IBM plugs artificial intelligence software for managing climate crisis

Armonk, New York - IBM on Tuesday announced a suite of environmental intelligence software that leverages AI to help organizations manage weather and climate risks, assess their own environmental impact, and support regulatory compliance and reporting.

The IBM China Research Lab at AIsland of Zhangjiang Science City, part of an AI-supported business park in Shanghai.
The IBM China Research Lab at AIsland of Zhangjiang Science City, part of an AI-supported business park in Shanghai.  © IMAGO/VCG

The Suite combines weather, climate, and operational data analytics and environmental performance management into a single solution.

It is expected to help in automating risk management, operationalizing underlying processes including carbon accounting capabilities allowing businesses to spend less resources curating complex data, and more on analyzing it for insights and taking action to improve operations.

The suite leverages existing weather data from IBM, advanced geospatial analytics already in use by companies around the world, and new innovations from IBM Research.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) Suite monitors and alerts disruptive environmental conditions such as severe weather, wildfires, flooding and air quality; predicts potential impacts of climate change and weather across the business using climate risk analytics; provides insights into potential operational disruptions and prioritize mitigation and response efforts.

It also provides reports on environmental initiatives and operationalized carbon accounting, while reducing the burden of this reporting on procurement and operations teams.

The AI suite addresses extreme weather, climate action failure and human-led environmental damage, which have been cited as the top three most likely risks for businesses over the next ten years in the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2021.

Cover photo: IMAGO/VCG

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