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. Green Services - Partner of the Year: Major IT solutions provider Park Place Technologies named Green Services and Solutions as its Andean Region Partner of the Year within the larger Latin American Partners of the Year category.
2. Partnership:Â Correlate Energy and Carbonsight (by Autocase) are partnering to assist building owners and operators with decarbonization efforts. The collaboration involves Carbonsight's decarbonization planning software and Correlate's focus on financing renewable and clean energy projects. The partnership "aims to empower building portfolio owners with the tools and resources needed to make informed, impactful decisions that have positive economic benefits and create clear plans towards decarbonization," the two companies said.
3. Partnership: Kantar, PwC Australia and Glow have introduced the The Social Responsibility Score (SRS) -- standardized metric that aligns sustainability with customer and employee loyalty.
4. Talent and Executive Leadership: Juliette Morgan is an ESG consultancy director and a global leader in Gensler’s climate action and sustainability practice. In her role, she leads ESG strategy for clients.
5. Talent - Potential Tesla Layoffs?: Is Tesla preparing for layoffs?
6. Carbon Accounting - Financial Services: Highvern will leverage FutureTracker’s platform to calculate its carbon emissions across all jurisdictions, with a particular focus on capturing more scope 3 emissions, the companies said.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. M&A - Solar Farm Infrastructure: Nautilus Solar Energy has acquired a 12.7 MW portfolio of community solar projects from SolAmerica Energy. The projects, located in Canton, New York, are expected to be fully operational in 2024. Once completed, the community solar projects will provide clean energy to power over 1,800 residential subscribers within the National Grid utility territory. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
2. M&A - Solar Roofing: Holcim has acquired ZinCo, a provider of green roofing systems. ZinCo, based in Germany, has operations across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
3. M&A: Looking Glass Labs is acquiring Bot Media Corp. for $765,000 in stock. The acquisition includes carbon.bot (CarbonBot) and climate.bot (ClimateBot). CarbonBot a digital platform that tracks news related to climate-focused companies and generates articles using AI, incorporating capabilities of ChatGPT. ClimateBot is a web-based digital tool offering a range of calculators to evaluate various environmental impacts, focusing on carbon footprint assessments, the buyer said.
4. M&A - Solar Power and Energy Storage: Swell Energy has acquired  Renu Energy Solutions, a provider of customized residential and commercial solar and energy storage solutions. The combination delivers a "bicoastal presence to enable the deployment of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) in key energy markets," Swell Energy said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - Energy Transition Challenges: Wind and solar energy producers are frustrated by connection delays and congestion on the power grid, MPR reported. Meanwhile, the world's three biggest wind power groups -- Siemens Energy, Orsted and Vestas -- gave a sober view of 2024 for an industry facing project delays, equipment problems and inflation, Reuters reported.
2. United States - Climate Policy Lawsuit: A federal lawsuit that seeks to block California’s recently enacted landmark corporate climate change disclosure laws could foreshadow potential challenges to forthcoming SEC carbon reporting mandates, Bloomberg asserts.
3. United States - Postal Service Emissions: With an eye toward 2030, the U.S. Postal Service's sustainability plan seeks to reduce emissions from fuel and electricity by 40% and reduce emissions from services purchased by 20%.
4. European Union - ESG Disclosure Delay: The European Union delayed additional ESG disclosure requirements by two years, as it responds to pressure from businesses leaders who warn they’re buckling under the weight of regulations, Bloomberg reported.
5. Australia - Solar Farm Partnership: Amazon and Vena Energy are partnering on a 125 MW renewable energy project in Woleebee, Queensland. Consisting of over 250 000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, the Amazon Solar Farm Australia – Wandoan is expected to generate enough renewable energy to power more than 60 000 Australian homes each year, the companies said.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Organizations and Environmental Sustainability Conference 2024 (February 8-9, California)
- Amsterdam Sustainable Coco Conference 2024 (February 8-9, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Balkan Solar Summit 2024 (February 8-9, Banja Luca)
- Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Conference 2024 (February 8-10, Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
- GOA International Environment and Sustainability Summit 2024 (February 8-10, Goa, India)
- 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.
