Good morning. Here is the latest news, research and market analysis that sustainable technology partners need to know for Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
1. Microsoft Sustainability Partners: In a blog, Microsoft describes how partners such as Accenture, Avanade, Capgemini, EY, KPMG and PwC are "helping organizations everywhere plan, design, and implement strategies and robust solutions to enable transformation." Related: See Microsoft's complete sustainability strategy here.
2. Partnership - ESG Consulting: Kinetic Consulting and The Growth Activists have partnered in Australia to bring Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) best practices to the Gulf region.
3. Partner Program - ESG Software: Diligent, which develops a SaaS solution for governance and ESG, continues to expand its partner program with consulting, sustainability, IT and legal services firms. Example partners according to Diligent include Best in Governance,
Board Excellence, Brave Consultancy, Clarity AI, CYLK, PwC Canada, Software & Consulting Americas, TheMediaGroup and Vervantis, among others.
4. Partnership - Aviation and Transportation: JetBlue has partnered with Chooose --a SaaS-based climate technology company -- to help customers estimate the CO2 emissions of their flights. From there, customers can decide whether to contributed to a fund dedicated to covering the cost premium of SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) compared to conventional jet fuel. Still, the relationship begs the question: Who should pay for JetBlue's transition to sustainable energy -- the airline or its climate-conscious customers?
5. Partnership - Cloud Services and Methane Emissions: Keep an eye on mCloud Technologies' AssetCare Fugitive Emissions, a SaaS application built on Google Cloud. The application allows customers to track and mitigate methane emissions. mCloud and Google have had a strategic partnership since October 2022.
6. Partnership - Telecom Energy as a Service: Intertrust and EIPGRID have announced an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) system for telecommunications operators that want to "lower soaring energy bills, cut carbon emissions, and increase their sustainability footprint," the two companies said. Details surfaced at the Mobile World Congress 2023 conference in Barcelona, Spain.
7. Consulting - Government: The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) has selected CLEAResult, an energy efficiency and decarbonization solutions provider, as a partner to help prioritize the office's $25 million Clean Air Program (CAP) Grants.
8. IT Consulting - Oil and Gas: In a blog, global IT consulting firm Wipro described how oil and gas companies can improve sustainability and reduce costs when extracting crude oil from wells.
9. Funding: Divert Inc, a U.S. company that converts rotting food into energy, has received a $1 billion commitment from Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge to expand its facilities across North America, Reuters reported.
10. Funding - ESG Software: Novata has raised $30 million in Series B funding. Hamilton Lane led the round with participation from existing investors such as Ford Foundation, S&P Global and Novata’s founders. Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund also invested in the round.
11. Private Equity - Scrutiny: The pressure on private equity firms to decarbonize their portfolios only increased in 2022, according to this Bain & Company blog.
12. Greenwashing - European Union Policy: The European Union has reached a deal on the "world's first" set of comprehensive rules for issuing green bonds to meet the bloc's net zero goals and to avoid greenwashing, although compliance will be on a voluntary basis, Reuters reported.
13. Greenwashing - Airline Concerns: Britain’s advertising regulator has banned Lufthansa from using an ad that appears to suggest the German airline is protecting the planet and urged it not to mislead consumers about the impact of air travel on the climate, Bloomberg reported.
14. Research - Building Energy Management Market Forecast: The building energy management solution market will reach $44.2 billion by 2023, up from $8.8 billion in 2021, according to Allied Market Research. That's a 17.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Got news to share? Email the details to Sustainable Technology Partner Editorial Director Joe Panettieri.
