Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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A. Sustainable Technology, Talent, Partnerships and Alliances
1. New Corporate Sustainability Reports: Our database tracking corporate sustainability reports and associated net-zero goals now spans 126 companies and organizations. Today's additions include DKSH Management, Endeavor Mining, EnerSys, Herc Holdings, ICON plc, Sappi and Sempra.
2. Sustainable Technology Partner Programs: Our database tracking sustainable technology partner programs now spans 81 companies and organizations. The latest additions to the database include Altair, Alstom and Tuya.
3. Software and Consulting: Nutritics, a developer of food data management software -- has launched a sustainability consulting arm called Knowledge Labs. The consulting business will provide hospitality and food service operators with advice and support related to environmental, social and governance strategies.
4. Microgrid Electricity: Schneider Electric has unveiled EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex, which allows customers of all sizes to more rapidly deploy microgrid power solutions, the company said.
5. Launch - Sustainable Fleets Company: SVT Fleet Solutions has launched to offer an "end-to-end fleet optimization solution created to help companies and municipalities worldwide maximize vehicle efficiency, productivity, and total value," the company said.
6. Honored: Verizon has honored ERI with its annual Supplier Sustainability Award. ERIO specializes in IT and electronics asset disposition (ITAD).
7. IT Asset Disposition (ITAD): TES, which specializes in sustainable technology services, has expanded its global facility footprint to over 2.5 million square feet. Those facilities assist companies with lifecycle solutions for their technology assets, TES said.
8. Deployment - High Performance Computing (HPC): Lenovo is installing a high-performance computer (HPC) at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The new system is intended to support researchers in their work to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of climate change, in order to subsequently develop strategies for the sustainable existence of mankind and nature, Lenovo said.
9. Partnership - Smart Homes and IoT: Tuya Smart and Centurion Corporation are partnering to promote smart home technologies in the global rental market. The parties also aim to deploy IoT solutions to promote ESG and create a greener and more user-friendly rental environment, the companies said.
10. Partnership - High Performance Computing (HPC): Imperial College London has signed a joint collaboration with Lenovo and Intel to deliver more sustainable High Performance Computing (HPC) as part of their central Research Computing Service (RCS).
11. Partnership - Solar Power: Imerys, a supplier of mineral-based specialty solutions, is partnering with TotalEnergies to install a large-scale solar power system paired with battery energy storage at its Lompoc facility in Santa Barbara County, California. This project will eliminate approximately 7,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.
12. Partnership - Cloud Services: SAP and Accenture are collaborating on immersive services and simulations to improve supply chain resilience and sustainability, the companies said.
13. Partnership - Chips: GlobalFoundries, Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) joined Imec’s Sustainable Semiconductor Technologies and Systems (SSTS) research program. Those three chipmakers join existing SSTS members (such as Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon) in “assessing the [environmental] impact from the manufacturing of semiconductor integrated chips,” according to SDxCentral.
14. Partnerships - Innovation Hub: Ion, Houston’s innovation hub, said its latest corporate partners include Occidental, United Airlines Ventures (UAV) and Woodside Energy The Ion is designed to bring Houston's entrepreneurial, corporate and academic communities together into collaborative spaces and programs.
15. Partnership - Mobile Sustainability: Alstom and Export Development Canada (EDC) have signed a Sustainable Global Corporate Partnership agreement to promote investments in clean mobility worldwide. The three-year agreement contemplates future export financing support and insurance for mobility projects led by Alstom’s customers within a maximum total limit of CAD$3.5 billion (€2.3 billion), the companies said.
16. Financial Services: A group of banks led by Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley is working on a compromise deal to unlock a months-long stalemate that’s stalled efforts to calculate and disclose the carbon footprints of the industry’s capital-markets operations, Bloomberg reported.
17. Research - Digital Twin Technologies: Fully 92% of automotive respondents who use digital twin technology said it has helped them create more sustainable products and processes – and automotive was the most likely sector (63%) to be using digital twin technologies to reach sustainability objectives, according to research from Altair -- which promotes digital twin technology.
18. Talent - Financial Services and Real Estate: Galvanize Climate Solutions has hired Goldman Sachs veteran Allison Fremed as portfolio manager and chief operating officer for the company's recently launched sustainable real estate investment strategy. Galvanize Climate Solutions is a climate-focused global investment firm.
19. Talent - Consulting: International consulting firm BIP has named Trevor Hutchings as partner for sustainability. Trevor will continue to grow BIP’s sustainability consulting services, to help organizations improve their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance and clean energy transition.
20. Science Based Targets Initiative - Progress Report: The Science Based Targets initiative has earned praise for pushing companies to take climate action, but can voluntary emissions targets really get the world where it needs to be? MIT Technology Review offers perspectives here.
B. Sustainability M&A & Investments
1. M&A - Energy Infrastructure: Oneok is acquiring Magellan Midstream Partners for $18.8 billion.
2. Funding: Climate technology startup Pledge has raised $10 million in Series A funding to drive its mission to help businesses reach net zero emissions, starting with logistics and supply chain, the company said.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability News
1. United States - New York Financial Grants: Governor Kathy Hochul announced $8 million is now available for the Climate Smart Communities Grant program to help municipalities take action to address climate change.
2. Europe - CSRD Compliance Research: The majority (94%) of European organizations surveyed are working to become compliant with the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) by 2024, but their lack of decisive action is putting them at risk of running out of time, according to a second annual report by Workiva.
3. France - Tax Credits: The French government plans to budget half a billion euros annually for a new tax credit for environmentally-friendly investments as part of a bill presented to green the industrial sector, Reuters reported.
4. Germany - Heat Pumps: Johnson Controls will supply the city of Hamburg, Germany, with a heat-pump system that will lower carbon dioxide emissions by 66,000 tons a year, the company said. Johnson Controls is working with utilities Hamburg Wasser and Hamburg Energy on the installation, SeekingAlpha reported.
5. Australia - Fossil Fuels and Carbon Capture Technology: Chevron and Exxon Mobil, the two largest U.S. fossil fuel companies, are seeking Australia's backing for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen projects as they look to increase investment in a bid to slash intensity of carbon emissions, Reuters reported.
6. Australia - Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations: Australians are starting to buy electric vehicles in large numbers, and the government is trying to accelerate the adoption of cleaner cars, but industry executives say installing chargers rapidly enough to meet the boom will not be easy, Reuters reported.
7. G7 - Japan's Perspectives: Rich nations should boost financial and technical support to poorer countries to help them tackle climate change and achieve similar decarbonization goals, a senior Japanese environment ministry official said ahead of a G7 summit in Hiroshima, Reuters reported.
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