Isuzu Motors South Africa has become the first organisation in the country to go live with IBM Envizi ESG Suite, a compliance-ready solution for corporate and supply chain sustainability data. Working closely with long-term technology partner Datacentrix, the company has strengthened its sustainability reporting and accelerated decision making.

“At Isuzu Motors South Africa, sustainability is more than a corporate objective, it is the foundation upon which we build our future,” says 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.”

Isuzu Motors South Africa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited and the first manufacturing and distribution organisation outside Japan where Isuzu has 100 percent ownership.

The challenge: manual, decentralised reporting

Isuzu Motors South Africa’s sustainability team faced the complex task of producing detailed environmental, social and governance (ESG) reports for both the local board and its parent company in Japan. These reports cover everything from waste management, water usage and electricity consumption to social initiatives like empowerment, safety and training, as well as corporate governance standards.

Until now, the process was highly manual. “The data was decentralised, and the process was tedious, with extended turnaround times,” explains Loren Meyer, Isuzu Motors South Africa’s Department Executive: Information Technology. 

According to Trish Dicks, Senior Account Manager: Digital Business Solutions at Datacentrix, this manual approach was no longer viable. “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.”

From manual effort to intelligent insights

Isuzu Motors South Africa evaluated several systems before selecting Envizi. “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,” says 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.”

IBM Envizi has also been recognised globally as a market leader in ESG performance management by independent research firm Verdantix, further reinforcing Isuzu Motors South Africa’s confidence in the platform.

The project kicked off in January 2025, going live on the 27th of June. Alongside current social and environmental data inputs, Isuzu Motors South Africa has loaded 14 years of historical information into the system to establish a baseline for future analysis.

Accuracy, speed and actionable insight gains

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

Crucially, the solution should free up Isuzu Motors South Africa’s sustainability professionals from the laborious manual data capturing. Instead, they will focus on analysing metrics and making faster, more informed decisions to drive sustainability initiatives.

Looking ahead

Isuzu Motors South Africa plans to further expand the platform’s use by integrating telemetry systems for utilities and carbon emissions, while also exploring AI-driven analysis for predictive 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,” Meyer comments.

A trusted partnership

Isuzu Motors South Africa has been a Datacentrix client since 2015, with previous projects including the implementation of an automated invoice management solution. “Datacentrix is an Isuzu Motors South Africa strategic partner known for its outstanding performance and reliability,” he concludes. “Our partner consistently provides high-quality solutions, communicates proactively, and understands our business needs, thus contributing to our success.”