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. Startup - Carbon Capture Technology: Tesla veteran Thoralf Gutierrez has launched a carbon capture technology startup called Sirona Technologies. The company is building technology that will remove CO2 from the air and return it to the ground, according to Sirona's LinkedIn profile.
2. Carbon Accounting Software: Seneca ESG has launched AERA, a carbon accounting tool that simplifies the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory, accounting, and calculation process for businesses worldwide, the company said.
3. Partnership - Construction Sector: The Hilti Group, a provider of hardware, software and services to the construction industry, is leveraging a Circelligence solution to increase the circularity of its resources. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) built the solution on top of SAP's software platform.
4. Partnership - IT and Climate Services: HULFT, its parent company Saison Information Systems, and Asuene are partnering to help organizations report on carbon emissions and achieve carbon-neutral status faster, the companies said.
5. Partnership - IT Consulting: Atos and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) have inked a three-year strategic partnership to "leverage technology to support biodiversity conservation and to encourage businesses to decarbonize." Ironically, Atos sold its climate consulting business to Schneider Electric in mid-2023.
6. Research - E-Waste Management Market Growth Forecast: The global e-waste management industry will reach $244.56 billion by 2032, up from $57.81 billion in 2022, according to Allied Market Research. That's a 15.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the market research firm said.
7. Research - Sustainability: 63% of executives agreed that the business case for sustainability is clear, up from 21% in 2022, according to Capgemini research. Climate disasters and rising temperatures are driving the changing views, the research found.
8. Research - Intelligent Building Energy Management Systems Market: The Global Intelligent Building Energy Management Systems (IBEMS) market will reach $2.1 billion by 2030, up from $891.6 million in 2022, according to DataM Intelligence. That's a 11.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period.
9. Research - Green IT Services Market: The global green IT services market will reach $33.64 billion by 2031, up from $13.72 billion in 2022, according to Astute Analytical. That's a 10.48% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period, the company said.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. M&A - Consulting Services: Deloitte Canada has acquired Fleet Challenge Canada Inc. to bolster its sustainability practices across Canada. The acquisition expands Deloitte Canada's existing offerings for mid-market and large clients in fleet management, decarbonization, and electrification strategies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
2. M&A - Data Centers: nLighten, a sustainable data center company backed by private equity firm ISquared Capital, has acquired GYROCenter, a high-performance data center in Amsterdam. Gyro's carrier-neutral data center procures 100% renewable energy and is proactively managing energy consumption, the buyer said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
3. M&A Cancelled: NaaS Technology Inc., an EV charging service company in China, has cancelled plans to acquire to Charge Amps AB. NaaS Technology did not say why it cancelled the deal.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. Canada - Cloud Services: Microsoft will invest USD$500 million in expanding its hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Quebec over the next two years, the software company said. This investment will also increase the size of Microsoft's local cloud infrastructure footprint by 750% across Canada, the company added. The expansion will align with Microsoft's sustainability goals to be carbon negative, water positive and zero waste by 2030, the company said. The data center build-outs will leverage low-carbon materials during construction, and will tap renewable energy, advanced cooling features and measures to decrease diesel fuel use during operation, Microsoft said.
2. United Kingdom - Research: Roughly eight in 10 (83%) UK leaders will maintain or increase their investment in sustainability action by 2026, but numerous environmental hurdles remain, according to SAP's annual Sustainability Report.
3. Europe: The European Commission will lay out a €584 billion ($637 billion) plan to overhaul the region’s power grids so they’re ready to handle the expected influx of electricity from renewable sources, Bloomberg reported.
4. Singapore - Climate Disclosure Challenges: Singapore companies have some ways to go when it comes to climate-related disclosures, as mandatory reporting rules are set to kick in, Bloomberg reported. Only 43% of Singapore-listed companies made climate disclosures in line with at least five of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in their 2022 fiscal year sustainability reports, according to a biennial study by Singapore Exchange Ltd. regulatory arm and the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the NUS Business School. That’s lower than the global average of 58%, based on the latest TCFD data, the Bloomberg report stated.
5. Middle East - Female Founders: Roughly 25% of climate tech startups in the Middle East have female founders, and an additional 32% have a diverse team of both female and male founders, according to PwC's Middle East first Net Zero Future50 report.
6. COP28 - Carbon Trading: Climate negotiators at COP28 may bolster carbon trading when they decide on rules for a new United Nations-overseen emissions market that can lower the cost of fighting global warming, Bloomberg reported.
7. COP28 - Green Bond Sales: A record amount of green debt has been raised this year by issuers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia ahead of COP28, Bloomberg reported.
8. COP28 - Agenda?: The delayed release of a COP28 agenda invited one constant question: What kind of climate conference could an oil boss possibly host? Bloomberg's analysis is here.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- AWS re:Invent 2023 (November 27-December 1, Las Vegas)
- Climate Smart Engineering 2023 (November 29-30, Melbourne, Australia)
- COP28 (November 30-December 12, UAE)
- CSR and Sustainability Summit MOZ (December 6-7, Mozambique)
- Sustainable Agriculture Summit 2023 (December 6-7, Charlotte, North Carolina)
- 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.
Wow, there are some interesting developments in sustainability technology today. I'm excited to learn about Sirona Technologies, the startup that's working on carbon capture technology. It's great to see more companies focusing on innovative solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. I'm also intrigued by Seneca ESG's new carbon accounting software, AERA. Simplifying the GHG emissions inventory process can be a big help for businesses in their sustainability efforts.
Hi Estella: Thanks for your note and readership. We'll be watching to see if Sirona Technologies and Seneca ESG launch partner programs for their solutions. -jp