IBM's push into emerging green markets took a major step forward last week as the IT giant announced plans for new global water management facility in Amsterdam dedicated to tackling rising sea levels and increased flood risks.
The new Global Centre of Excellence for Water Management is part of the company's Big Green Innovations push, which has seen the firm invest heavily in a raft of environmental technologies and services, including smart grid systems, solar panel technologies and water management software and sensors.
The company said the new centre, which will work closely with local engineers specialising in flood defences, will initially focus on providing the Dutch government with improved flood forecasting and prediction modelling capabilities based on smart levee sensors and simulation software. It will also work on new products and services for limiting flood risks that can then be offered worldwide.
Sharon Nunes, vice president for IBM Big Green Innovations initiative, said that the increased risk of sea flooding associated with climate change meant demand for water management systems is set to increase. "With more than 60 percent of the world's population living in coastal and low lying delta areas, the need for improved water management systems is an increasing priority," she said.
A recent report from the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development endorsed Nunes' claims, predicting that up to 150m people and $35 trillion of property and infrastructure assets in coastal cities will be at risk of serious flooding by 2070 as a result of climate change, urban sprawl and poor flood management.
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