Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners; renewable energy and green IT service providers; Today's sustainability news also involves management consultants; CIOs; chief sustainability officers (CSOs), c-suite members and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Managed IT Services: WheelHouse IT, a managed IT services provider, is pushing into sustainable IT consulting services. Details are vague but we'll be watching for updates from the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based MSP. Meanwhile, Ensono is partnering with NZero as part of a strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. Ensono is a major MSP backed by private equity firm KKR.
2. Partnership - IT Services, Financing and Remanufactured Laptops: Circular Computing and Total IT Global are partnering to "supply the world’s first BSI-certified remanufactured laptops." The partnership surfaced at Circular Computing’s Re: Sustainable IT Summit. We'll share more details soon.
3. Carbon Accounting Software: Greenly's carbon accounting software for small businesses is now available via the Intuit QuickBooks App Store. Greenly’s mission is to "make carbon accounting accessible and seamless for businesses of all sizes across the globe." The relationship surfaced roughly one month after Greenly raised $52 million in Series B funding.
4. Workforce Training - Partnership : Rockwell Automation and Mahindra University have signed a memorandum of understanding to train students in areas of sustainability best practices.
5. Workforce Training - Tax Credits: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has awarded $26.6 million in tax credits to power management company Eaton. The tax credits will support clean energy projects and workforce training in Nacogdoches and El Paso, Texas and Waukesha, Wisconsin.
6. Solar Energy - Project Financing:Â Sunstone Credit and M&T Bank are partnering to offer "businesses access to easy, affordable solar financing."
7. Solar Energy - Project Partnership: Standard Solar and CQI Associates have deployed a solar energy solution at Unity Christian School in Decatur, Illinois. The 912 kilowatt, 2,028-panel ground-mount array covers three acres of the 54-acre campus. A real-time website allows students to monitor the array’s energy production, "fostering an interactive learning experience," the partners said.
8. Energy Storage: Schneider Electric announced a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). As part of a microgrid system, BESS captures energy from different sources, accumulates this energy, and stores it in rechargeable batteries for later use, the company said.
9. International Expansion - Energy Grid Software: Envelio, a provider of smart grid software based in Germany, is expanding to the United States. Envelio, founded in 2017, spun off from RWTH Aachen University. Envelio's partner program includes consulting companies and software integration partners.
10. EV Charging Software: A ChargePoint software upgrade enables electric and mixed fuel fleets to "find, use, and pay for charging from a single application, including seamless driver reimbursement when they charge their company EV at home," ChargePoint said.
11. EV Charging and Parking: Stak Mobility, provider of EV charging and parking solutions, announced a second project in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. The project will feature "42 vertical parking spaces for residents, all EV-ready and on a footprint that typically can only fit six vehicles," the company said.
12. Innovations: Cloudera and AMD hosted a Climate and Sustainability Hackathon that attracted data scientists from across the globe. The participants developed end-to-end Accelerated Machine Learning Projects (AMPs) focused on solving various environmental challenges.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. ESG Funds Under Pressure: European and American investors removed a record $8.8 billion from ESG funds in the U.S. in Q1 2024, Reuters reported. High interest rates, middling returns in 2023, greenwashing concerns, and the continued politicization of ESG-focused investing likely contributed to the massive outflows, Reuters added, based on data from Morningstar.
2. Venture Capital: Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek, has raised US$1.40 billion for its inaugural late-stage venture capital and growth private equity investment fund. The Decarbonization Partners Fund I was seeking US$1 billion. The fund will target businesses focused on Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilization, Bio and Low Carbon Products, Next Generation Energy, Advanced Mobility, Carbon Management Services and Digital Transformation.Â
3. M&A - Built Environment Consulting: AESG, a consultancy, engineering and advisory firm focused on the built environment, has acquired SGW, a Safety and Security Consultancy with offices in the UK, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. Financial terms were not disclosed.
4. 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. COP29: Azerbaijan, host of this year's United Nations climate summit, will defend the right of oil and gas producing nations to invest in the sector, the country's president said, noting that despite climate targets, fossil fuel demand remains strong, Reuters reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Oman Sustainability Week 2024 (April 28-May 2, Oman)
- Sphera Customer Summit (April 29-May 1, Austin, Texas)
- Apidays New York 2024 (April 30-May 1, New York, New York)
- Innovation Zero 2024 Conference (April 30-May 1, London, United Kingdom)
- Green Vision Summit and Expo 2024 (April 30-May 2, Malta)
- 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.
