Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, renewable energy and green IT companies, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Alliances
1. Annual ESG Reports: Our global database of annual sustainability and ESG reports now spans 289 companies. The latest additions are:
2. New Chief Sustainability Officer: Lygos Director of Home Care Chantal Bergeron will take on the additional role of chief sustainability officer. Bergeron reports to Lygos co-founder and CEO Eric Steen.
3. Chief Sustainability Officers: Our database of chief sustainability officers now spans 332 CSOs. The latest additions include:
- Chantal Bergeron, chief sustainability officer and director of home care, Lygos;
- Phil Halanen, head of sourcing and sustainability, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts;
- Stefan Seidel, head of sustainability, Puma;
- Luanne Sieh, group chief sustainability officer, CIMB; and
- Lisa Wee, global head of sustainability, Aveva.
4. Executive Leadership - Relocation: The chief of sustainability for Malaysian bank CIMB Group is relocating to Singapore this month. Luanne Sieh, who was appointed as the Kuala Lumpur-headquarted group’s chief sustainability officer in January 2018, announced she was moving to Singapore in a Linkedin post, as reported by Eco-Business.
5. Executive Leadership - ESG Consulting: Morrow Sodali has hired Wells Fargo and Ketchum veteran Barri Rafferty as CEO, Americas. In this newly created role, Rafferty will oversee the firm's operations in North and South America. Rafferty reports to Morrow Sodali Global CEO Alvise Recchi.
6. Executive Leadership - EV Car Sharing: Envoy Technologies CEO Aric Ohana is now CEO of Blink Mobility, the electric car-sharing business. Parent Blink Charging acquired Envoy for $34 million in April 2023.
7. Partnership - Construction: PwC and Dar have partnered to address sustainability in construction in the Middle East.
8. Data Centers - Energy Efficiency: Atos has received an award in the Corporate Participant Category from the European Union for the energy efficiency of its Longbridge and Birmingham data centers in the UK and Fürth data center in Germany, the IT consulting firm said.
9. Renewable Energy - Google: In Ireland, Google has signed an agreement with Power Capital Renewable Energy for 58 megawatts (MW) of new-to-the grid capacity from the Tullabeg Solar Farm. Once operational, this PPA (power purchase agreement) will help Google's offices and data centre in Ireland to reach 60% carbon-free energy in 2025 when measured on an hourly basis, according to Ainhoa Anda, data center energy senior lead at Google.
10. Partnership - Cloud Services and Artificial Intelligence: G42 and Microsoft announced plan to offer sovereign cloud services, AI capabilities and data center infrastructure in the UAE. Much of the announcement focused on sustainability. G42 is a technology holding group focused on AI technologies. The partnership surfaces a few months before COP28 starts in the UAE.
11. Partnership - ESG Software and Professional Services: APTIM, a professional services firm in the environmental and energy markets, is working closely with software provider Locus Technologies. APTIM’s clients will benefit from Locus’ off-the-shelf applications for compliance, waste management, auditing, ESG and more, the companies said.
12. Climate Goal Challenges: Grid constraints, the still high cost of green technology and planning delays are holding up $18 trillion worth of investments needed to reach global 2030 climate goals, making any rapid energy transition increasingly unlikely, according to Boston Consulting Group research as reported by Bloomberg.
13. Carbon Offset Market Challenges: The market for carbon offsets is approaching a “material tipping point” following months of bad news that’s spooked investors, according to an analysis by Morgan Stanley, as reported by Bloomberg.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments and Funding
1. Funding - Electric Vehicle (EV) Batteries: The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has invested in Our Next Energy (ONE), the Michigan-based electric vehicle battery formed by several Apple veterans. We're searching for more details about the investment. ONE previously raised $300 million in Series B funding at a $1.2 billion post-money in February 2023. ONE is building a $1.6 billion factory in Michigan.
2. Funding - Solar Energy: Okra Solar has raised $12 million in Series A funding. At One Ventures led the round. FMO, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, Autodesk Foundation and King Philanthropies participated in the round. EDFi provided debt financing.
3. All M&A Activity: Our M&A database has now tracked 129 mergers and acquisitions so far in 2023. See all M&A deals involving sustainability listed here.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. COP28 Concerns: The architect of the Paris Agreement described the upcoming United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) summit as a “circus,” arguing that the main purpose of the climate meeting could be done from home, Bloomberg reported. Christiana Figueres, a climate advocate and former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that the need of the hour is to finance and execute the agreement, which was adopted in 2015, the report said.
2. United States - Wind Project Challenges: A fleet of U.S. offshore wind projects central to President Joe Biden's climate change agenda may not move forward unless his administration eases requirements for subsidies in the year-old Inflation Reduction Act, Reuters reported. Norway's Equinor, France's Engie, Portugal's EDP Renewables, and trade groups representing other developers pursuing U.S. offshore wind projects told Reuters they are pressing officials to rewrite the requirements, and warning of lost jobs and investments otherwise, the report said.
3. Australia - Energy Management System: Monford Group Pty Ltd. has ordered an energy management system (EMS) from Yokogawa Australia for the initial phase of the Yuri Green Hydrogen Project. The project involves an industrial-scale renewable hydrogen production complex in Australia, Yokogawa said.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- RE+ (September 11-14, Las Vegas)
- ISPA Sustainability Conference 2023 (September 13-14, Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Net Zero Conference 2023 (September 13-14, Los Angeles, California)
- Leadership and Innovation Summit 2023 - Business and Climate Change (September 15, Washington, D.C.)
- Concordia 2023 Annual Summit (September 18-20, New York, New York)
- 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.
