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IHI's New Step Towards Sustainability with Sherpa's Solutions

IHI Corporation, known for its commitment to leveraging technology for societal advancement, recently announced a partnership with Sherpa & Company to introduce two innovative solutions designed to improve sustainability reporting: "SmartESG" and "Answer Ease." Beginning March 1, 2026, these cloud-based services aim to revolutionize how IHI manages and reports its sustainability data.

With a corporate philosophy centered around enhancing social development through technology and valuing human resources, IHI tackles challenges related to infrastructure and industry. The introduction of "SmartESG" will allow IHI to centralize its sustainability information in a cloud-based system, optimizing the data collection process across the organization. The capabilities of this system include a Database function for streamlined data management and a Workflow feature, which will facilitate the structured process of identifying key sustainability issues the company needs to prioritize.

Moreover, IHI aims to utilize Sherpa's Answer Ease feature to respond more efficiently to assessments carried out by S&P Global's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). As S&P Global’s certified partner, Sherpa has successfully integrated the SmartESG platform with the CSA portal and API, enabling seamless generation of responses from the reporting stage to submission.

This strategic move marks a significant enhancement for IHI, as the company continues to work towards elevating its sustainability management practices. The adoption of SmartESG will not only improve the quality of information disclosure but will also foster stronger engagement with stakeholders while accelerating the formulation and execution of sustainable management strategies.

Understanding the Solutions

What is SmartESG?

The SmartESG platform serves as a centralized data management system, consolidating sustainability and ESG information scattered across the organization. It supports strategic sustainability management by improving the quality of disclosures and enhancing stakeholder interactions. Since its launch in November 2022, over 70 corporations, including firms with market capitalizations exceeding ¥500 billion, have opted for this data platform, accounting for around 15% of the listed corporations. Collectively, these companies represent more than ¥200 trillion in market value as of August 2025.

For more details, visit: SmartESG

What is Answer Ease?

Answer Ease is an automated solution designed to assist businesses in responding to sustainability-related questionnaires using existing corporate data. By incorporating AI into response generation, this tool significantly reduces the time and resources required for sustainability and ESG questionnaires, streamlining the workload of corporate teams. Additionally, it presents reference sources alongside each suggested response, ensuring accuracy and reliability while addressing any potential hallucination issues.

For more information, check: Answer Ease

Company Overview

Company Name: Sherpa & Company Inc.
CEO: Jun Sugimoto
Location: 1F, Terrace Site Gotanda, 3-6-32 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Founded: September 2019
Capital: ¥100 million
Business: Development and provision of the sustainability reporting cloud "SmartESG," operation of the ESG-focused media "ESG Journal Japan," and consulting services by sustainability experts through "ESG Advisory."

Corporate Site: Sherpa

Recruitment Site: Careers