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There is increasing pressure from regulators, investors and consumers for companies to move towards sustainable and socially responsible business practices – and to demonstrate these steps in a robust and verifiable manner. According to Forrester’s 2021 report ranking large corporations, corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability risks are tied as the third-highest risk for organizations. However, the various types of information that companies need to understand and report on their sustainability initiatives remain highly fragmented and difficult to access for all stakeholders.
To help organizations respond to these challenges, IBM has acquired Envizi, a leading provider of data and analytics software for environmental performance management. Invizi leverages IBM’s growing portfolio of AI-powered software – including IBM Maximo asset management solutions, IBM Sterling supply chain solutions and IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite – to help companies assess the environment in business and the business’ impact on the environment.
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Continuous innovation is building momentum.
As Envision founder David Solsky pointed out during our recent sit-down, when it comes to sustainability, executives around the world have changed their attitudes dramatically over the past two years. Today’s leaders are excited and energized by the opportunity to reimagine business and commerce with a sustainability-first mindset. At the same time, their response to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown the ability of the organization to adapt and thrive in the face of adversity, and the rapid spread of new vaccines has demonstrated the power of technology transfer.
Sustainability is now a boardroom issue with a visible impact on the bottom line. Teams today have the appropriate resources and leadership buy-in to meet ESG goals and meet deadlines.
But when corporate leaders step back to assess how to address sustainability, a common challenge of our time becomes clear: acquiring, applying and managing the data. Much of the critical information for sustainability improvements—for example, energy data on fragmented markets—is difficult to capture and track. While accessing this information can remain a challenge, we are working to reduce the burden of acquisition by consolidating key systems of record.
IBM accelerates the journey with NVZ
Supply chain and asset management hold some of the most significant opportunities for environmental improvement and innovation, as they often form an end-to-end operational footprint. And it’s the operating systems that drive these and other business sectors, holding the information needed to improve sustainability.
Until now, IBM and Envizi represent two halves of an ideal approach: operation-oriented improvement through IBM solutions; and ESG-related data collection, analysis and reporting through Envizi. Now we bring them together.
IBM’s portfolio of solutions already helps organizations reduce environmental impact and improve sustainability as part of ongoing business operations: increasing supply chain visibility with IBM Sterling; Enable intelligent asset management, monitoring and maintenance with IBM Maximo; and enabling intelligent facility management with IBM TRIRIGA. IBM helps organizations directly manage climate risks with the IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite. With this software, an energy company can automatically schedule tree trimming near power lines, intelligently reassign workers, or facilitate maintenance and replacement of critical equipment.
Meanwhile, NVZ provides comprehensive software to drive performance management related to all these functions and systems. NVZ also brings 13 years of experience in sustainability management, including deep knowledge of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting, which is critical to assisting organizations with regulatory and voluntary reporting needs.
Now IBM integrates Invision with existing solutions, helping to automate the feedback loop between enterprise-level reporting and critical operational endpoints. This brings daily operations and sustainability information and strategy to create key solutions that allow organizations to move faster and achieve their goals.
Above all, Envizi and IBM already share a common value: the innovation that matters, to our companies and to the world. That became clear in recent years as we worked to integrate data management into our own emissions reduction commitments. Now we’re excited to combine the power of Envision with IBM’s existing suite and share it with the world.
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This is exciting news for those who are interested in building a sustainable business and are creatively minded. With integrated business solutions, organizations can seamlessly embed sustainability goals into their daily operations and make significant strides in building more resilient and sustainable businesses.
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Read Original articlePosted on January 11, 2022 in the IBM Business Operations Blog.