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 275 companies. The latest additions are:
2. Chief Sustainability Officers (CSO) List: Our database of chief sustainability officers now spans 315 CSOs. The latest addition is Feletia Lee, chief sustainability officer, University of North Carolina Wilmington.
3. Microsoft Patents: Microsoft has filed a patent application for a "sustainability-aware" system for device behavior management, The Motley Fool reported. The system would determine the actions taken by a computing device by considering their impact on the energy grid, the report said. Related: Here is Microsoft's overall sustainability strategy.
4. HPE Sales Training: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is training its sales team to recognize and address customers' sustainable IT needs, according to GreenBiz.
5. VMware Explore Agenda: The VMware Explore 2023 conference will feature multiple sustainability sessions, according to a blog from the enterprise software provider. Meanwhile, Broadcom expects to complete the VMware acquisition on October 30, the buyer said.
6. Software: Nutanix, a multi-cloud software provider, has launched a Carbon and Power Estimator tool. The new software allows customers to estimate annual power consumption and carbon emissions for various Nutanix solutions, the company said.
7. Fast Growth: Budderfly, which develops energy management and carbon footprint reduction technology for buildings, has grown nearly 300% over the past three years and landed on the Inc. 5000 list for 2023.
8. Training and Education: Schneider Electric has embarked on a mission to empower youths for a sustainable energy future with a commitment to train one million individuals in energy management and industrial automation by 2025, Business Today reported.
9. Talent: Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS), a global provider of Risk Engineering, mitigation and resilience-building services, has expanded its Sustainability Services team in the US, adding Jessica Balsam as head of climate solutions, and Elise White as director of workforce resilience services. Reinsurance News reported.
10. Smartphone E-Waste Reduction: UC San Diego researchers have proposed a strategy to repurpose smartphone processors. The result could be less e-waste and a smaller carbon footprint from junked smartphones, UC San Diego Today reported.
11. E-Waste Reduction: More than 2,800 City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania residents have registered and dropped off materials through the City’s hard-to-recycle program since its conception in May 2022, according to a local report.
12. EV Battery Plant: Tata Sons is in discussions with multiple startups as the conglomerate seeks technical know-how for its £4 billion ($5.1 billion) UK battery plant, where it aims to start mass production in 2026, Bloomberg reported. Tata Sons is the principal investment holding company and promoter of Tata companies. The conglomerate also owns global IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services.
13. Net Zero Concerns: “Net zero,” the professed goal of governments worldwide to eradicate their carbon output, is at risk of failure, a Bloomberg editorial stated. A growing backlash against the rising costs should prompt policymakers to rethink their approach. Just over 90% of global GDP (and 88% of greenhouse-gas emissions) are now covered by national net-zero targets, a monumental feat of climate diplomacy. Yet only 10% of nations with such targets have detailed plans in place (and only half have even incomplete plans), the editorial noted.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments and Funding
1. Talent - Investing: KKR has hired Charlie Gailliot as a co-head for the firm’s global climate strategy. Gailliot, based in New York, joins global climate co-head Emmanuel Lagarrigue, also based in New York, and Neil Arora, who leads the strategy in Asia and is based in Singapore.
2. Startup Accelerator: The British Standards Institution (BSI) has selected six startups to join its sustainability-focused startup accelerator, which is being launched in partnership with the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL), ComputerWeekly reported. Accelerator participants include:
3. All M&A Activity: Our M&A database has now tracked 119 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. United States - Solar Tariffs: The U.S. is set to impose import duties on some solar panel makers that finished their products in Southeast Asian countries to illegally avoid tariffs on Chinese-made solar equipment, Bloomberg reported, in a decision opposed by buyers of solar panels that rely on cheap products made overseas, SeekingAlpha noted.
2. Singapore - SMB Carbon Accounting: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will get funding support to measure their carbon footprints by the end of this year, The Business Times reported.
3. Indonesia - Solar Energy Policies: Indonesia will temporarily relax rules that have slowed development of solar energy in the coal-dependent country, lifting one of the many regulatory and legal roadblocks to the archipelago’s pledge to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, Bloomberg reported.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Google Cloud Next 2023 Partner and Customer Conference (August 29-21, San Francisco)
- Sustainability Live 2023 (Sept. 6-7, London, United Kingdom)
- ICSD 2023 Sustainability Conference (September 6-7, Rome, Italy)
- Sustainability Reporting Europe 2023 (September 6-7, London, United Kingdom)
- Reuters Impact 2023 (September 6-7, London, United Kingdom)
- 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.
