IBM Helps Rio de Janeiro To Become More Sustainable

SmarterCities Rio, a forum hosted by's IBM's CEO Samuel J. Palmisano earlier this week, examined ways on how governments and business leaders can tackle serious urban issues and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

Rio is a classic example of how unsustainable growth has led to serious environmental problems, such as landslides and floods during the rainy season.

About a year ago IBM opened its operations center in Rio and now the company is collaborating with the city to improve its emergency response system and give citizens access to information that will help them better manage their daily lives.

The collaboration includes an automated alert system that will notify city officials and emergency personnel when changes occur in the flood and landslide forecast for the city of Rio de Janeiro. The system is designed to reduce reaction times during emergency situations with automated email notifications and instant messaging, so that emergency personnel and citizens can be reached as fast as possible. With the old system, notifications were manually relayed. Details of the expanded capabilities were revealed yesterday (November 10) during the forum.

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Corporate Social Responsibility writer for Justmeans. A media graduate with a specialization in film and TV, Antonio Pasolini is the editor of Energyrefuge.com, a top web destination for alternative energy products, news and commentary. With more than a decade's experience in journalism, Antonio has written on a wide range of topics, from technological breakthroughs by the brains at MIT to a trip to sustainable projects in the Amazon. One of his new projects involves an eco print magazine to be distributed from a selection of London shops.