Here is today’s sustainable IT services news, research and analysis -- written for technology partners, green IT service providers, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and climate accounting professionals.
A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Green IT Alliances
1. Call for Nominations - Partners of the Year: Schneider Electric has issued a call for nominations to honor sustainability partners, customers and suppliers.
2. Johnson Controls - Executive Retention Bonuses: Amid a search for a new CEO, Johnson Controls is offering executive retention bonuses to CFO Marc Vandiepenbeeck and Global Products leader Lei Schiltz, according to an SEC filing.
3. AI and Smart Home Energy Management: Google is leveraging Gemini AI technologies to improve Nest thermostats and other smart home devices. Key partners on the effort include Renew Home, a home energy management platform provider that spun off from Google.
4. Recycling and IT Asset Disposition: ERI has launched an alkaline battery recycling plant within the company's Plainfield, Indiana, facility. This is ERI's first alkaline battery recycling plant.
5. Executive Changes - Clean Energy Software: Stem, a provider of clean energy software and services, has announced an executive shakeup and a strategic review of the business after suffering a major revenue shortfall in Q2 of 2024. The company named Doran Hole to succeed Bill Bush as CFO. Also, Stem has eliminated the chief strategy officer -- which means Prakesh Patel will exit the company. The board has also commenced a "strategic review of the business." Revenue was $34 million in Q2 of 2024 -- down 63% compared to Q2 of 2023.
6. Partnership - Texas Power Grid: Sunrun and Tesla Electric have partnered to ensure power from at-home batteries is available on the grid. Tesla Electric is a retail electricity provider operated by Tesla Energy Ventures LLC -- a subsidiary of Tesla.
7. R&D: Kioxia in August 2024 plans to showcase a new optical interface for next-generation data centers. The SSD technology "significantly increases the physical distance between the compute and storage devices, slims down wiring, while maintaining energy efficiency and high signal quality, the company said.
8. Launch: Climate Impact Partners has launched a carbon dioxide removal program for companies and organizations of all sizes.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Potential Exit - ESG Software: Private equity firm Thoma Bravo may be seeking to sell ESG software provider Cority for roughly $2 billion, Reuters reported.
2. Funding - Green Data Centers: Stack Infrastructure has raised $3 billion in new green financing for four U.S. data center projects. Stack has now secured more than $15 billion to further the development of its global portfolio of scalable campuses.
3. Funding - Quantum Computing: Riverlane has raised $75 million in Series C funding. Planet First Partners led the round, with participation from ETF Partners, EDBI, Cambridge Innovation Capital(CIC), Amadeus Capital Partners, the UK's National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), and Altair. Riverlane's goal is to achieve one million error-free quantum computer operations by 2026, the company said. In stark contrast, today's best quantum computers can perform only a few hundred quantum operations before failure, the startup asserts.
4. M&A - Energy Procurement: Enverus has acquired BidOut, a procurement platform that connects energy service providers with buyers. Enverus is an energy-focused SaaS company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
5. M&A - Building Consultancy: Pinchin, backed by Keystone Capital Management, has completed the CodeGreen acquisition. The seller was Victor Capital Partners. CodeGreen provides building and fire code consulting, special inspections, and sustainability advisory services, including energy modeling, decarbonization planning and implementation solutions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Building Automation: Climatec, a Bosch company, has acquired Engineered Control Solutions (ECS), a building automation solutions provider and system integrator with offices in North and South Carolina. ECS has about 100 employees. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
7. M&A - Last Mile Logistics: ConnectM Technology Solutions is acquiring DeliveryCircle for roughly $5.2 million. ConnectM develops an Energy Intelligence Network that helps service providers and consumers to improve their energy efficiency, electrification and decarbonization efforts. DeliveryCircle develops mobile technologies to improve last-mile delivery logistics. ConnectM merged with a SPAC company in July 2024 and is now publicly held. The company's stock (CNTM) has plummeted more than 90% since shares began trading in July 2024.
8. 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 - Trump Triggers EV Investment Concerns: Investors are exiting electric vehicle-focused funds, Bloomberg reported, as growth forecasts cool and with a potential reelection of Donald Trump seen posing a further challenge to profits.
2. Emerging Nations: The world’s poorest nations need to triple power production by 2050 to prosper and will become the biggest emitters of climate-warming gases, Bloomberg reported, unless they are given assistance to build renewable energy facilities, the Rockefeller Foundation said in a new report.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- XeroCon Nashville 2024Â (August 14-15, Nashville, Tennessee)
- World ESG Summit Dubai (August 20-21, Dubai, UAE)
- Tennessee Sustainability Conference 2024Â (Gatlinburg, Tennessee, August 20-23)
- VMware Explore 2024Â (August 26-29, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- 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.
