Decoding IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator: A Green Revolution

As the effects of climate change continue to be disproportionately felt by disadvantaged populations worldwide, IBM is providing innovators with access to cutting-edge technologies and training. IBM revealed the most recent expenditures made in its social impact programs to promote environmental sustainability ahead of COP28. Through the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a fresh set of environmental projects that are leading the way in water solutions will be scaled up to assist local communities all around the world. Concurrently, IBM Skills Build is offering a unique set of sustainability skills training at no cost, which will facilitate future climate action.

“New approaches to help create a sustainable future are essential, as nearly half of the world’s population is vulnerable to significant environmental distress,” stated Justina Nixon-Saintil, IBM Vice President & Chief Impact Officer. “This entails developing a pipeline of future leaders at the nexus of technology and sustainability across industries and scaling solutions to assist people right away.”

Projects and partners in the new IBM Sustainability Accelerator are:

With initiatives centered on water management solutions, IBM is strengthening its commitment to sustainable innovation as part of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a worldwide social impact program. According to the 2023 IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 3.3 billion people reside in regions that could see major effects from climate change1. With IBM pledging to provide $30 million in technology and services by the end of 2025, the program is expanding to include five additional water management-focused projects. IBM is providing watsonx and an ecosystem of specialists along with its technologies.

• In order to assist populations in arid and semi-arid regions with limited renewable internal freshwater supplies, the University of Sharjah is developing a model and application to track and forecast water access conditions throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
• In addition to building and implementing tools intended to democratize access to water quality information and assist in enhancing water resource management for significant government and nonprofit organizations, the University of Chicago Trust in Delhi will compile data on water quality in India.
• In order to assist in forecasting rainfall and floods in the mountain headwaters of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States, the University of Illinois is building an artificial intelligence geospatial foundation model.
• Together with regional utility companies and governments, Instituto IGUÁ will develop a cloud-based platform for sanitation infrastructure planning in Brazil.
• For Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, Water Corporation will create a self-administered method for assessing the quality of their water.

Communities working on clean energy and sustainable agriculture throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia are already receiving assistance from the IBM Sustainability Accelerator initiative.

A new roadmap for IBM SkillsBuild Sustainability

There is an increasing skills gap in sustainability that threatens workers across industries, according to new data from IBM and Morning Consult. In the next two years, according to 71% of business leaders polled, their company will prioritize hiring candidates with sustainability capabilities, and 92% plan to spend in sustainability training in the coming year.

IBM SkillsBuild is offering free training that links cutting edge technologies to ecology and climate change in order to support the development of this talent pipeline for sustainability. This multidisciplinary coursework links themes like ecology and biodiversity with technical training in AI and data analytics, with AI-powered recommendations available for each learner. This extensive program aims to give the upcoming generation of leaders the tools they need to succeed in the green economy.

With digital credentials available at every stage, learners may take advantage of IBM SkillsBuild’s comprehensive environmental tech training program.

• The basis of historical understanding and technical principles needed to link sustainability and technology will be laid via introductory courses.
• Mid-level courses on green entrepreneurship and design thinking will motivate students to enhance their knowledge.
• Students enrolled in advanced curriculum will be expected to apply their knowledge of sustainability to areas such as cybersecurity, AI, and ESG reporting.

With an emphasis on underrepresented populations, IBM is building on its pledge to skill 30 million people by 2030 with these initiatives. IBM SkillsBuild works with government agencies, colleges, and social service, economic development, and vocational organizations to provide free online education to underrepresented communities in technology. These include groups that support skilled women, such as moms reentering the workforce, members of ethnic minorities, the poor, and refugees.

Concerning the IBM Sustainability Accelerator

The IBM Sustainability Accelerator is a social impact initiative that tackles several environmental problems globally, and it was introduced in February 2022. The accelerator chooses five projects a year to scale up solutions for communities facing issues including pollution, climate change, extreme weather, and more. There are now three active cohorts in the program: the first one focuses on clean energy, the second on sustainable agriculture, and the third on water and sanitation.