Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners; renewable energy and green IT service providers; Today's sustainability news also involvesmanagement consultants; CIOs; chief sustainability officers (CSOs), c-suite members and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Data Center Project: Microsoft and OpenAI have been in talks to invest as much as $100 billion in an AI supercomputer project, The Information reported. Related: See all Microsoft sustainability news here.
2. Solar-Powered Data Center: nLighten UK has deployed more than 1,000 solar panels on the roof of its Milton Keynes edge data centre. The deployment will avoid over 90 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually, equivalent to flying from London to New York over 80 times each year, the company said. Still, we don't know the carbon footprint involved in making and eventually decommissioning the panels.
3. Research - U.S. Energy Grid Transition: The primary threat to grid reliability is not the changing energy mix but rather failures in grid governance, according to a paper from UPenn researchers.
4. Financing: Mizuho Financial Group Inc. will begin offering real estate loans that incentivize property owners to cut greenhouse gas emissions by lowering interest rates if they do so, Bloomberg reported.
5. Green Energy and Cybersecurity: Cyberattacks on EV charging infrastructure is a growing risk that could cripple transportation and commerce, a research report asserted. The Wall Street Journal offered this summary of EV charging and cybersecurity risks.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Funding- Cloud Services: Distributed cloud services provider Hive has raised $13 million in Series A funding, led by SC Ventures. Additional investors include OneRagtime and various private investors. Instead of forcing customers to select a specific cloud provider, Hive's technology aggregates unused processing power from third-party providers. The aggregated technology provides financial and energy savings to end-customers, Hive asserts.
2. Funding - Carbon Insurance: Oka, a carbon insurance company, has raised $10 million in funding led by Aquiline Capital Partners LP and firstminute capital. Moreover, Overview Capital also participated in the round.
3. M&A - Global Trade Compliance: Descartes Systems Group has acquired OCR Services for roughly $90 million. Descartes specializes in cloud-based logistics and supply chain management solutions.
4. M&A - Carbon Capture Technology: SLB has acquired Aker Carbon Capture (ACC). The business will tuck into SLB's own carbon capture company.
5. M&A - Financial Services: Resources Connection Inc., a global consulting firm also known as RGP, is acquiring Reference Point LLC -- a strategy, management, and technology consulting firm focused on the financial services sector. Key areas of expertise span Strategy & Management, Risk & Regulatory Compliance, Digital & Technology and Data & Analytics.
6. M&A - Private Equity: One Equity Partners has acquired Acteon Group, an international marine energy and infrastructure solutions company. Acteon installs, maintains and removes marine infrastructure -- including offshore renewable energy, nearshore construction and oil and gas facilities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
7. M&A - Auto Systems: Apollo is acquiring a majority stake in Panasonic Automotive Systems Corp. The deal has a total enterprise value of ¥311 billion. Panasonic will retain a minority stake in the company. The deal is expected to close in at the end of Q1 in 2025.
8. M&A - Consulting: Atoz has acquired Deveco Sustainability, a strategic and operational consulting firm focused on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
9. M&A - Recycling: The Heico Companies has acquired CM Shredders of Sarasota, Florida. CM will tuck into Shred-Tech Corp. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
10. Complete M&A List: Here's our database of all M&A deals involving green IT and renewable energy buyers, sellers and investors.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. United States - Minnesota E-Waste Legislation: Keep an eye on a Minnesota legislative bill known as HF3566 -- which could further boost the e-waste recycling market...
2. United States - Florida Renewable Energy Policy: Florida lawmakers have banned wind turbines off its shores and near the coast, saying the bill is meant to protect wildlife and prevent noise, Yahoo News reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- EnerCom Dallas 2024: The Energy Investment and ESG Conference (April 2-3, Dallas, Texas)
- Sustainability Conference on Ecopreneurship 2024 (April 8-9, Stanford University)
- Tantalus Users Conference 2024 (April 8-11, Fort Worth, Texas)
- Google Cloud Next 2024 Conference Dates (April 9-11, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- Engage24 Conference Dates (April 9-11, Lisbon, Portugal)
- 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.
