Here is today’s sustainable IT services and climate tech news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable IT, Talent, Partnerships and Green Tech Alliances
1. Executive Leadership - Smartphones: Sustainable smartphone maker Fairphone of Amsterdam has hired Chandler Elizabeth Hatton as chief technology officer (CTO). The move comes roughly three months after the company hired Raymond van Eck as CEO.
2. Executive Leadership - Smart Buildings: Johnson Controls has named Richard Lek as VP and president, Building Solutions Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America (EMEALA). Lek succeeds Marc Vandiepenbeeck, who remains executive VP and CFO of Johnson Controls.
3. Remanufactured Laptops and Clean Water: Circular Computing has partnered with an international charity to help deliver clean, safe water in countries low on the UN Development Index around the world, the firm said.
4. IT Asset Disposition (ITAD): Teqtivity is focusing its IT asset management (ITAM) services on sustainability opportunities. The effort includes automated asset monitoring, proactive maintennce scheduling to extend device lifecycles, and integration with certified IT asset disposition (ITAD) partners. The ITAD capabilities will increasingly help customers to monitor their asset disposition, minimize environmental impact, and make data-driven decisions about their IT infrastructure's end-of-life management, Teqtivity said. The IT service provider is based in Cerritos, California.
5. Electronics - Circular Economy: PayMore Stores -- a retail chain that allows customers to buy, sell and trade their electronic devices -- has opened its 50th location. The retail chain expects to span nearly 30 U.S. states b the end of 2024, Chain Store Age reported.
6. Google Partner: Blyncsy, a Bentley Systems company, has achieved the Google Cloud Ready - Sustainability designation in the Google Cloud Partner Advantage Program.  Blyncsy develops road maintenance and asset inventory technology. The software automates U.S. roadway inspections using crowdsourced dash camera imagery combined with AI analytics.
7. AI Chip Orders: Nvidia is shifting AI chip orders from Super Micro Computer to other suppliers amid Super Micro accounting question marks, Digitimes reported.
8. Research - Business Travel Benchmarking: Organizations need to take additional steps to materially reduce their business travel emissions, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Accenture.
9. Meta AI Data Center Plan - Nuclear Setback: Meta's plan to build an AI data center in the U.S. that runs on nuclear power were thwarted in part because a rare species of bee was discovered on land earmarked for the project, The Financial Times reported. Meta is parent to Facebook.
10. AI Lawsuit: The New York times asked a federal judge to order OpenAI to identify and admit all the newspapers' articles the tech company used to train its AI models, Bloomberg Law reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Climate Tech Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. M&A - Hospitality Services: Hotel sustainability specialist Greengage Solutions of Buckinghamshire, England, has acquired Responsible Futures to expand its 360 consulting division. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Responsible Futures helps businesses in corporate travel, meetings and hospitality navigate the complexities of sustainability, the buyer said.
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
1. COP29: Amnesty International called on richer countries to pay for climate change damages and citizen displacements in Africa.
2. United Kingdom - Energy Grid: Nearly 620 miles (1,000km) of new power lines need to be built to meet the UK's clean energy plans, BBC reported.
3. France - Climate Strategy: France confirmed climate targets and renewable energy initiatives even as political challenges grow, Bloomberg reported.
4. India - Solar Energy IPO: India's Apollo Green Energy, an engineering and construction firm, plans to set up a 500 megawatt (MW) solar module plant in the next two-three years and tap domestic public markets in 2025 to execute new projects, Reuters reported.
D. Sustainable IT and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Ecomondo 2024Â (November 5-8, Rimini, Italy)
- GreenTech Forum 2024Â (November 5-6, Paris, France)
- COP29 (November 11-24, Baku, Azerbaijan)
- GreenBuild 2024 International Conference and Expo (November 12-15, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council 2024Â (November 12-13, Milwaukee)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
