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), c-suite members and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Partnership - Software and IT Consulting: Persefoni Japan G.K. and Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting are partnering to manage clients' carbon emissions, the two companies said.
2. Partner Program - Solar and Energy Storage: Enact Solar has launched the Insider Partner Program.
3. Carbon Removal - Telecom Services: AT&T has agreed to purchase carbon dioxide remove (CDR) credits from STRATOS -- which is 1PointFive's first large-scale Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility that is currently under construction in Texas.
4. Higher Education: The Climate Project at MIT, announced in February, will seek to solve "critical climate problems with all possible speed" while connecting MIT with "a range of partners to deliver those technological, behavioral and policy solutions to the world," MIT said.
5. Consulting: Booz Allen Hamilton has earned a 10-year, $550 million contract from the U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E arm. Under terms of the deal, Booz Allen will identify climate and energy challenges that would benefit from emerging technology, then work to build and support an ecosystem to innovate—including developing competitions to fuel innovation, like “Shark Tank”—followed by technical reviews and funding to make true impact, the company said.
6. Bankruptcy Filing?: Electric Vehicle (EV) maker Fisker is preparing to file for a possible bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported.
7. Fossil Fuels: Shell weakened its 2030 carbon reduction target and scrapped a 2035 objective -- even as it affirmed a plan to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, Reuters reported.
8. Content Licensing AI: OpenAI has partnered with international news organizations Le Monde and Prisa Media to bring French and Spanish news content to ChatGPT, the companies said. The content licensing deals surface amid multiple copyright-related lawsuits against OpenAI.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Accelerator: Pi Labs, a venture capital firm, has announced Cohort 12 of its accelerator.
2. Apple Restore Fund: Apple manufacturing partners Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Murata Manufacturing as new investors in the Restore Fund. The fund has raised $280 million for nature-based carbon removal projects since its inception in 2021.
3. M&A - Wind Power: Stonepeak will acquire U.S. wind farms from Ørsted for $300 million. Ørsted will continue to operate the assets, which span four wind farms across three states: The Ford Ridge Wind project in Illinois; the Helena Wind and Western Trail Wind projects in Texas; and the Sunflower Wind project in Kansas.
4. M&A - Energy Consulting: Hillmann Consulting has acquired Abraxas Energy Consulting. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Environmental Consulting: True Environmental, backed by private equity firm Halle Capital, has acquired Sundance Consulting, a full-service environmental consulting firm. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Environmental Consulting: True Environmental, backed by private equity firm Halle Capital, has acquired Sundance Consulting, a full-service environmental consulting firm. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
7. M&A - Energy Mapping Software: ESG, a developer of SaaS-based energy solutions, has acquired Whitestar, a provider of infrastructure planning, data and software products for green energy, oil & gas, utility, telco, rail, mining, and forestry services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
8. 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. Global Sustainability Reporting Standards: Roughly 11 countries and regions are evaluating whether to leverage standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board, Bloomberg reported.
2. United States - Solar Supply Chain Challenges: U.S.-based solar firms face a "dire situation" amid soaring imports and aggressive competition from China, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar told the Financial Times, according to SeekingAlpha.
3. Canada - Proposed Sustainability Standards: The Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB)has released its first proposed Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards (CSDS). Comments on all the proposals are due by June 10, 2024.
4. Europe - EV Charging Infrastructure: Automakers bringing new electric vehicles to market in Europe have concerns about plugs and charging infrastructure, Bloomberg reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Roth Conference 2024 (March 17-19, Dana Point, California)
- Environmental Justice and Sustainability Conference 2024 (March 18-19, Stanford University)
- Biobased & Recycled Textiles Conference 2024 (March 18-19, Rotterdam, Netherlands)
- CERAWeek 2024 Conference Dates (March 18-22)
- Future of Sustainability Conference 2024 (March 19-20, Johannesburg, South Africa)
- 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.
