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. Honorees - Most Sustainable Companies: Time and Statista used these parameters to identify the World's Most Sustainable Companies for 20224.
2. Research - Green IT Services Market Forecast: The global green IT services market will reach $37.13 billion by 2032, up from $15.14 billion in 2023, according to Astute Analytica. That's a 10.48% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the market researcher said.
3. IT Services, AI and Energy Efficiency: NTT Data has launched Tsuzumi -- a large language model (LLM) that is designed to ease the "environmental and financial challenges typically associated with LLMs," the company said. Tsuzumi runs on Microsoft Azure AI Models as a Service (MaaS). Tsuzumi surfaces at a key time. Critics worry that AI workloads will cause cloud and data center energy consumption will skyrocket. Optimizing LLMs for energy efficiency is one way to potentially offset some of those concerns. Still, NTT Data did not say how much energy Tsuzumi can save compared to rival LLMs.
4. Executive Leadership - IT Asset Disposition (ITAD): EPC Inc., an ITAD provider and subsidiary of CSI Leasing, has made two promotions: VP Ted Coffey shifts to COO, and VP Joe Prenger shifts to senior VP of sales. Also, former COO Lee Gallagher has retired from EPC after 18 years at the business.
5. Partnership - Supply Chain Visibility: OPTEL and ERM are partnering to help customers with "enhanced supply chain visibility and reporting capabilities," the companies said.
6. Partnership - Accounting and Finance: FloQast and Uniqus Consultech are partnering to help accounting and finance teams to "improve risk management, efficiency, and scalability for organizations."
7. Amazon: One of Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery sites in Sacramento, California—known as SCA5—has is North America’s first fulfillment center to earn the “Zero Carbon Certification” from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), Amazon said.
8. Startups to Watch: The Resilient New Orleans Innovation Challenge Showcase, organized by Finance New Orleans and Elemental Excelerator, announced four winners. They are:
- Gro Enterprises, which implements and manufactures carbon negative, high performance building materials sourced from industrial hemp, creating sustainable housing for the future of New Orleans.
- Gradient, which makes high efficiency air conditioning and heating equipment that can be installed by anyone.
- RainStick, which develops water and energy technology for the home, allowing people to thrive using only 13 gallons of water per person daily.
- Frontline Gig, which is an AI-driven workforce development platform that will connect 10 million blue-collar workers to the green economy.
9. AI Cloud and Construction Services: Google Cloud and Eiffage, a construction and concessions company in Europe, are partnering on AI to "boost Eiffage's teams' efficiency and ease of working, through a planned technology approach and acculturation strategy." Eiffage's IT platform will also "benefit from the lower-carbon footprint and higher sustainability performance of Google Cloud's infrastructure, supporting Eiffage's own sustainability strategy," the companies said.
10. Sustainability Reporting Standard: The "expanded collaboration between the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation signifies a pivotal moment for corporate sustainability reporting," according to Fadi Al Shihabi, head of ESG & decarbonization at KPMG.
11. Energy Grid Software: Breakthrough Energy, backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has launched its Grid Modelling Project, an open-source platform that "will enable any part of the world to build a 21st century clean grid by improving grid planning, forecasting and integration of clean energy," Recharge News reported.
12. Energy Transition Challenges: The cost of sustainable energy and inadequate supply chain infrastructure are thought to be the biggest barriers to transitioning to sustainable fuel sources, according to survey results from law firm Reed Smith.
13. Partner Program - EV Charging: Austin Energy of Texas has launched a partner program for customers with an EV charger at home.
14. Green Building Guidance: Multiple organizations have partnered to launch Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans. The guide details how various building verification and certification standards can be "used to comply with global classifications and bond frameworks, setting a trajectory for the global built environment to meet a sustainable 1.5°C climate threshold," the organizations said.
15. Carbon Offsets: Reworld has launched ReCredit, a program designed to "help customers achieve their net-zero goals through the purchase of sustainable carbon offsets." Its inaugural member is cleantech company, Carbonxt.
16. Tesla - Air Quality Concerns: Tesla must fix air quality problems at its electric vehicle manufacturing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area after racking up more than 100 violations for allegedly releasing toxic emissions into the atmosphere over the last five years, the Associated Press reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. For Sale? Legence, the major sustainability consulting firm focused on built environments, may be up for sale, a report says.
2. Investor Guidance: A new guide may help corporate investors and financial institutions understand how and why to invest in high-integrity Natural Climate Solutions (NCS). Multiple organizations -- including the ERM Sustainability Institute, Natural Climate Solutions Alliance (NCSA), Forest Investor Club (FIC) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) -- developed the guide.
3. 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. China - Offshore Wind Farms: China will see the price of offshore wind power dip below that of coal-generated electricity for the first time this year, as the government approves a raft of the renewable energy projects, Bloomberg reported.
2. Egypt - Wind Farm Project: Construction of one of the world’s biggest wind farms in Egypt will begin by March 2026, Bloomberg reported, as grueling power cuts during a broiling summer highlight the North African nation’s energy needs.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- CleanTech Venture Day 2024 (July 2, London, United Kingdom)
- Siemens Beyond 1% Summit 2024 (July 3-4, Sydney, Australia)
- Stanford Sustainability Summit 2024 (July 8-9, Stanford University)
- Sun Valley Forum 2024 (July 15-18, Ketchum Idaho)
- CSR and Sustainability Summit MOZ 2024 (July 17-18, Mozambique)
- 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.
