Here is today’s sustainable IT services news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Cloud Services and Agriculture: Microsoft is touting Azure Data Manager for Agriculture as a tool that helps farmers adopt smarter, more sustainable farming practices.
2. Partnership - Microsoft and Solar Power: Pivot Energy will develop up to 500 megawatts (MWac) of community-scale solar energy projects across the United States between 2025 and 2029. The effort involves a renewable energy credit (REC) project with Microsoft.
3. Data Center: Start Campus expects the SINES DC data center in Lisbon, Portugal, to become the largest colocation data center site in Europe. The first building on the campus will be operational by Q4 of 2024, the company said. The campus, focused on sustainable IT services, will be developed incrementally until 2030.
4. Scope 3 Emissions: 3Degrees has launched a Supply Chain Emission Reduction Agreement product to help organizations achieve their scope 3 goals, the company said. The solution, which apparently involves productized consulting services, initially targets the food and apparel industry involving North American agricultural supply chains.
5. EV Charging - Universal Connector: ChargePoint has unveiled Omni Port, an EV connector that "ensures any EV can charge in any parking space, regardless of its connector type, and without an expensive additional cable," the company said. The new connector surfaced after ChargePoint suffered layoffs in the first half of 2024.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Accelerator: The latest Sustainability Accelerator at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability will target five markets: (1) climate adaptation, (2) food and agriculture, (3) water, (4) electricity and grid systems, and (5) industry. Related: 50+ sustainability accelerators to help climate tech startups.
2. M&A Rumor: Johnson Controls has acquired Password Services, a specialist HVAC services and solutions provider, according to UK news media. We have not independently confirmed the M&A deal. We've reached out to both companies for comment. The deal, if true, surfaces at a curious time. Johnson Controls has been selling off consumer-oriented HVAC businesses and is seeking a new CEO. The company's core focus increasingly involves commercial smart buildings and sustainable data centers.
3. M&A - Solar Farms: JERA Nex has acquired two US solar projects totaling 395MW AC from Lightsource bp. The solar farms are located in Louisiana and Arkansas. Financial terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.
4. M&A - Nuclear Energy Consulting: Private equity firm Pelican Energy Partners has acquired GSE Solutions, a provider of nuclear engineering solutions that "support the future of clean-energy production and decarbonization initiatives of the power industry."
5. Complete M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - Clean Energy Policy: A group of US House Republicans warned House Speaker Mike Johnson not to repeal the clean-energy tax credits in President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, Bloomberg reported, warning such a move could upend private investment in the sector and snarl ongoing projects.
2. United States - Built Environment: The Biden-Harris administration announced a label program to help federal purchasers and other buyers "find and buy cleaner, more climate-friendly construction materials and products," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. The label program will prioritize steel, glass, asphalt and concrete. We don't know how quickly the program will roll out.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- XeroCon Nashville 2024 (August 14-15, Nashville, Tennessee)
- World ESG Summit Dubai (August 20-21, Dubai, UAE)
- Tennessee Sustainability Conference 2024 (Gatlinburg, Tennessee, August 20-23)
- VMware Explore 2024 (August 26-29, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
- Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
- Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
