ESG Partnership: EY Consulting, IBM Software Target Carbon Heavy Industries

EY and IBM are partnering to assist customers with sustainability strategies in such carbon-heavy industries as civil infrastructure, telecom, energy, mobility and manufacturing.

The partnership will involve public cloud services, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems of record, and three focus areas:

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

Related: See IBM's sustainability strategy and related news here.

EY Consulting Services and IBM Software: Key Examples

The joint work will leverage the EY organization’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services and Technology Consulting practices, along with such IBM software as:

1. IBM Envizi ESG Suite;
2. IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite; 
3. IBM Maximo Application Suite; 
4. IBM TRIRIGA Application Suite; 
5. IBM Turbonomic Application Resource Management (ARM); and 
6. IBM Supply Chain Intelligence Suite.

Early joint work, the two companies said, includes the EY SEAM Tool leveraging IBM Maximo Application Suite. The resulting solution helps "organizations capture and calculate carbon emissions data, report it according to regulations and set targets to drive action," the company said.

Another example of the joint work: EY Sustainable Travel Approval Tool (STAT), developed in collaboration with IBM Consulting. The tool shows customers the carbon impact of their potential business travel. EY, which consumes the tool internally, has seen one-day travel reduced from 18% to 3% of total trips, and increased train rail bookings to 36% compared to 10% in fiscal year 2019 (in countries where train rail is a viable option).

Sustainability Partnership: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the ESG relationship, Steve Varley, EY global vice chair for sustainability, said: “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.”

Concluded Kareem Yusuf, senior VP, product management & growth, IBM Software: “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.”

ESG Consultancy M&A; IBM Forms Sustainability Accelerator

Both EY and IBM have been active in the ESG market. Indeed, EY in February 2023 acquired Attalea Partners, a provider of ESG consulting services to private equity funds and investee companies. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed.

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. 

IBM, meanwhile, runs a the IBM Sustainability Accelerator -- a pro bono program that serves nonprofit and governmental organizations globally. Those organizations, leveraging IBM’s hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, support communities that are especially vulnerable to environmental threats — such as climate change, extreme weather, and pollution.