IBM Launches New Supply Chain Service

As much as 80 percent of supply chain greenhouse gas emissions occur outside of a company’s own operations, but companies can reduce overall emissions from shipped finished goods by 10 percent if they require suppliers to implement energy use and monitoring guidelines, according to IBM Global Services.

With more and more companies looking at how their supply chains function, IBM has launched its Sustainable Procurement Consulting Service, according to a press release.

The service will help companies define supply chain metrics and goals for cost, efficiency and sustainability. Ultimately, it will help companies measure suppliers’ compliance with goals relating to the environment, community, health and safety, ethics and financial accountability, diversity and labor practices.

Recently, IBM has been adding many services involving sustainability and water management.

In other news, IBM has added a “green” data center at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia.

The improvements are expected to save the university an average $21,200 annually in energy expenditures, according to a press release.

The data center will support 11 campuses and sites run by the university, which has 45,000 students.

IBM used a modular design to help the university minimize start-up energy demands from the site’s existing electrical supply. The new data center should save more than 300,000 kilowatts in electricity annually, and uses 45 percent less power than a conventional design.