NEW HAVEN, CT — IBM and consulting firm Esty Environmental Partners (EEP) launched the Sustainability Innovators Working Group this week to push the envelope on developing new management systems and approaches to corporate sustainability.

The partners pulled together an all-star collection of member companies, including Boeing, CH2M Hill, Coca-Cola, Delhaize Group, Disney, Diversey, Dow Chemical Company, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Shaklee, Unilever, and Xerox. 

The group will work to define new management systems and tools that will be road-tested by member companies, each of which brings their own strengths to the collaboration aiming to address a range of obstacles facing the business community today.

“Organizations are facing unprecedented challenges related to energy and the environment -- from restrictions on natural resources, cost containment, and increasing societal expectations to the development of new business models that involve a fundamental rethinking of the way our world works," Wayne Balta, vice IBM's president of environmental affairs and product safety, said in a statement Tuesday. “In our view, these challenges have systemic implications that extend beyond any single company, industry sector, or government entity."

Big Blue has heavily invested in its sustainability offerings in recent years, including consulting and analytics to help organizations minimize their environmental impacts in areas such as greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. EEP's chairman, Dan Esty, is a well-known thought leader in the green business space and also serves as Hillhouse Professor at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including "Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage."

He co-wrote the recent Harvard Business Review article, "The Sustainability Imperative," a piece exploring the importance of strategy in corporate sustainability that will serve as a "starting point" for the the Sustainability Innovators Working Group's efforts.

"Finding the right strategic response to the sustainability imperative is a core competitive challenge for companies," Esty said in a statement Tuesday. "Companies that meet this challenge will find new ways to reduce risks and costs, achieve growth through innovation, and enhance the value of their brand. Through our partnership with IBM and our work with these leading companies, we plan to bring sustainability strategy and execution to a new level."

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