Isuzu Motors South Africa advances ESG reporting

Isuzu Motors South Africa has become the first organisation in the country to implement the IBM Envizi ESG Suite, a compliance-ready platform designed to manage corporate and supply chain sustainability data

Partnering with long-term technology collaborator Datacentrix, the company has enhanced its sustainability reporting capabilities and improved the speed and accuracy of decision-making.

“At Isuzu Motors South Africa, sustainability is more than a corporate objective, it is the foundation upon which we build our future,”commented Celestin Ndhlovu, executive vice-president for Corporate Services at Isuzu Motors South Africa. “Our approach recognises that true sustainability encompasses not only environmental stewardship and economic growth, but also critical social dimensions of respect for human rights, diversity, equity and inclusion.”

A wholly owned subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited, the company is the first manufacturing and distribution operation outside Japan in which Isuzu holds full ownership.

Tackling decentralised reporting

Isuzu Motors South Africa’s sustainability team faced challenges in preparing detailed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports for both the local board and its parent company in Japan. These reports include information on waste management, water and energy consumption, social programmes, and corporate governance practices.

Previously, this process was manual and time-consuming. “The data was decentralised, and the process was tedious, with extended turnaround times,” explained Loren Meyer, department executive: Information Technology at Isuzu Motors South Africa.

According to Trish Dicks, senior account manager, Digital Business Solutions at Datacentrix, an automated solution was essential.

“Isuzu Motors South Africa needed an automated, centralised solution that could ingest data from ERP and other systems, provide real-time dashboards and help reduce human error. IBM Envizi was selected as the best suited reporting framework available, with built-in templates to meet global requirements.”

Transitioning to intelligent sustainability insights

After evaluating multiple systems, Isuzu Motors South Africa selected Envizi for its flexibility and analytical capabilities. “We were particularly impressed by the customisable reporting for global and regional standards, the strong governance tools and seamless integrations with upstream systems such as SAP,” stated Meyer. “The added value of advanced analytics and machine learning, together with comprehensive coverage across carbon, fuel, water, waste, energy, safety and human capital statistics, made this the right choice for us.”

Recognised by research firm Verdantix as a global market leader in ESG performance management, IBM Envizi reinforced the company’s confidence in the platform. The project began in January 2025 and went live on 27 June 2025, with Isuzu Motors South Africa loading 14 years of historical sustainability data to establish a baseline for future analysis.

Improved accuracy and efficiency

Although still in its early stages, the benefits are already visible. “Through this tool, Isuzu Motors South Africa is using the data analytics functionality to identify trends, particularly within various operations to detect anomalies,” noted Meyer.

“Retrieval time and data integrity assessments are also integrated as a normal part of doing business. Over time, the centralised database will give us powerful analytics that help determine the sustainable growth of our business.”

By automating data management, the new system enables sustainability teams to focus less on manual data entry and more on analysing metrics to support faster, evidence-based decisions.

Future ambitions and trusted partnerships

Looking ahead, the company plans to expand its use of the platform by integrating telemetry systems for utilities and carbon emissions and exploring AI-driven predictive analytics for deeper insights. “While the intervention is still in its early days, we are confident that it will become part of our way of working and be fully utilised to deliver the outcomes we require,” remarked Meyer.

Isuzu Motors South Africa has been working with Datacentrix since 2015, having previously collaborated on an automated invoice management solution. “Datacentrix is an Isuzu Motors South Africa strategic partner known for its outstanding performance and reliability,” Meyer concluded. “Our partner consistently provides high-quality solutions, communicates proactively, and understands our business needs, thus contributing to our success.”