You are here: Home » Green ICT » Applications » IBM offers consultancy based on ‘green’ Sigma

IBM offers consultancy based on ‘green’ Sigma

Tony Chan | August 26, 2008 | 0 Comments

Big Green has taken the principles behind the Sigma Six concept for operational efficiency and applied it to help corporations implement their environmental strategy.

“There’s a fundamental truth to understanding and improving any aspect of a company’s performance – if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” said Dave Lubowe, global leader of IBM’s operations strategy consulting practice. “This applies as much to a company’s energy and water consumption as it does to anything else, and our new offering can help clients apply this principle to make their businesses greener.”

IBM’s trademarked Green Sigma consulting offering takes a cue from the Lean Six Sigma, a business strategy for analyzing and improving business operations.

The new offering aims to help corporations applies the same principles to their energy and water management strategies, including optimisation of transportation systems, datacenters and IT systems, manufacturing and distribution centers, office facilities, retail space, research and development sites, etc, IBM said.

IBM’s own conservation efforts have saved 4.6 billion kWh of electricity and $310 million in costs, and avoided over three million metric tons of CO2 emissions since 1990, the company said. In addition, the company says its work-at-home program for employees saves roughly eight million gallons of gasoline annually.

FIVE PHASE APPROACH: Green Sigma will help corporations manage and reduce carbon emissions and water wastage, reduce energy consumption and associated costs, leverage advanced analytical techniques to measure the corporate carbon and water footprint, as well as increase profit through activities such as carbon trading.

Under the Green Sigma program, corporations are guided through a five phase implementation program, including the establishment of KPIs, indentifying areas for measurement and a facilities management plan, the use of IBM’s carbon and water management dashboard, the application of Green Sigma statistical tools for analysis and process improvement, and the creation of ongoing process optimisation strategies.