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. Google Cloud Data Centers: An advanced geothermal project has begun pumping carbon-free electricity onto the Nevada grid to power Google data centers there, SeekingAlpa reported.
2. Telecom Services: Türk Telekom, a Turkish information and communications technology company, is reducing energy costs while also boosting performance and management of its data infrastructure through the deployment of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) solutions, the companies said. The new architecture is "more environmentally sustainable by design, reducing Türk Telekom’s total footprint from 23 cabinets to nine and decreasing power and cooling requirements from the replaced cabinets by approximately 60%. The upgrade has also led to a 30% reduction in total cost of ownership," Hitachi said.
3. Generative AI and Building Energy Management: BrainBox AI is preparing to launch GenAI-powered technologies to help make buildings smarter, greener, and more energy efficient. The forthcoming co-pilot software is designed for building operators and facilities managers. Related: BrainBox AI CEO Sam Ramadori described the company's overall business strategy in this Sustainable Tech Partner podcast.
4. Partnership - IT Consulting and Sustainability Software: Deloitte and IBM are integrating their sustainability solutions to "help clients accelerate emissions reductions strategies and make sustainability programs an embedded part of their organization’s core business." Through the collaboration, customers can leverage multiple IBM solutions and can integrate data from the IBM Envizi ESG Suite with Deloitte’s GreenLight Solution.
5. Partnership - IT Consulting, Cloud Software and Supply Chains: Accenture and SAP SE are partnering to help customers "reinvent their supply chains with a comprehensive supply chain nerve center that can reduce risk, enhance visibility and support sustainability goals," the two companies said.
6. Partnership - Carbon Markets: MVGX Tech has inked a carbon trading infrastructure partnership with Exberry, an independent capital market exchange technology provider. The companies are "developing the foundational infrastructure on which compliant carbon markets, connected by a shared registry, can be built," the two companies said.
7. Partnership - Energy infrastructure: Copperleaf Technologies and Siemens Smart Infrastructure inked an alliance to help energy transmission system operators (TSOs) and distribution system operators (DSOs) make investment decisions that "deliver the highest business value."
8. Energy Transition Standards: The OpenADR Alliance has launched OpenADR 3.0, which is designed to "support utilities, operators, aggregators, and customers as they try to manage the growing range of distributed energy resources (DER) including renewables, energy storage, electric vehicle (EV) batteries and charging infrastructure, as well as demand response resources like commercial buildings or homes," the organization said.
9. Research - Net Zero Costs: The global net zero transition will require $13.5 trillion in investments by 2050, particularly in the production, energy and transport sectors, according to a new World Economic Forum report.
10. Research - SAP Sustainability Study: The top 25% of businesses reporting the strongest impact from sustainability say they treat sustainability as any other strategic pillar, on a par with IT for example, according to SAP's Wave 3 sustainability study.
11. Talent - Financial Services: Wells Fargo has hired Nomura veteran Andrew Bowley as international head of sustainability.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Funding - Net Zero Research: Arup, Energy Systems Catapult and Electron, have secured funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The funding will be used to study "the possibility of creating a technical process and a defined set of open protocols to enable distributed energy resources (DER) to better provide large-scale electricity system flexibility through smart, accessible technologies and markets."
2. M&A - Sustainable Mobility: Econolite has acquired distribution partner RAI Products of Charlotte, North Carolina. The deal "represents our steadfast commitment to sustainable mobility by providing the industry with the best traffic control technologies and ITS (intelligent transportation systems) solution," said John Rosenblatt, president of RAI.
3. M&A - Private Equity and Data Centers: Ardian has acquired sustainable data center operator Verne Global from Digital 9 Infrastructure. Financial terms of the dal were not disclosed. Digital 9 had been struggling with debt ahead of the deal, Datacenter Dynamics reported.
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. COP 28: OPEC issued a strongly worded defense of the oil-and-gas industry days before the start of the biggest ever climate talks, pushing back against the International Energy Agency and highlighting the increasingly fractious debate over how best to tackle global warming, Bloomberg reported.
2. Canada - Net Zero Policy Debate: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the Canada's goal of reaching a net-zero power grid by 2035 is unrealistic and Albertans should be protected from the “destructive and unconstitutional” federal policies coming from Ottawa, Mugglehead Magazine reported.
3. European Union: The EU's energy commissioner Kadri Simson announced an action plan to overhaul its 40-year-old electricity infrastructure to meet new renewable energy demands as the energy transition speeds up, Reuters reported.
4. Italy - Energy Transition Plan: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government approved a plan worth €27.4 billion (US$30 billion) to promote green investments across Italy and ease the cost of energy for the industrial sector, Bloomberg reported.
5. New Zealand Wind Energy: New Zealand wind farms contributed a record 13.3% of weekly power generation in early November 2023 as the South Pacific nation continues a push to produce more electricity from renewable sources, Bloomberg reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- AWS re:Invent 2023 (November 27-December 1, Las Vegas)
- Gartner Supply Chain Planning Summit 2023 (November 29-30, Phoenix, Arizona)
- Climate Smart Engineering 2023 (November 29-30, Melbourne, Australia)
- COP28 (November 30-December 12, UAE)
- CSR and Sustainability Summit MOZ (December 6-7, Mozambique)
- 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.
