Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, renewable energy and green IT services companies, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. New Chief Sustainability Officer: Technology distributor Westcon-Comstor has named Senior VP of Global Operations Kevin Brezinski to the additional role of chief sustainability officer.
2. Talent: BRE has hired Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) veteran Stephanie Greene as managing director and sustainability solutions leader for Americas Consulting.
3. IT Management: Nexthink continues to enhance its Sustainable IT Solution, which is aimed at "providing vital insights to help customers embed sustainability into the core of their IT strategy." Nexthink is known for developing employee experience management software.
4. Microsoft - Carbon Cost Software: Microsoft Sustainability Manager has a new feature called Carbon fee. The feature, available in preview now, allows organizations to set an internal price (or a “tax”) on their own carbon emissions and encourage substantive reductions, according to Shefy Manayil Kareem, general manage of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.
5. Microsoft Surface - Right to Repair: Replacement components for Microsoft Surface devices will now be available directly from iFixit, according to Microsoft. "This builds upon our collaboration with iFixit to make our products more repairable and will complement our growing network of Authorized Service Providers," the technology giant said.
6. Computing and Sustainability: Responsible Computing (RC), a consortium comprised of technology innovators working together to address sustainable development goals, published a new whitepaper: Aligning Responsible Computing Domains with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
7. Data Centers: Tata Consultancy Services offers this guidance on designing green data centers.
8. Apple Chips: Apple's new chips -- known as the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max -- help the new MacBook Pro and iMac meet "Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and helps the new MacBook Pro achieve the longest battery life ever in a Mac — up to 22 hours," the company said. This results in less time needing to be plugged in and less energy consumed over its lifetime. Moreover, the company is striving to make every chip in every Mac carbon-neutral by 2030.
9. Partnership - Energy Transition: McDermott has partnered with AVEVA and Aras to "develop its asset lifecycle management capability across the energy transition, oil and gas, and nuclear sectors," the three companies said.
10. Partnership - Retail Sustainability: Bergmeyer has partnered with Sustainability Management & Strategy Collaborative (SMSC) to launch Bergmeyer+ -- a business practice that will "empower retailers to make a positive difference in the world through sustainable practices."
11. Training - Clean Energy Mediators: MIT is offering a course that trains students to be mediators in conflicts over clean energy projects, the Seattle Times reported. Supervised by a professional mediator, students work directly with developers, local officials and community members, the report said. Students get academic credit and hands-on experience addressing real-world dilemmas, while the community and developer get free help resolving conflict, the newspaper added.
12. Training - Electric Vehicle (EV) Manufacturing: Rivian has launched an apprenticeship program to "support the development of trained staff" at its future manufacturing plant in Stanton Springs North, Georgia, the EV company said.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Clean Energy Stocks Fall Sharply: Clean energy stocks have fallen about 30% in recent months amid volatile infrastructure costs and high interest rates, Bloomberg reported.
2. Funding: ESG Flo has raised $5.25 million in seed capital. The funding round was co-led by Rho Ignition and Tola Capital with participation from Bain & Company and Contour Venture Partners. ESG Flo's pre- and post-money valuation was not disclosed. The company's software allows customers to more easily track ESG data.
3. M&A - Supply Chain Sustainability and Managed Services: Accenture is acquiring OnProcess Technology, a provider of supply chain managed services that improve sustainability. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
4. M&A - ESG Software: AMCS, backed by private equity firm Insight Partners, has acquired FigBytes -- which develops software that helps customers track and report on their ESG targets in areas including carbon accounting, climate action, water impacts, and supply chain activities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Consulting: Anthesis, a global pure-play sustainability advisory and solutions firm, has acquired Progressive, a growth and innovation consultancy. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Anthesis has acquired five businesses so far in 2023. The other acquisitions involve:
- Colombian sustainability and digital consultancy, ConTREEbute
- Australian sustainability advisory firm, Ndevr Environmental
- global ESG advisory firm, Wallbrook; and
- creative change agency, Charlescannon.
Anthesis has completed 21 acquisitions since 2013, growing to over 1,250 specialists across 44 offices in 23 countries.
6. M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving sustainability, green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - COP28: U.S. President Joe Biden is unlikely to attend the COP28 climate conference, according to two U.S. officials and another person briefed on the event's planning, Reuters reported.
2. United States - SEC Climate Rules Delayed?: The SEC should hurry up and require greenhouse gas emissions reporting and other climate disclosures from public companies, a senior House Democrat said on October 30, Bloomberg reported. The SEC was expected to announce climate disclosure rules in October 2023, but it looks like the announcement may slip to later in the year.
3. United States - New York Building Energy Management: New York launched a $12 million Heat Recovery Program to modernize buildings in the state, "focusing on decarbonization and retrofit projects that reuse heat to save energy and reduce fossil fuel use in buildings across the State."
4. United States - Power Grid: US officials plan to invest $1.3 billion in three proposed power transmission lines as extreme weather and the switch to renewable energy strain an electricity grid that will need to double in size to meet President Joe Biden’s green goals, Bloomberg reported.
5. United States - Wind Energy Challenges: Here's why the United States wind industry is under pressure, according to Reuters.
6. Greece - Offshore Wind Farms: The country moved toward building its first offshore wind farms, identifying areas for private development in a draft plan that the conservative government hopes will lessen the Country's dependence on fossil fuels, Reuters reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- ACESD 2023: Asia Conference on Environmental and Sustainable Development (November 3-5, Sapporo, Japan)
- Cisco Partner Summit 2023 (November 6-9, Miami, Florida)
- Sustainable Detroit Forum 2023 (November 6, Detroit, Michigan)
- Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 (November 7-9, Barcelona, Spain)
- Oka' Sustainability Conference 2023 (November 8-9, Oklahoma)
- 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.
