EY and IBM Collaborate to Address Complex ESG Challenges and Drive Value-Led Sustainability – EQ Mag

• Help clients manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, work together to build business strategy and demonstrate positive correlation between purpose and financial performance

• Combine EY and IBM capabilities to help address increasing requirements and help operationalize client improvement programs

• Integrate technologies to help address the complexities of ESG data volume and types and customer Hybrid IT preferences

LONDON : The EY organization (EY) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announce a global collaboration to focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) solutions that aim to help organizations accelerate business transformation with value-led sustainability. EY and IBM teams will pursue innovative offerings that help integrate sustainability with business strategy, support the operationalization of their programs with speed and scale, and transform how value is created for their business, their stakeholders, their people and the planet.

EY teams bring extensive experience advising organizations on sustainability strategies and transformation, while IBM offers innovative technology capabilities, and a portfolio of software to measure, deliver and report against sustainability goals. Both industry leaders are working to address the enormous complexities of ESG data by bringing deep understanding of emerging data standards.

EY and IBM teams plan to provide offerings orchestrated with leading technologies such as hyperscaler public cloud or ERP systems-of-record. To meet client preferences across diverse hybrid IT landscapes, collaborative offerings are planned to include:

• Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions accounting and management
• ESG Managed Services
• EY Sustainable Enterprise Asset Management (SEAM) tool for scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon capture, analysis and decision support

This collaboration is expected to leverage the EY organization’s leading Climate Change and Sustainability Services and Technology Consulting practices, along with IBM’s software including the IBM Envizi ESG Suite, IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite, IBM Maximo Application Suite, IBM TRIRIGA Application Suite, IBM Turbonomic Application Resource Management (ARM) and IBM Supply Chain Intelligence Suite, to create a set of frameworks and accelerators to help companies operationalize decarbonization action plans at the asset level.

EY and IBM teams are already collaborating in many ways to deliver value-led sustainability, including:

EY SEAM tool, leveraging IBM Maximo Application Suite, helps organizations capture and calculate carbon emissions data, report it according to regulations and set targets to drive action. The tool can be used on any public cloud to support organizations in asset- heavy industries such as civil infrastructure, telecom, energy, mobility and manufacturing. EY Sustainable Travel Approval Tool (STAT), developed in collaboration with IBM Consulting, is designed to encourage employees to book more sustainable travel choices and support an organizations’ carbon ambition by providing users with greater visibility to both the financial and carbon footprint impact of business travel. Since its launch within the EY organization across 41 markets, the tool has considerably cut one-day travel down from 18% to 3% of total trips, and increased train rail bookings to 36% compared to 10% in FY19, in countries where train rail is a viable option.

Steve Varley, EY Global Vice Chair – Sustainability, says: “In order for organizations to address an ever-evolving set of ESG challenges, solutions must be delivered and deployable at a faster pace than ever before. The value of this deepened and longstanding alliance is in how it leverages the consulting and technology capabilities of both EY and IBM teams, to be at the forefront of how clients plan and accelerate their ESG journey and build trust with their most critical stakeholders.”

Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Product Management & Growth, IBM Software, says: “A global energy crisis, rising costs and new regulations are among the ongoing and increasing challenges organizations face as they act to deliver upon their sustainability goals while still balancing revenue, risk and driving shareholder returns. IBM’s expanded collaboration with EY is a critical step forward in helping our joint clients accelerate their most pressing sustainability and business objectives.”

This work builds on the EY organization and IBM’s ongoing collaboration including the recent launch of Talent Center of Excellence and the EY-IBM Center of Excellence for Financial Services.

Terms and details of definitive agreements to be finalized. Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform, and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax, and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. Information about how EY collects and uses personal data, and a description of the rights individuals have under data protection legislation are available via ey.com/privacy. EY member firms do not practice law were prohibited by local laws.

About IBM

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.