Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners; renewable energy and green IT service providers; management consultants; CIOs; chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Partnership - IT Services and ESG Software: Deloitte has expanded its alliances with Informatica and Workiva to "support clients as they build their environmental, social and governance (ESG) Â implementation and data management capabilities." The resulting reporting solution can "help clients accelerate ESG deployments and reporting with accurate, verifiable data to align to regulatory requirements empower agility," Deloitte said.
2. Accelerator - Part One: Norrsken Accelerator supports early stage founders who are "looking to build the impact companies that create a better future." The eight-week accelerator runs July through September in Stockholm, Sweden. The accelerator has been active since 2021 and has 60 companies within its portfolio. Each intake accepts 20 companies, with fewer than 1% of applicants accepted.Â
3. Accelerator - Part Two: Keep an eye on the Logitech Future Positive Challenge, which helps startups to "showcase your innovative, sustainability-focused solutions to engineering and process design challenges in consumer electronics."
4. Networking - Power Purchase Agreement: Cisco Systems has signed a 15-year agreement to purchase solar energy from EGNIS of Spanish. The plant is expected to fulfill Cisco's electricity needs in Europe for the next 15 years, Cisco said. Related: See Cisco's sustainability strategy here.
5. Talent and Executive Leadership - Consulting: ERM, which positions itself as the world's largest pure play sustainability consultancy, has hired Bain & Company veteran Olaf Schatteman as global service leader, sustainable products and supply chain. Schatteman is based in ERM’s office in Milan, Italy.
6. Talent and Executive Leadership - Private Equity: TPG has hired Goldman Sachs veteran Scott Lebovitz as a partner and head of infrastructure for TPG Rise Climate -- the firm’s dedicated climate investing platform.
7. Talent and Executive Leadership - Managed Services: Guidehouse, an MSP (managed IT services provider) and digital consultancy, has named Gaurav Menon to lead the firm's global Sustainability & Resilience solutions. We'll share more details soon.
8. Research - AI and Climate Change: A new study highlights how AI and accelerated computing can "deliver energy efficiency and combat climate change," according to NVIDIA. The study, titled Rethinking Concerns about AI's Energy Use, is from the Center for Data Innovation. Author Daniel Castro is VP at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The study surfaces amid some third-party concerns about AI consuming more energy than traditional applications.
9. Partnerships - AI and Media: Microsoft is collaborating with various news organizations to help them adopt generative AI. However, the relationships are not related to solving the New York Times lawsuit against Microsoft involving alleged copyright infringement, according to blogger Paul Thurrott.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Funding - Waste Management & SaaS: CheckSammy has raised $45 million in funding, led by I Squared Capital. Zero Infinity Partners and TriplePoint Capital also participated in the round. CheckSammy is building Veridiant, a SaaS-based sustainability platform that provides "detailed diversion analytics, carbon inset and offset capabilities, a materials marketplace, and integrates with customers’ existing ESG technology stack," the company said.
2. Funding - Investment Firm: Brookfield Asset Management has raised $10 billion in the first closing of the second Brookfield Global Transition Fund (BGTF II). The fund's investments seek to "accelerate the global transition to a net zero economy while delivering strong risk-adjusted returns for investors."
3. Complete 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 - Clean Energy Regulations: A nationwide analysis by USA TODAY shows local governments are banning green energy faster than they’re building, the newspaper reported.
2. United Kingdom - Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations: New measures will provide EV owners with easier and more convenient access to EV charging stations, the UK government said.
3. European Union - Renewable Energy Regulations: European Union policymakers began final negotiations on new rules to promote local production of equipment for solar and wind power, fuel cells and other clean technologies and ensure its industry can compete with Chinese and U.S. rivals, Reuters reported.
4. European Union - ESG Investment Regulations: EU states and the European Parliament reached a deal on the bloc's first ever set of rules to regulate ESG ratings of company sustainability credentials, which guide trillions of investment dollars globally, Reuters reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- ARC Industry Leadership Forum 2024 (February 4-8, Orlando, Florida)
- Music Sustainability Summit 2024 (February 5, Los Angeles, California)
- ConnectWise Automation Nation 2024 (February 6-10, Tampa, Florida)
- GTDC Summit North America 2024 (February 7-9, Oceanside, California)
- Organizations and Environmental Sustainability Conference 2024 (February 8-9, Stanford)
- Complete Calendar of Sustainability Conferences
E. Previous Updates & Future News
- Did You Miss Yesterday's Daily Update?: Here is our previous sustainability, green IT and renewable energy news for technology partners.
- Future Updates: If you have news to share then please email me the details.
