather and climate change. It does this by providing data professionals with accurate environmental data and insights that can better inform the public by understanding disease spread and climate risks, in addition to minimising impact on crops.

Envizi Planning and Forecasting

Envizi is a data management foundation designed to create a single trusted data source for a company’s ESG reporting. It is designed to better address new regulations for sustainability reporting that continue to emerge. 

IBM has stated that AI-infused forecasting capabilities are now integrated into the Envizi ESG suite for streamlined sustainability planning. As a result, businesses can now perform complex modelling and forecasting on their most recent ESG data, enabling companies to better accelerate their emission reduction strategies.  

******

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Technology Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024

******

Technology Magazine is a BizClik brand