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. New Fairphone CEO (Again): Fairphone has hired Raymond van Eck as CEO, the sustainable smartphone maker said. van Eck succeeds Reinier Hendriks, who served as CEO for only about six months. Fairphone, founded in 2013, strives to design, deliver and support smartphones using sustainable technologies and green business practices. But the Fairphone CEO position has been a revolving door since Eva Gouwens stepped down in June 2023.
2. Sustainability Management Software (SMS) - Market Growth Forecast: The global sustainability management software and services market will reach $3.175 billion by 2032, up from $1.45 billion in 2023, according to Astute Analytica. That's a 9.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the research firm said. Â As of 2024, 85% of global businesses are subject to some form of sustainability reporting mandate, pushing them to adopt SMS to streamline compliance, Astute Analytica said.
3. Green IT Services Research - Market Growth Forecast: The global green IT services market will reach $84.71 billion by 2031, up from $26.83 billion in 2024, according to Coherent Market Insights (CMI). That's a 17.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), CMI said. The forecast covers software, managed services, professional services, consulting and more.
4. Platform Integration - Smart Homes:Â A Minut-Google Nest technology integration "enables property managers to significantly lower energy bills and carbon footprints by remotely managing heating and cooling across their short-term rental portfolios," the two companies said. Minut develops smart property management solutions to help protect rental owners and their guests.
5. Partner Program - Sustainability Specialization: ePlus Technology and its IGXGlobal UK subsidiary have successfully renewed their Cisco Environmental Sustainability Specialization.
6. Partnership - IT Consulting and Cloud Services: Deloitte and Google are touting Google Cloud are touting sustainable IT services to help customers "measure biodiversity, detect greenhouse gas emissions, create responsible supply chains, plan more livable cities, understand and prepare for climate-induced risks like flooding, wildfires, or drought, and so much more." Key names to know at Deloitte include:
- Jamie Sawchuk, global Alphabet Google sustainability and climate lead; and
- Anant Dinamani, US Google Cloud alliance sustainability and climate lead.
7. Hospitality Services: Honeywell has launched INNCOM Direct, an energy management system for mid-market hotel properties. The platform helps hotels to monitor energy consumption across properties and automate energy efficiencies, Honeywell asserted.
8. EV Charging Network Enhancements: EVgo has updated the company's EV charging network with various performance, reliability and diagnostics improvements. New capabilities include the Canary Model, a performance monitoring tool that can "automatically identify and analyze patterns and support diagnostics." The updates surfaced a few days after EVgo announced 32% revenue growth in Q2 of 2024 compared to Q2 of 2023. Ahead of the earnings, EVgo hired Tesla veterans Martin Sukup and Jeff Inhofer. Moreover, GM veteran Alex Keros this month joins as senior VP of product.
9. Talent & Executive Leadership: Engineering consultancy AESG has hired International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)Â veteran Devan Valenti as director of sustainability for Australia.
10. Lawsuit - AI Training: Austrian advocacy group NOYB filed a complaint against social media platform X Reuters reported, accusing the Elon Musk-owned company of training its AI with users' personal data without their consent in violation of EU privacy law.
11. AI PCs - Apple Market Share: Apple currently dominates 60% of the AI-capable PC market, according to Canalys. AI-capable PCs typically include a dedicated chipset to run AI workloads locally, the research firm says. Example AI-focused chipsets include AMD XDNA, Apple Neural Engine, Intel AI Boost and Qualcomm Hexagon, SeekingAlpa noted. The big questions: Do customers actually realize they're buying AI-capable PCs, and will they use the devices for AI-intensive applications?
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Fund: Stewart Investors has launched an APAC (Asia Pacific) and Japan sustainability fund, Investment International reported.
2. M&A - Solar Power: Tongwei Co., one of China’s largest solar manufacturers, plans to acquire at least 51% of rival Runergy for up to $700 million, Bloomberg reported, as consolidation accelerates in an industry grappling with oversupply and losses.
3. M&A - Circular IT Asset Management: Tide Rock, an investment firm focused on sustainable IT services, has acquired circular IT asset management firm Premier LogiTech of Dallas, Texas. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. This is Tide Rock's second acquisition in recent days. The other involved Full Circle Electronics, backed by Tide Rock, acquiring Global Electronics Recycling (GER) -- an IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) specialist.
4. M&A - Distributed Energy Resource Management (DERM): Budderfly has acquired a grid-edge distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) from Sunverge Energy. Budderfly's goal: Aggregate distributed energy resources (DERS) across its customer sites, positioning the company to "create virtual power plants (VPPs) capable of providing flexibility to the grid, increasing resiliency for customers and growing new revenue streams." Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Budderfly typically provides Energy as a Service solutions to restaurant chains, assisted living facilities, retail franchises, and other types of businesses that have standardized, repeatable footprints. Related: Budderfly CEO Al Subbloie described the business strategy in this podcast.
5. M&A - Environmental Consulting: Trinity Consultants has acquired Environmental Compliance & Safety, Inc. (ECS), a Mississippi-based consulting company with specialized environmental and safety expertise. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
6. M&A - Exit: Johnson Controls has sold its CPVC pipe & fittings business to Aliaxis. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move is part of a larger Johnson Controls strategy to shift its revenues toward smart buildings and sustainable data center technology. Amid pressure from activist investors, Johnson Controls has sold off multiple assets and is seeking a CEO to succeed George Oliver.
7. M&A - Supply Chain and ESG Software: Vista Equity Partners has acquired Jaggaer, a provider of enterprise procurement software. Jaggaer's software allows customers to "harness ESG data" in a quest to "optimize sustainability across procurement and supply chain" activities, the company asserts. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
8. M&A - Private Equity and Sustainability Software: EQT Private Equity has acquired AMCS, a SaaS company that offers Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), recycling, transport, and EHSQ & ESG software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Several existing investors -- including Insight PartnersClearlake Capital, Highland Europe and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund -- are expected to retain minority stakes in AMCS.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability Policies and News
1. COP29 - United Nations Climate Conference Challenges: Numerous businesses plan to either skip or send smaller delegations to COP29, Politico reported, wary of the event’s location and logistics, the oil-evangelizing autocratic regime running it, and the prospect of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential election just days before the November 2024 summit begins.Â
2. Global Financial Services - Carbon Concerns: Global banks aren’t living up to targets to cut their financing of activities that are directly fueling climate change, Bloomberg reported, based on a new study by the World Resources Institute.
3. Malaysia - E-Waste Violations: Five e-waste facilities in Malaysia face suspensions after failing to comply with the Environmental Quality Act of 1974, the Sun reported.
4. Australia - IT Services Face Economic Headwinds: EY Australia's revenue was AU$2.81 billion (US$1.86 billion) in fiscal year 2024, down 5.5% from fiscal year 2023, the professional services and IT consulting firm said. EY blamed economic headwinds for the falling revenue, thought the company pointed to a few bright-spot areas. For instance, the company continues to tout "audit quality, generative AI, digital transformation and supporting our clients to tackle the energy transition." Also, assurance-related revenue (which includes climate change and sustainability consulting) was AU$710 million (US$1.1 billion) during fiscal year 2024, though we don't know comparative results from FY2023.
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.
