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. IT Distribution: TD SYNNEX has set various sustainability goals that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the distributor said.
2. Partnership - IT Consulting and Energy Management: Capgemini and Schneider Electric are partnering to assist customers with energy optimization services. Together, the two companies have launched Energy Command Center -- a platform that can "monitor, predict, control, and optimize all energy assets," the firms said.
3. Quantum Computing: In the past two years, IBM and collaborators launched five quantum computing working groups. The groups include healthcare & life sciences; materials science; high energy physics; optimization; and sustainability. The sustainability group kicked off in May 2024.
4. Data Management Software: Denodo, a data management specialist, is "expanding its efforts to provide energy and utility companies with the necessary data management capabilities to gain advanced capabilities and meet new renewable energy requirements, all while remaining in compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory demands," the company said.
5. AI Partnership Concerns: Microsoft's relationship with G42 -- a major IT consulting firm in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- may attract scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Commerce, SeekingAlpha reported.
6. Carbon Removal Credits: Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce have launched the Symbiosis Coalition, an "advance market commitment for nature-based removal credits in the voluntary carbon market."
7. Smart Buildings: Johnson Controls has completed a "comprehensive sustainability project" at its Norman, Oklahoma, manufacturing facility. The plant modernization project is expected to generate $960,000 in annual savings, reduce emissions at the site by 43% and "create a blueprint for global organizations seeking to implement building modernization projects that bring value to owners, employees, investors and communities," the company said. Johnson Controls has bet its business on smart building technology that align with customers' energy efficiency, sustainability and decarbonization goals. But the company could face some activist investor challenges amid underwhelming revenue and stock performance in recent quarters.
8. Partnership - Supply Chain Visibility: Supplier.io and CDP are partnering to provide "companies with a comprehensive view of suppliers’ climate performance to enable the collaboration, reduction, and data-driven decisions needed to meet net-zero targets, regulatory requirements, and overall business goals," the two organizations said.
9. Potential Partnerships: Meta, parent of Facebook, may explore media company partnerships to train and improve its Meta AI chatbot, Business Insider said.
10. Food Supply Chain Management: Several Ireland supermarkets -- including including Dunnes Stores, Tesco Ireland and ALDI Ireland – are leveraging Kwayga's technology to improve their supply chains. The effort strives to address "the challenges posed by the rising cost of living through sustainable practices," a press release stated.
11. Ethical Clothing: Keep an eye on Ethical Clothing, a search engine that indexes more than 150 ethical and sustainable brands in Europe and North America to help "conscious shoppers find sustainable clothing."
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Amazon Shareholder Vote: Amazon.com investors voted against all 14 resolutions that asked the retailer to disclose more about its carbon emissions and its directors' donations, and to form a committee to oversee artificial-intelligence development, among other issues, Reuters reported.
2. Financing - Energy as a Service: Redaptive, which positions itself as an Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) business, has lined up $250 million in financing from Deutsche Bank, Rabobank and Mitsubishi HC Capital America. Redaptive continues to focus on HVAC, LED, and solar projects, among others.
3. Financing - Renewable Energy Projects: Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc., has secured a revolving credit facility valued at up to €1.3 billion with 10 banks for the construction of renewable energy projects in several European countries.
4. Financing - Green Data Centers: Soluna Holdings, a developer of green data centers for intensive computing applications including Bitcoin mining and AI, has lined up financing from Spring Lane Capital. The relationship involves up to $30 million in potential financing.
5. M&A - No Deal: Schneider Electric and Bentley Systems have ended M&A talks, Reuters reported.
6. M&A - Commercial Solar Projects: Lazard Sustainable Private Infrastructure (Lazard SPI) plans to acquire Collective Energy GmbH, which owns and operates rooftop solar PV systems, and consultings to communities and commercial clients in Austria.
7. M&A - EV Battery Testing Technologies: UL Solutions has acquired BatterieIngenieure GmbH of Aachen, Germany. The acquired business, including about 50 employees, tests battery systems used in electric vehicles and other applications. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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 - New York Carbon Disclosure Regulations: Keep an eye on Senate Bills S897, S5437, S7704 and S7705 -- which focus on various sustainability requirements for businesses. It's unclear if the bills will ever become law...
2. Latin America Data Centers: Scala Data Centers, a Latin American sustainable data center platform provider, remains a carbon-neutral company. The company leverages renewable power sources for 100% of its operations, according to Scala Data Centers' 2023 Sustainability Report.
3. United Kingdom - Mid West South: The Mid South West (MSW) Region has launched a “Driving Net Zero Transformation Programme” -- which offers up to 90 local businesses personalised Net Zero assessments and action plans. Key partners include Carbonfit, a carbon accounting and online coaching system provider.
4. United Kingdom - Grid Modernization: National Grid Plc plans to raise £6.8 billion ($8.7 billion) of capital to help fund a massive investment program, Bloomberg reported, as the shift to net zero requires a sweeping overhaul of Britain’s power network.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Apidays (May 28-29, Helsinki)
- Concordia Europe Summit (May 28-29, Porto, Portugal)
- Cisco Live 2024 (June 2-6, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- ClimaTech 2024 (June 3-6, Boston, Massachusetts)
- Computex 2024 (June 3-7, Taipei, Taiwan)
- 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.
