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. Honorees: SustainableIT.org, a CIO-led nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing global sustainability through technology leadership, announced the honorees of the 2024 SustainableIT Impact Awards. The awards recognize "outstanding contributions to technology-driven sustainability across Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) categories," the organization said. Honorees from the technology and IT services sectors included Cisco Systems, Cognizant, NTT Data Group and Rackspace, among others.
2. Partnership: Multiple organizations have partnered to "accelerate how companies can most effectively integrate sustainability across their corporate finance, technology, and sustainability functions to drive long-term value." The participating partners include Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), SustainableIT.org, the ERM Sustainability Institute, Salesforce, and GlobeScan.
3. Data Center: Soluna, a developer of green data centers for intensive computing applications, has broken ground on its Project Dorothy 2 location in Texas. The data center is expected to host bitcoin- and generative AI-type applications.
4. Net Zero Buildings: The SBTi has released SBTi Buildings Criteria 1.0, which is designed to help building sector companies that want to validate their near- and long-term carbon reduction goals.
5. xAI Concerns: Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI, is facing criticism from environmental and health advocates for allegedly contributing to pollution in Memphis, Tennessee, by using natural gas-burning turbines at its data center without obtaining necessary permits, Reuters reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Solar Energy Bankruptcy and Asset Sale: A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved SunPower's plan to sell certain assets to rival Complete Solaria, Bloomberg reported. SunPower filed for bankruptcy in early August 2024. The bankruptcy surfaced roughly one month after SunPower revealed an SEC investigation, and disclosed that Ernst & Young had resigned as the company's independent accountant.
2. Solar Energy Financial Challenges: Longi Green Energy Technology Co. reported a net loss of 5.24 billion yuan ($739 million) in the first six months of 2023 as the sector struggles with overcapacity that brought prices to record low levels, Bloomberg reported.
3. M&A - IT Consulting and SAP Data Quality: Capgemini has acquired Syniti, an SAP partner that specializes in enterprise data management software, services and SAP customer migrations to cloud services. Syniti also specializes in sustainable data. Syniti, founded in 1996, has roughly 1,200 employees. Private equity firm Bridge Growth Partners has owned Syniti (formerly known as BackOffice Associates) since 2017.
4. M&A - Energy Transition Consulting: Qualus is acquiring Planet Forward Energy Solutions (PFES), a consulting firm focused on the power industry and utilities. PFES specializes in such areas as grid resiliency, clean energy, energy efficiency and increased generation investment related to renewables, decarbonization, electrification, and data center expansion. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Supply Chain Risk Management Software: Apax Partners is acquiring Veriforce, a provider of supply chain risk management solutions, from private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Veriforce's software also has some supply chain sustainability capabilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. 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 - Texas ESG Policy Lawsuit: The American Sustainable Business Council sued Texas officials in an effort to block a law that restricts state investments with certain financial firms because of their energy policies, Bloomberg reported.
2. Taiwan - Association: Cedars Digital has joined the The Taiwan Net Zero Emission Association (TNZEA) -- which promotes public-private partnerships and achieve the net-zero emission target by 2050. Cedars Digital provides integrated AI carbon emission calculation systems and carbon asset management services across various industries, including manufacturing, finance, transportation, and services, the company said. The Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy (TAISE) and 33 publicly listed companies formed the association.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Amsterdam Immersive Impact Trip and Masterclass 2024Â (September 5-6)
- LG Energy Summit 2024Â (September 5-6, Brussels, Belgium)
- Workiva Amplify 2024Â (September 9-11, Denver, Colorado)
- RE+ 2024Â (September 9-12, Anaheim, California)
- Diligent Elevate 2024Â (September 9-11, Houston, Texas)
- 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.
