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. Partnership - IT Consulting and Data Management: IT consulting firm Deloitte and data software company Informatica are partnering to drive ESG and sustainability data solutions for customers, Silicon Angle reported.
2. Channel Partners: Lenovo 360 Circle opened to global channel partners in 2023. Fast forward to May 2023, and more 2,000 channel partners across 43 countries have joined the sustainability-focused channel program, according to Katelyn Hill, global communications manager, International Markets, Lenovo.
3. Partnership - AI and Low Carbon Data Center Designs: Purdue University and Google announced a sustainability partnership that involves leveraging AI to develop low-carbon industrial building designs -- such as data centers.
4. Parting Ways - Mobile Device Repairs: iFixit has ended a device repair relationship with Samsung, stating that multiple obstacles made iFixit "doubt Samsung’s commitment to making repair more accessible."
5. Windows 10 End-of-Life Reminder: Microsoft has posted end-of-life and migration reminders for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. Microsoft will discontinue software and security updates after October 14, 2025. The operating system will continue to work, but the company is urging customers to deploy Windows 11 for continued software enhancements. Critics worry that Windows 10's end of life could potentially trigger massive PC e-waste.
6. AI - Proposed Lawsuit Dismissed: A California federal judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit that accused OpenAI and Microsoft of using stolen personal data to train ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence systems, Reuters reported.
B. Sustainability M&A, Investments, Funding and Green IT Business Launches
1. Amazon Accelerator: The latest Amazon Sustainability Accelerator includes 15 startups from across Europe. The startups focus on such areas circular economy, energy in buildings and packaging. The four-week program is "designed to help start-ups navigate the challenges of scaling a sustainability business." Participants will "meet and work with experts in Amazon’s Sustainability, Climate Pledge Fund and Climate Pledge Friendly teams, attend workshops, receive mentorship and £10,000 worth of AWS Activate Credits." And new this year, startups can "can pitch for the chance to pilot their technology with Amazon, with a potential investment of between £50,000 - £2 million," Amazon said. Related: Special thanks to HT Materials Science (HTMS) -- a startup in the accelerator -- for sending us the news.
2. Brinc Accelerator: Brinc has selected nine startups for its Spring 2024 Climate Tech program. The startups focus on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and agrifood.
3. Funding and Research - Sustainable IT Solutions: The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded $36 million to three research projects that may reduce the carbon footprints associated with computers. The three projects are:
4. M&A (Sort Of): Partners at KPMG Switzerland and KPMG UK have voted in favor of merging their partnerships. The merger involves KPMG establishing a new limited liability partnership (LLP) -- bringing together the two firm’s equity partners. The new LLP will own the existing UK and Swiss firms. But take a closer look and, KPMG Switzerland and KPMG UK will remain separate firms governed by the respective national laws and supervision.
5. 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 - Carbon Offset Policy: The U.S. government unveiled a policy for using voluntary carbon credits that seeks to put "guardrails" to boost confidence in a nascent market after some high-profile offset projects failed to deliver the promised emissions reductions, Reuters reported.
2. United States - Florida Renewable Energy Policy: Florida on July 1 will eliminate regulations that require utilities to shift to renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
3. United Kingdom - Wind Farm Fine: A wind farm in Scotland will pay £33.14 million ($42.3 million) to UK energy regulator Ofgem for breaching energy market rules, Bloomberg reported.
4. UK Climate Policy: The new timeline for the UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards would require companies to disclose climate impacts beginning in 2026, Latham and Watkins reported.
5. France - Battery Factory: French battery startup Verkor has secured more than €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) in green loans to complete a plant in northern France, Bloomberg reported, helped by President Emmanuel Macron‘s efforts to attract electric-vehicle investments and compete with the US and China.
6. China Carbon Emissions: China is spewing less carbon into the atmosphere for the first time since the pandemic ended, Bloomberg reported, signaling that the world’s biggest polluter may have peaked emissions more than half a decade before its own deadline, Carbon Brief research found.
D. Sustainability and Green Technology Conference Calendar
- Cisco Live 2024 (June 2-6, Las Vegas, Nevada)
- ClimaTech 2024 (June 3-6, Boston, Massachusetts)
- Computex 2024 (June 3-7, Taipei, Taiwan)
- SAP Sapphire 2024 (June 3-5, Orlando, Florida)
- Siemens Realize Live Europe 2024 (June 3-5, Munich, Germany)
- 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.
