Here is today’s sustainability, Net Zero and circular economy news, research and analysis. This daily update is designed for technology partners, management consultants, CIOs and chief sustainability officers (CSOs). Our updates for Thursday, March 16, 2023 include:
1. Government Contract - Sustainable Energy: KBC Energy Solutions has won a five-year, $121 million with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for mission execution support services. NETL's mission is to "drive innovation and deliver solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future."
2. Research - GHG (Green House Gas) Monitoring Market Forecast: The global market for real-time green house gas (GHG) monitoring solutions will reach $1.45 billion in 2030, up from $350 million in 2022. That's a 19.5% compound annual growth rate, according to Research and Markets.
3. Research - Sustainability Teams Expand: Direct reports to CSOs have doubled to eight from four between 2011 and 2023, according a Weinreb survey, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
4. Research - Canada Sustainability Challenges: Ahead of this year's federal budget, most Canadian business leaders are committed to integrating environment, social and governance (ESG) practices into their business strategies but say they need more help from government if Canada is to transition to a greener economy, a KPMG in Canada survey found.
5. Chief Sustainability Officers: York University of Toronto, Canada has hired Mike Layton as its first chief sustainability officer. Layton is a York alum and former Toronto City Councillor.
6. Supply Chain Consultancies: Here's a list of the Top 10 sustainable supply chain consultancies, according to SupplyChain.com.
7. Partnership - Net Zero Plant: Novelis Inc. and Net Zero Lab Valais have launched "key energy projects aimed at enabling scope 1 and 2 carbon neutral production at Novelis' Sierre plant in Switzerland," the two organizations said.
8. Copper Mines - Decarbonization Roadmap: The International Copper Association has launched a new roadmap, “Copper – The Pathway to Net Zero.” The roadmap's goal: Reaching net-zero emissions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2050, and working towards the same objective for Scope 3 emissions, Energy and Mine reported.
9. Agriculture - Cloud Application: Bayer -- working with Sonata Software and Microsoft -- has built a cloud solution for the agri-food industry. The solution will "benefit farmers seeking to track carbon emission and capture, track disease, pest and weed pressure, apply precision inputs, identify crop growth and production patterns, measure potential yield, and analyze heat stress impact, rainfall, hail and weather data," Bayer said.
10. Maritime Shipping Decarbonization: Aspen Institute has unveiled the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), alongside co-founders Amazon, Patagonia, and Tchibo. As a non-profit organization and initiative of Cargo Owners for Zero Emissions Vessels (coZEV), the mission of ZEMBA is to enable companies to access zero-emission shipping solutions that are not currently available, the founders said. ZEMBA plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RfP) in 2023 to forward procure maritime shipping services that achieve zero or near-zero emissions on a lifecycle basis, for all greenhouse gases, not limited to carbon dioxide. The delivery of these services will be expected to start in 2025 or 2026.
11. Renewable Energy Projects - Britain: Britain’s next auction round to spur renewable power projects will be worth about 205 million pounds ($247 million), Reuters reported.
12. UK Green Budget Concerns: Green campaigners say the UK’s new budget missed an opportunity to supercharge the country’s clean energy transition at a time when it desperately needs to decarbonize its electricity and heating infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £20 billion ($24 billion) in funding for carbon capture and storage, as well as support for small modular nuclear reactors and corporate energy efficiency schemes. But the head of Britain’s treasury did not mention any new funding for renewable energy, despite hailing the country’s role as a world leader in offshore wind, Bloomberg said.
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Sustainability Conference Calendar
Here are five upcoming sustainability conferences and ESG events for business and technology partners:
- Sustainability Week 2023 (March 29-31, London, England)
- Responsible Business USA 2023 Sustainability Conference (April 4-5)
- Green Media Summit 2023 (April 13, New York)
- Sustainable Skies World Summit 2023 (April 17-18)
- EnerCom Dallas 2023 (April 18-19, Dallas, Texas)
