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. Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) - Freight Services: J.B. Hunt Transport Services Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) Craig Harper plans to retire on December 31. Greer Woodruff will assume those responsibilities as executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance effective January 1, 2024.
2. Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) - Energy Services: Cleco Corporate Holdings has named Sybil Montegut as chief administrative & sustainability officer. Montegut will manage the non-financial support functions for the company -- including IT, Environmental and Safety, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Corporate Development, and the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance efforts.
3. Chief Sustainability List: Search our global database of Chief Sustainability Officers here.
4. E-Waste Reduction: TES plans to add recycling capabilities in Gyeongju, Korea; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Yancheng, China; Newcastle, Australia; and sites in Hungary and Kentucky, USA, to bring the company’s global capacity to more than 40,000 tons annually.
5. Executive Leadership - Battery and Energy Storage: Energy Plug Technologies has hired Neil Simmonds as chief technology officer (CTO) to succeed Paul Dickson, who resigned from the battery energy storage company but will remain a director at the company. Simmons is a lithium ion battery expert who previously held key posts at Fisker, Ford, GM. and various consumer electronics companies, Energy Plug said. Sustainable Tech Partner could not independently confirm that information. Meanwhile, Energy Plug hired Cec Primeau as special advisor to the board of directors. Primeau previously focused on marine battery and energy solutions at Corvus Energy.
6. Executive Leadership - Data Centers: CapMan Infra has hired Equinix veteran Maria Sundvall s CEO. CapMap's data center platform currently holds two companies: (1) Dutch IT infrastructure company Serverius and (2) Danish data centre operator Fuzion. The data center investor focuses heavily on sustainability strategies for IT infrastructure.
7. Home Energy Management: CLEAResult, an energy efficiency and energy sustainability services provider, has launched CLEAResult ATLAS IRA Home Energy Rebates. The toolkit is "designed to help state energy offices (SEOs) navigate the complexities of the IRA and quickly mobilize to administer its programs as seamlessly as possible," the company said.
8. Partners of the Year: Norfolk Southern announced its Thoroughbred Sustainability Partner Awards honorees -- which recognizes companies for Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Environmental Stewardship.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Clean Tech Stock Rebound: The Wilderhill Clean Energy Index rose as much as 14% in mid-December 2023 as investors cheer the possibility of a soft landing in the world’s largest economy, Bloomberg reported.
2. M&A - Home Energy Management: Nest Renew, a Google service that helps individuals optimize electricity consumption, and software company OhmConnect are merging in a bid to build a so-called virtual power plant that would improve grid reliability as more renewables come online, Bloomberg reported. The new company will be called Renew Home.
3. M&A - Solar Power: NextEnergy Capital has acquired a 100MW utility-scale solar project in Florida.
4. 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 - Data Centers: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) joined a $40 million program led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to "radically rethink how components within data centers are cooled," the organizations said.
2. United States - Real Estate: Large commercial and residential buildings in Seattle will need to phase out the use of fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under a new city law, The Seattle Times reported.
3. Canada - Electric Vehicle Transition: The Canadian government is poised to pass rules requiring all new vehicles sold in the country to be zero-emissions by 2035, Bloomberg reported.
4. Malaysia: Western Digital will acquire solar energy from TNB Renewables to power three Western Digital sites in Malaysia, including SanDisk Storage Malaysia (SDSM), WD Media Penang and WD Media Johor, Digital News Asia reported. The partnership will fulfill 25% of the company’s overall energy requirement in the country, the report said.
5. United Kingdom - Net Zero Homes: The UK government is promoting the Future Homes Standard, which sets out requirements that will ensure newly built homes are “net zero ready” from 2025, with heat pumps as standard, AZO Build reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Sustainability Forum Middle East (SFME) 2024 (January 8-9, Bahrain)
- European Chief Sustainability Awards (January 15, Davos)
- Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America 2024 (January 17-19, San Diego, California)
- Recycling, Circular Design & Sustainable Sourcing for EV Batteries & Carbon Neutral Vehicles USA Congress 2024 (January 23-25, Detroit, Michigan)
- ARC Industry Leadership Forum 2024 (February 4-8, Orlando, Florida)
- 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.
