Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, renewable energy and green IT companies, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Alliances
1. Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) List: Our database of chief sustainability officers now tracks 304 CSOs.
2. Tesla CFO Resigns: Tesla Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down after 13 years with the electric vehicle company, SeekingAlpha reported. Vaibhav Taneja was named as CFO in addition to his current role as chief accounting officer.
3. 6G Networks: Ericsson is seeking to position 6G for multiple sustainability breakthroughs.
4. Executive Leadership - Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging: Believ, previously known as Liberty Charge, has named Guy Barlett as CEO.
5. EV Charger Uptime: ChargePoint is deploying new networking technologies that aim to "deliver charging station reliability of nearly 100%," the company said.
6. Partnership - Solar Power: Nucor and NextEra Energy Resources have partnered to support solar energy development in Kentucky.
7. Carbon Markets: Centigrade has launched an open data platform focused on "restoring trust in global voluntary carbon markets," the company said. Centigrade’s platform provides the "fundamental data quality, availability, and transparency required for a liquid, fair, and efficient carbon market - thus enabling the necessary elements required for trust and increased participation in a durable market," the company asserted.
8. ESG Ratings: S&P Global has dropped an alphanumeric scale it launched in 2021 to score publicly rated entities in some sectors and asset classes on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when assessing their credit quality, Reuters reported.
9. Executive Leadership: Johnson Controls named Marc Vandiepenbeeck as vice president of the overall company, and president of Building Solutions Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America (EMEALA) effective immediately. Vandiepenbeeck will oversee Johnson Controls' $3.8 billion Building Solutions operations across 90 countries. Vandiepenbeeck succeeds Tomas Brannemo, who has led the EMEALA business since 2019. Brannemo plans to leave the company at the end of its fiscal year to pursue other opportunities.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments and Funding
1. Funding - Building Energy Management: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $46 million for 29 projects across 15 states to "develop advanced building technologies and retrofit practices that enable healthier households and communities and reduce energy waste," the DOE said.
2. Investments - Energy Efficient Chips: The $5.3 billion Pictet Clean Energy Transition fund, which holds the likes of Tesla and Vestas Wind Systems A/S, has almost a third of its assets in chip companies, focused on those that make devices that minimize energy loss when electricity is used, Bloomberg reported. The top holdings include ON Semiconductor Corp., Marvell Technology Inc. and NXP Semiconductors NV.
3. Investments - Conflicting Priorities?: U.S.-based insurers have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in fossil fuel-related assets -- which in turn contribute to the risk of climate-related damage to the underwriting side of their businesses, Reuters reported -- based on research from sustainability consultancy ERM, investor advocacy group Ceres and carbon accounting firm Persefoni.
4. M&A - Recycling and Waste Management: Apollo has acquired the Accent Family of Companies -- which includes Accent Wire-Tie, Accent Wire-Tie United Kingdom and Accent Building Materials. Accent distributes and manufactures baling wires and wire-tier machines, which are core products used in the recycling and waste industries in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Crossplane and the Sims family will retain a minority stake in the assets. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. All M&A Activity: Our M&A database has now tracked 114 mergers and acquisitions involving sustainability so far in 2023. See all M&A deals involving sustainability listed here.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. Australia - Funding Shortfall: The country will need to “substantially” boost financing for sustainable projects if the nation is to decarbonize its economy and meet its net zero goal, a senior Reserve Bank official said, according to Bloomberg.
2. New Zealand - Renewable Energy Funding: New Zealand's government and U.S.-based BlackRock will launch a NZ$2 billion ($1.22 billion) climate infrastructure fund to invest in solar, wind, green hydrogen and battery storage technology, Reuters reported.
3. South Africa - Strategy: South Africa’s government will need another two to three months to complete an energy transition implementation plan, further delaying the flow of funds from an $8.5 billion climate finance agreement with some of the world’s richest countries, Bloomberg reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- MEMA Sustainability Summit (August 15, Troy, Michigan)
- World ESG Summit 2023 (August 21-22, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
- Google Cloud Next 2023 Partner and Customer Conference (August 29-21, San Francisco)
- Sustainability Live 2023 (Sept. 6-7, London, United Kingdom)
- International Conference on Sustainable Development - ICSD 2023 (Sept. 6-7, Rome, Italy)
- 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.
