IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator back for round two

Tech giant, IBM, recently announced the launch of this year’s edition of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, its global incubation program. The program employs proven IBM technologies like hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence to assist experts develop viable environmental solutions.

IBM wants to create an eco-system were both government and non-profit organizations can join heads to devise sustainable strategies to address critical issues like climate change, extreme weather and pollution. Focus will also be kept on vulnerable populations that bear the brunt of environmental threats.

The goal is to hand-pick five clean energy, non-profit and governmental organizations for the first group. According to Jen Ronyon, IBM Canada, CSR Leader, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator will provide support to the first group of selected organizations for a period of two years.

“We have really strong organizations in Canada working on conservation or climate or clean energy sustainability that I think could really help some of the vulnerable populations across Canada. So I would encourage those organizations to apply and would love to get some great proposals from them,” she stated.

As per the framework of the program, Ronyon mentioned that the support would have two distinct phases.

Phase I
The IBM Garage will take the lead in the first phase and will work with the beneficiaries to identify key pain points, challenges and needs. By applying IBM’s methodology of focusing on hybrid, multi-faceted solutions to ensure fast-track innovation, IBM experts engage with the organizations to develop clear roadmaps. This will enhance design, development and implementation of technology to solve specific challenges.

Phase II
The second phase will focus on meeting community and environmental goals of the participants through IBM resources and technology, including OBM Watson, IBM Cloud and the Environmental Intelligence Suite.

Additionally, beneficiaries will also be eligible to receive monthly IBM Cloud credits, weather data credits, mentorship, and access to the IBM partner ecosystem. This will be done to ensure optimal implementation, scale long-term impact and drive key societal outcomes.

IBM’s Sustainability Accelerator program has already proven its worth in the past. Just last year, three organizations were selected to participate in the inaugural pilot project. The focus was on sustainable agriculture and Phase I was successfully completed last December. The three organizations were – The Nature Conservancy India, Heifer International and Plan21 Foundation for Sustainable Human Development.

The proposals for this year’s program is due by April 30 and the first group will be announced in October, 2022.

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