What if the smartest technologies could also be the most human?

In this episode of the Sustainable Transformation Podcast, Kiarne Treacy sits down with Ravi Kumar Mandalika, Utilities Industry Leader for IBM, to explore how digital innovation is reshaping energy, resilience and the way businesses plan for the future.

With three decades of experience helping global energy and utilities organisations navigate sustainability, Ravi’s work sits at the intersection of AI, infrastructure and climate adaptation, from grid stability and cyber resilience to AI models that can predict floods and bushfires.

Ravi shares how IBM and NASA are building open AI models to forecast climate patterns, how utilities are turning to digital systems to stabilise supply and demand and how small businesses are using the same technology to solve simple problems in smarter, more sustainable ways.

He also reveals how empathy and automation can coexist, recounting the story of an AI system trained for customer service that unexpectedly learned to show compassion.

 

You’ll hear and learn:
 Why there’s no decarbonisation without digitisation
How AI is helping utilities manage renewable variability and climate risk
What happens when IBM and NASA join forces to predict natural disasters
How even small businesses can use open AI tools to improve efficiency and impact
Why the “utilities sector is the new sexy” — and what that means for innovation
How AI can teach us as much about empathy as it does about efficiency

 

This episode is a must-listen for business leaders, technologists and sustainability professionals who want to understand how digital transformation and decarbonisation are converging to reshape industries from the inside out.

 

MENTIONS:
IBM
NASA & IBM Open-Source AI Model

 

LINKS:

Learn more about SustainabilityTracker.com

Learn more about The Sustainable Transformation Podcast

Follow The Sustainable Choice Group on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok

Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind-the-scenes content – @novapodcastsofficial

 

CREDITS:

Host: Kiarne Treacy

Guest: Ravi Kumar Mandalika

Guest Company: IBM

Find more great podcasts like this at novapodcasts.com.au

Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we produced this podcast, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information

What if the smartest technologies could also be the most human?
In this episode of the Sustainable Transformation Podcast, Kiarne Treacy sits down with Ravi Kumar Mandalika, Utilities Industry Leader for IBM, to explore how digital innovation is reshaping energy, resilience and the way businesses plan for the future.
With three decades of experience helping global energy and utilities organisations navigate sustainability, Ravi&rsquo;s work sits at the intersection of AI, infrastructure and climate adaptation, from grid stability and cyber resilience to AI models that can predict floods and bushfires.
Ravi shares how IBM and NASA are building open AI models to forecast climate patterns, how utilities are turning to digital systems to stabilise supply and demand and how small businesses are using the same technology to solve simple problems in smarter, more sustainable ways.
He also reveals how empathy and automation can coexist, recounting the story of an AI system trained for customer service that unexpectedly learned to show compassion.
&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll hear and learn:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">&nbsp;Why there&rsquo;s no decarbonisation without digitisation</li>
<li aria-level="1">How AI is helping utilities manage renewable variability and climate risk</li>
<li aria-level="1">What happens when IBM and NASA join forces to predict natural disasters</li>
<li aria-level="1">How even small businesses can use open AI tools to improve efficiency and impact</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why the &ldquo;utilities sector is the new sexy&rdquo; &mdash; and what that means for innovation</li>
<li aria-level="1">How AI can teach us as much about empathy as it does about efficiency</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
This episode is a must-listen for business leaders, technologists and sustainability professionals who want to understand how digital transformation and decarbonisation are converging to reshape industries from the inside out.
&nbsp;
MENTIONS:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.ibm.com/au-en">IBM</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://newsroom.ibm.com/2025-08-20-ibm-and-nasa-release-groundbreaking-open-source-ai-model-on-hugging-face-to-predict-solar-weather-and-help-protect-critical-technology">NASA &amp; IBM Open-Source AI Model</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
LINKS:
Learn more about<a href="https://www.sustainabilitytracker.com/about/"> SustainabilityTracker.com</a>
Learn more about<a href="https://www.sustainabilitytracker.com/podcasts/"> The Sustainable Transformation Podcast</a>
Follow The Sustainable Choice Group on<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/sustainablechoice/"> LinkedIn</a>,<a href="https://www.instagram.com/sustainabilitytracker/"> Instagram</a>, and<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@sustainabilitytracker"> TikTok</a>
Follow Nova Podcasts on Instagram for videos from the podcast and behind-the-scenes content &ndash; @novapodcastsofficial
&nbsp;
CREDITS:
Host:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiarne-treacy/"> Kiarne Treacy</a>
Guest:<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravimandalika/"> Ravi Kumar Mandalika</a>
Guest Company: <a href="https://www.ibm.com/au-en">IBM</a>
Find more great podcasts like this at novapodcasts.com.au
Nova Entertainment acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we produced this podcast, the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation.
See<a href="https://omnystudio.com/policies/listener"> omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information

In the Sustainable Transformation Podcast, we bring you honest conversations about the challenges and triumphs of sustainability transformations in business. Join us fortnightly as we unpack the ideas that drive change, decode the jargon and meet the visionary leaders reshaping their organisations for the better. 

In the Sustainable Transformation Podcast, we bring you honest conversations about the challenges and triumphs of sustainability transformations in business. Join us fortnightly as we unpack the ideas that drive change, decode the jargon and meet the visionary leaders reshaping their organisations for the better.

In the Sustainable Transformation Podcast, we bring you honest conversations about the challenges and triumphs of sustainability transformations in business.

Sustainable Transformation

AI, Climate Risk and the Future of Energy | IBM’s Ravi Kumar Mandalika

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/f11a74b1-9050-4057-8cc8-b39f0092fea1/transcript

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