Five strategies to reduce climate risk and promote sustainability.

The worldwide pandemic dominated 2020, but there were also more weather and climatic calamities than ever before, increasing in frequency and severity. Breaking the previous record, there were 22 distinct billion-dollar disasters in the United States alone. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the World Economic Forum listed extreme weather as the top global risk in terms of chance to occur, followed closely by failure to adapt to climate change at number two. The urgency of cybersecurity is demonstrated by its placement at number nine.

Every organisation is impacted by the weather on a daily basis, so business leaders must prepare for and react to both short-term disruptions and long-term trends. Additionally, more than just weather information is needed to take the appropriate business action at the appropriate moment. To reinvent procedures and better anticipate how weather will affect your assets, employees, and clients, you must use advanced analytics and intelligent workflows. In the process, you can also adhere to new sustainability standards and protect the environment.

How to identify your future direction

For many years, businesses have used the IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite to carve their own distinct paths to environmental sustainability and resilience. Our collection of applications combines your own geographic and meteorological data with that of third parties, as well as geospatial analytics, personalised weather warnings, and dashboard visualisations.

With the help of industry add-ons, such as forecasts for renewable energy sources, agribusiness, airports, vegetation management, and outage predictions, you can make plans and adapt to changing circumstances.

IBM professionals are available to assist you no matter where you are in your sustainability journey. We can work with you to design and implement the appropriate strategies, operational models, intelligent workflows, and technological innovation to meet your sustainability goals thanks to our extensive domain and industry expertise.

How other businesses manage climate risk while remaining profitable

Here are just a few instances of how we assist businesses in reducing climate risk while enhancing sustainability and profitability.

By 2020, there will likely be 9.7 billion people on the planet, which will put an unprecedented demand on food supply. One of the biggest fertiliser manufacturers in the world, Yara, is collaborating with IBM to create the top digital agricultural platform. The cloud-agnostic solution offers comprehensive digital services to farmers all over the world, helping them produce more food on their current lands and ultimately preventing deforestation. These services include weather and crop yield data as well as real-time agronomic advice.

Omega Energia: Accurate and trustworthy forecasts for renewable energy sources are essential since by 2050, wind and solar energy will account for 56% of the world’s electricity production. Omega Energia, a pioneer in renewable energy in Brazil, collaborated with IBM to develop a cost-efficient, scalable, cloud-based wind forecasting platform as part of its unwavering commitment to sustainability. In order to help Omega meet growing demand and deliver service reliably – today, next month, and for years to come – high-accuracy forecasts using best-in-class weather data and advanced analytics, including AI and machine learning, are driving benefits in maintenance planning, generation forecasting, and strategic planning.

Norfolk Southern: Railroads frequently turn on propane melters in a specific location to prevent service disruptions brought on by ice and snow. Operating costs for the transportation company Norfolk Southern swiftly increased due to the manual operation of 4,500 melters at 1,500 locations, with certain melters occasionally running unnecessarily. They automated the operation of propane melters for higher efficiency using smarter railroad technology that uses hyper-localized weather data and AI-assisted insights from IBM, which decreases snow abatement costs by 70% while lowering carbon footprint.

Winery E. & J. Gallo: E.& J. Gallo Winery has been farming in drought-stricken California for more than 80 years and is aware that water is the most valuable resource. Water management has been a primary focus for many years. They are giving each 30 x 30 metre block of vines precisely the right amount of water by collaborating with IBM to use weather reports and remote sensor data that detects soil moisture levels. The irrigation techniques adapt to changing weather conditions to make sure grapes only get water when they actually need it, cutting water usage by 25% while also maximising growth and raising wine quality.