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. Solar Town vs. Hurricane: Tropical Storm Helene is expected to become a hurricane before it hits the Florida Gulf Coast within the next 24 hours or so. We'll be watching to see how Babcock Ranch -- positioned as America's first solar town -- holds up during and after the storm. The community, located just north of Fort Myers, was designed as "Florida's first storm-proof town" -- capable of withstanding hurricane force winds and rain, Wikipedia notes.
2. Research - Net Zero Challenges: Roughly 95% of companies appear to be falling short of their net-zero carbon goals, an NTT Corp. survey found. Companies behind schedule cite several causes, including rising data usage, the growing resource demand of artificial intelligence, balancing net-zero goals with business goals, and overlooking shocks like geopolitical disruptions, NTT said. Global research firm ThoughtLab Group assisted NTT with the study. NTT is a global IT services provider.
3. Responsible AI Framework: At Climate Week NYC, SustainableIT.org has launched "Responsible AI: Principles and Practices for Success and Sustainability at Scale." The framework helps readers to plan responsible AI implementations across organizations. The framework includes nine principles that encompass risk, sustainability, inclusiveness, ethics, trust, data, training, and innovation, SustainableIT.org said.
4. HP - Refurbished Hardware: HP is expanding its HP Certified Refurbished hardware portfolio to include LaserJet Multi-Function Printers, available for Managed Print Solutions customers in the United States, the company said. Each HP Certified Refurbished device undergoes "rigorous refurbishment and inspection processes, utilizes approved HP parts, and comes backed by HP Support for added peace of mind." The HP Certified Refurbished hardware portfolio already includes HP EliteBook 800 G6 and G7 series notebooks in the United States and France.
5. HP - Recycled Hardware: HP also is expanding HOPE Recycling Futures, a program that provides recycled PCs to schools serving vulnerable and marginalized youth. More than 16,000 children in 22 countries have benefited from the program through 72 donation projects to date, HP said. The latest move extends the program to Mexico.
6. Software - Decarbonizing Buildings, Part One: Siemens Financial Services has launched the Decarbonization Business Optimizer (DBO), a free cloud-based tool "created to help address the overwhelming complexity of decarbonizing buildings and the financing needed to get to net-zero emissions." The tool runs on AWS and leverages public data made available through the Amazon Sustainability Data Initiative (ASDI).
7. Software - Decarbonizing Buildings, Part Two: Schneider Electric has launched a Building Decarbonization Calculator. The tool "empowers building owners and operators to quickly test and explore a range of Energy and Carbon Conservation Measures (ECCMs), easily identifying their best options based on simulated data," the company said. Schneider Electric partnered with JLL and C.scale to build the tool.
8. Software - SMB Carbon Estimator Tool: Ecovadis says 3,500 customers now use Carbon Estimator, a tool that helps companies—particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs)— to "estimate their GHG emissions and take meaningful first steps in their decarbonization journey," the company said.
9. Beta Test: Michael R. Bloomberg and Mary L. Schapiro, chair of the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC), have launched a beta version of a new Digital Platform (www.capacity-building.org). The Digital Platform is "designed to significantly increase the availability and effectiveness of climate finance capacity-building resources and programs for financial institutions, finance professionals, and others to support the climate transition around the world – particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs)," the launch announcement said.
10. Multiple CSOs Honored: The Futur/io CSO Awards this week honored "the most important Chief Sustainability Officers of the United States and Canada." The honorees included:
- Gold: Michael Kobori, Starbucks
- Silver: Suzanne Dibianca, Salesforce
- Bronze: Sophie Beckham, International Paper
- Special Honors Awards: Emma Stewart of Netflix, Melanie Nakagawa of Microsoft, and Ann Tracy of Colgate-Palmolive.
- Sustainable Supply Chain Award: Cassandra Garber of Dell Technologies
- Peer Award: Victoria Emerick of Bristol Myers Squibb
11. Greenwashing Allegations: Italy's antitrust agency is investigating Dublin-based Infinite Styles Services CO. Limited, which manages the Italian website of Shein, over possible misleading environmental claims on the website, Reuters reported.
12. Greenwashing Fine: Australia's federal court has fined Vanguard US$8.89 million for making misleading claims about its ethical and green investment options, Reuters reported.
13. Low-Carbon Steel: Keep an eye on the Sustainable Steel Buyers Platform (SSBP), a group of corporations "working to advance the purchase of inaugural volumes of near-zero emissions steel in North America." The latest members are Amazon and Johnson Controls. Existing members include Dvele, Invenergy, Microsoft, Nextracker, and Trammell Crow Company.Â
14. Partnership: Karbon-X Corp. and Drax Group PLC are partnering to broker transactions in carbon offsets. The collaboration "aims to drive innovation in carbon removal and green energy generation," the companies said.
B. Sustainability M&A, Climate Tech Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. M&A - Solar Technology: A United States Bankruptcy Court has approved Complete Solar's acquisition of certain SunPower assets. The $45 million purchase includes SunPower's Blue Raven, New Homes and Dealer businesses. The sale is expected to close on September 30, 2024. Complete Solar will gain the SunPower brand, and roughly SunPower 1,000 employees.
2. 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
No updates to share today. Check back tomorrow for updates.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Climate Week New York City 2024Â (September 22-27, New York, New York)
- CSE Sustainability and ESG Leadership Summit 2024Â (September 30, New York, New York)
- E-Scrap Conference 2024 (September 30-October 2, Orlando, Florida)
- Sustainability Expo Europe 2024 (October 1-2, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Industrial Decarbonization North America 2024 (October 1-2, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
