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. Amazon Server Lifespan: Amazon is increasing the "useful life" of servers from 5 years to 6 years beginning in January 2024. The move will improve operating income by approximately $900 million in Q1, CFO Brian Olsavsky said.
2. Networking and AI: Cisco Systems VP of Engineering Denise Lee is calling on partners to focus on "energy networking" and Power over Ethernet to help optimize power usage -- especially in the age of power-hungry AI applications.
3. Business Strategy - HVAC Solutions: The Trane Technologies business strategy "is aligned to powerful mega trends like energy efficiency, decarbonization, and digital transformation. These trends continue to intensify and increase the demand for our sustainable solutions," CEO Dave Regnery told Wall Street analysts during an earnings call on February 1, 2024. Trane Technologies revenue was $4.4 billion in Q4 of 2023, up 9% from Q4 of 2022.
4. Help Wanted: Marimaca Copper Corp. is seeking a chief sustainability officer (CSO) to be located in Chile. Former General Counsel, Company Secretary and CSO Lauri Rich stepped down from her position amid Marimaca's focus on hiring in Chile.
5. Talent - Energy Infrastructure: Nikola Corp. has named Ole Hoefelmann as president of the Nikola Energy division, effective February 5, 2024. Hoefelmann previously was Nikola’s global head of infrastructure operations, where he led the reorganization of the HYLA-brand hydrogen refueling infrastructure.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Funding - Carbon Capture Technology: Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Alphabet's moonshot lab X are betting on 280 Earth, a startup that leverages industrial waste heat to power machines that suck carbon out of the air, Bloomberg reported.
2. M&A - Private Equity and Software: Thoma Bravo is acquiring Everbridge for $1.5 billion. Everbridge develops national public warning solutions for mass notifications, IT incident management, travel risk management, physical security and more. Everbridge's SaaS-based software also has ESG (environmental, social and governance) use cases.
3. M&A - Solar Consulting: Facility Solutions Group (FSG) has acquired Greenleaf Energy Solutions, a consulting firm that offers solar and renewable energy solutions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
4. M&A - Energy Storage Technology: Danfoss has acquired 1500 VDC converter technology and the associated product team from Ampner Oy. The acquisition will help Danfoss to scale its smart grid and energy storage business, the buyer said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Drone Technology: BAE Systems has acquired Malloy Aeronautics – a developer of "sustainable" heavy lift drone and aeronautical technologies. Roughly 80 Malloy employees will join BAE. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Conference: SERI has acquired the E-Reuse conference, and will rebrand the event as the Electronics Sustainability Summit.
7. M&A - Industrial Electrification: Advanced Industrial Devices (AID), backed by Black Bay Energy Capital, has acquired R.S. Integrators Inc. (RSI). RSI designs and manufactures electric motor control systems and power distribution panels for the water utility, wastewater, and various other industrial markets, the buyer noted. The combined businesses will "continue to capitalize on the trend of industrial electrification", delivering a world-class standard of excellence, technical expertise, high-quality customer service, and a geographic footprint for end-users to" to help customers "achieve business efficiency, sustainability, and decarbonization goals," the companies said. 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. COP29: Top UN climate official Simon Stiell appears to be seeking to play a prominent role on the road to COP29 and COP30, Axios reported.
2. United States - Carbon Capture Projects: Delek US Holdings has been selected by the Department of Energy to "negotiate a cost-sharing agreement in support of a carbon capture pilot project in the Big Spring refinery." The program provides 70% cost-share for up to $95 million of federal funding to support project development, Delek said. Separately, PPL Corp. and its research partners have been selected for a $72 million award negotiation by the DOE to "help fund a ground-breaking carbon dioxide (CO2) capture research and development project expected to cost in excess of $100 million," PPL said.
3. Italy - Carbon Storage: Snam, a gas grid operator, is launching a market test for hydrogen demand in Italy, and also looking at the carbon dioxide (CO2) transport and storage, Reuters reported.
4. Australia - E-Waste Reduction: The Western Australia Government has made up to $3.5 million of grants available to support the state’s electrical and electronic waste collection and recycling network as a ban on e-waste disposal to landfills is set to come into effect in 2024, Waste Management Review 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.
