• 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

The EY organization and IBM 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

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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.