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. Microsoft AI and Sustainability: Microsoft has developed an AI and Sustainability playbook.
2. Amazon: The company announced several new water replenishment projects across Australia, India, Indonesia, Spain, and the United States. Once complete, these projects will "deliver 1.5 billion liters of water, with AWS’s full water replenishment portfolio to date expected to return 3.9 billion liters each year to local communities," the company said.
3. Retirement: Peter Land, chief communications and sustainability officer at Dick's Sporting Goods, retired in September 2023, according to his LinkedIn account. We're checking to see if Dick's named a successor.
4. Chief Sustainability Officers List: Here are the Top 100 European Chief Sustainability Officers, according to Futur/io.
5. Midsize Company Reporting: Fully 90% of Russell 1000 companies published a sustainability report in 2022 - up from 81% in 2021, according to the Governance & Accountability Institute 2023 research.
6. Research: Businesses need to more carefully examine office lease controls as compliance standards and ESG regulations evolve, according to a 2024 Office of Finance Outlook from Visual Lease.
7. Autonomous Mobility: Beep Inc. has launched Beep AutonomOS. The software platform allows public transit operators and mobility-as-a-service companies to roll out autonomous mobility services.
8. Partnership - Sustainable Mobility: Deloitte and Autonomy are partnering to "accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) by making them more accessible and affordable," the two companies said.
9. Partnership - Carbon Capture Technology: CarbonQuest and Daroga Power are partnering to bring a low-carbon fuel cell solution to the commercial and industrial sectors in the U.S. and Canada. Daroga Power will develop, install and operate fuel cells that can power industrial facilities, buildings, and campus settings without interruptions and without the need for batteries. CarbonQuest’s Distributed Carbon Capture system will be used in conjunction with the fuel cells to capture the systems’ generated carbon before it is emitted to the atmosphere, the two companies said. CarbonQuest will also sell the captured carbon to industrial users.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. M&A - Battery Energy Storage System: Pacific Green Battery Energy Park has acquired 51% in five Italian energy projects from Sphera Energy Srl. The remaining 49% of the shares of each project will be acquired on achievement of certain development milestones, the buyer said.
2. M&A: Ramboll has acquired Acondas, a strategic management consultancy focused on "strategy implementation, encompassing sustainability transformation, value enhancement and transaction advice," the buyer said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
3. 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. United States - Solar Energy Projects: National Grid Renewables has started two southern Ohio solar projects. Once operational, the Ross County Solar Project and the Fayette Solar Project will deliver a combined 167.5 megawatts (MW) of clean solar power to customers, the company said.
2. Asia - ESG Reporting Standards: Two of the world’s most influential ESG standards bodies are working toward a common approach for disclosures, an effort to improve reporting, reduce costs and streamline due diligence for companies, Bloomberg reported. The International Sustainability Standards Board and Global Reporting Initiative will jointly launch a pilot project in Singapore on November 20, 2023, to create common ground for Asian companies to report on their environmental, social and governance impacts, the report said.
3. Singapore: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched Gprnt, an integrated digital platform that harnesses technology to simplify how the financial sector and real economy collect, access and act upon environmental, social and governance (ESG) data to support their sustainability initiatives.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- ESG Evolve 2023 Conference (November 21-23, Malaysia)
- AWS re:Invent 2023 (November 27-December 1, Las Vegas)
- COP28 (November 30-December 12, UAE)
- CSR and Sustainability Summit MOZ (December 6-7, Mozambique)
- Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America 2024 (January 17-19, San Diego, California)
- 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.
