Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, renewable energy and green IT companies, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Alliances
1. Chief Sustainability Officers: Our database of chief sustainability officers now spans 352 CSOs. The latest additions include:
2. Executive Leadership - ESG Reporting and Consulting: KPMG UK has hired PwC veteran Hilary Eastman as a partner in Accountancy Advisory Services to lead the support it provides clients as they look to comply with new ESG reporting requirements, KPMG said.
3. Partnership - Financial Services: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Doconomy are partnering to assist financial institutions in the development of their sustainability agendas, the two companies said.
4. Partnership - Water-Cooled Data Centers: Aquatech Systems Asia Pvt of India and DataVolt of Saudi rabia are partnering to design, construct, and operate sustainable data centers. Specific projects and timelines were not disclosed.
5. Partnership - Consulting and ESG Reporting Software: ERM and Greenomy have partnered to offer customers sustainability consulting and ESG reporting software.
6. Home Energy Management Platform: Schneider Electric is now taking orders for Schneider Home, an integrated home energy management solution that automates energy production, storage, measurement, and control – all from a single app. Details surfaced at the RE+ 2023, a renewable energy conference in Las Vegas.
7. Financial Services: MSCI Inc., a provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, has launched the MSCI Sustainability Institute. The institute will strive to "drive progress on the role of capital markets in creating sustainable value and tackling global challenges such as climate change," MSCI.
8. Data Center Sustainability Standards: Open19, founded in 2016, has rebranded as the Sustainable and Scalable Infrastructure Alliance (SSIA). The group strives to help organizations to "adopt and deploy advanced and highly efficient rack-level datacenter technologies to increase sustainability, power next-generation workloads and reduce cost and waste, regardless of deployment size or location."
9. Carbon Emissions Management Software: GE Vernova’s Digital business has launched a pilot program for CERius, a carbon emissions management software platform "designed to help energy companies progress toward their net-zero goals using data precision and abatement planning capabilities." CERius general availability is expected in early 2024.
10. COP28 - IBM Pitches Watsonx: IBM will sponsor the COP28 conference. The effort will include emphasizing Watsonx to help organizations build AI (artificial intelligence) applications that drive sustainability and efficiency.
11. BP - CEO and Energy Transition: Interim BP CEO Murray Auchincloss is expected to stick to the company's plans to shift away from oil and gas following CEO Bernard Looney's abrupt resignation, according to Reuters.
12. Research - ESG and Business Performance: A nine-year Kroll study says companies with higher sustainability ratings “generally outperformed” those with lower marks, Bloomberg reported.
13. Airlines Face Criticism: A growing number of lawsuits, consumer complaints, and rulings from advertising regulators are seeking to restrict airline sustainability claims, Reuters reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments and Funding
1. Funding and Spin-Out - Sustainability Management Software: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is spinning out CO2 AI as a standalone sustainability management software company based in Paris, France. CO2 AI, formed by BCG in 2020, also raised $12 million in funding from Unusual Ventures, Partech and BCG. Charlotte Degot remains CEO of CO2 AI.
2. Funding - ESG and Carbon Management Software: Optera raised $12 million in Series A funding. Next Frontier Capital led the round, with participation from Blackhorn Ventures, Mucker Capital, Overture, Engage, Massive, SaaS Ventures, Valo Ventures, AngelList, and Stout Street Capital. Valuation details were not disclosed.
3. Funding - Sustainability Management Platform: Pulsora (formerly known as pulsESG) has raised $20 million in Series A funding. Pulsora's software allows customers to measure, report and improve their sustainability and ESG initiatives, the company asserts. Galvanize Climate Solutions led the round, with participation from Carica Sustainable Investments, Sabancı Climate Ventures, Aramco Ventures, and JetBlue Ventures, along with existing investors FINTOP Capital, Builders VC, and SOMPO Holdings. Galvanize’s Saloni Multani will join Pulsora’s Board of Directors. Valuation details were not disclosed.
4. Funding - Battery Materials and IoT Sensors: Lyten has raised $200 million in Series B funding to scale manufacturing and commercialize its first three product lines: Lithium-Sulfur batteries, lightweighted composites, and next-generation IoT sensors. Prime Movers Lab led the round. Stellantis, FedEx Corporation, Honeywell and Walbridge Aldinger Company (among others) participated in the round. Lyten has now raised more than $410 million since the company's 2015 launch. Valuation details were not disclosed.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - Carbon Reduction: The U.S. economy is on track to spew between 35% and 43% less carbon dioxide by 2030 from 2005 levels as a consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report said, according to Reuters.
2. United States - California Legislation: California legislation involving carbon emissions reporting could impact technology partners of all sizes. At first glance, the only applies to companies with over $1 billion in revenue. But take a closer look, and the law extends to all companies that do business with those $1 billion+ organizations. We'll share more thoughts soon.
3. European Union - Wind Power Assistance: The European Commission announced plans to help the region’s struggling wind sector, which is dealing with issues including a lack of access to financing and increased international competition, Bloomberg reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- ISPA Sustainability Conference 2023 (September 13-14, Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Net Zero Conference 2023 (September 13-14, Los Angeles, California)
- Leadership and Innovation Summit 2023 - Business and Climate Change (September 15, Washington, D.C.)
- Concordia 2023 Annual Summit (September 18-20, New York, New York)
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2023: Sustainability Stage (September 19-21, San Francisco, California)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
1. Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
2. Future Updates: Send us your news tips. Please email me the details.
