Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, renewable energy consultants 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. AI Chips and Energy Consumption: Major chip rivals -- including AMD, Intel and Nvidia -- announced their next-generation AI chip strategies this week at the Computex 2024 conference in Taipei, Taiwan. We're taking a closer look to see how those AI initiatives will potentially impact data center energy consumption. Stay tuned.
2. Apple iPhone Recycling: Apple is leveraging robotics technology -- including an industrial robot called Daisy -- to improve its e-waste reduction and iPhone recycling processes, TechCrunch reported.
3. Refurbished Networking Equipment:Â Movable Trade Networks (MTN), a recycler of networking equipment in Japan, Â has embraced FutureDial technology to automate the data-clearing and refurbishment of preowned network routers, switches, and other network equipment.
4. Partnership - AI Software: A Hitachi-Microsoft partnership will extend beyond AI to include sustainability projects, the two companies said. Hitachi will train more than 50,000 GenAI Professionals on such platforms as GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service. The companies also will help customers with their energy transitions -- from energy generation to transmission, distribution and customer delivery. That focus involves Hitachi Energy's Enterprise Software Solutions platform. Plus, Hitachi and Microsoft will work toward zero carbon initiatives -- starting with a data center project in Europe -- though timing and specific details of that project were not disclosed.
5. Microsoft Azure Cloud Layoffs: Microsoft layoffs will impact hundreds of Azure cloud services employees, Business Insider reported. We don't know if the job cuts involve Microsoft's SaaS-based sustainability software applications. The layoffs surfaced within days of job cuts at rival Google Cloud.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. 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. COP28 - Energy Transition Shortfall: The world is lagging on its pledge to triple renewable power by the end of this decade, an ambition set out at COP28 in 2023, underscoring the gap between climate talk and action, Bloomberg reported. Related: See detailed COP28 news recap here.
2. United States - Extreme Heat Concerns: Extreme heat is set to stifle the US economy by limiting construction workers’ productivity and reducing capital investment, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Bloomberg reported.
3. European Union - Greenwashing Concerns: Market watchdogs across the European Union have punished few instances of greenwashing by financial firms, partly because regulators don't have enough resources to use their powers, Reuters reported.
4. China: An escalating trade spat between China and the West would fuel inflation and delay the transition to a cleaner economy, Former Volkswagen AG CEO Herbert Diess asserted, Bloomberg reported. China has managed to radically cut the cost of solar energy and batteries and is already suffering from trade hurdles put in place by the US, Diess alleged.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Verdantix Sustainability and EHS Summit Europe 2024 (June 4-5, Amsterdam)
- Carbon Accounting for Companies and Cities 2024 (June 5-6, Brussels, Belgium)
- IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum 2024 (June 5-6, Singapore)
- Regional Grey to Green Chicago Conference 2024 (June 6-7, Chicago)
- European Sustainable Energy Week 2024 Conference Dates (June 11-13, Brussels, Belgium)
- 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.
