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 138 companies and organizations. Today's additions include ADM, Agree Realty, Beacon, Ingredion, Piana Technology and Polaris.
2. Sustainable Technology Partner Programs: Our database tracking sustainable technology partner programs now spans 89 companies and organizations. The latest additions to the database include smart building and IoT technology specialist BuildingSync, GreenBox, GRC (Green Revolution Cooling), Suntuity Renewables and Toggled.
3. Chief Sustainability Officer: PepsiCo Europe has named Archana Jagannathan as its new chief sustainability officer (CSO) for Europe. Related: See more than 235 CSOs listed here.
4. IT Services: Logicalis is striving to accelerate its sustainability efforts, CEO Bob Bailkoski told TechTarget MicroScope. Separately, Blue Connections of Australia achieved carbon neutral certification for its fiscal year 2022.
5. E-Waste: Schneider Electric has revamped its Trade-UPS program for the Australian market, ARN reported. The program, initially launched in 2008, has been re-jigged to allow certain partners the opportunity to trade in and recycle old APC or competitor-branded units, free of charge. The upgraded offering is available to APC by Schneider Electric Select, Premier and Elite partners, ARN said.
6. Dell Tech World and Sustainable Data Centers: GRC (Green Revolution Cooling) will demonstrate immersion cooling for data centers during the Dell Technologies World 2023 conference this week in Las Vegas. Moreover, Nexalus and GRC will discuss sustainable cooling practices during a fireside chat at the conference.
7. Partnership - Sustainability and Startups: SAP and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have launched the Intelligent Sustainable Enterprise program, a six-month program f"ocused on supporting tech startups to build innovative solutions for businesses in the following areas: 5G, internet of things (IoT), robotics, data analytics and augmented, virtual, or mixed reality (AR/VR/MR), the companies said.
8. Smart Buildings - Energy Audits: Keep an eye on BuildingSync, which develops a "standardized language for building energy audits that makes sharing and using audit data easy," the organization said.
9. Partnership - Carbon Capture Technology: 3M and Svante Technologies are partnering to develop "material that can trap carbon dioxide (CO2) found in the atmosphere and permanently remove it," the two companies said.
10. GE CFO and Company Breakup: GE announced a chief financial officer transition. The move comes amid GE's plan to breakup into three companies. One component includes spinning off the energy and power businesses in 2024 into a newly traded company called GE Vernova.
11. Fossil Fuels vs. ESG: The recent Republican push against sustainable investing likely originated in a backroom campaign by the fossil fuel industry in states like West Virginia and Texas, according to The Hill.
B. Sustainability M&A, Funding and Investments
1. Funding - Renewable Energy and Private Equity: GenPro Energy Solutions, an engineering procurement and construction company in the renewable energy space, has completed a growth capital funding round. South Dakota Equity Partners and Jim Thares of Aberdeen, South Dakota led the round. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
2. M&A - Solar Energy and SPAC: Residential solar and storage provider Suntuity Renewables plans to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the latest clean-tech firm to take that path to market even as investor enthusiasm for such stocks dims, Bloomberg reported. Suntuity will merge with Beard Energy Transition Acquisition Corp. in a deal expected to give the combined company a $249 million pro-forma enterprise value, the companies said.
3. M&A - Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Infrastructure: In a step to address the fast-growing demand for EV charging infrastructure in India, Siemens plans to acquire the EV division of Mumbai-based Mass-Tech Controls Private. The purchase price was roughly €4.3 million ($4.65 million), the companies said.
4. M&A List: Our list tracking sustainability mergers and acquisitions in 2023 now spans more 56 deals.
5. Bill Gates Investments and Solar Energy Innovations: The majority of solar power generation comes from conventional silicon-based panels made in China, a technology little-changed since silicon cells were discovered in the 1950s, CNBC notes. The new twist: Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures is among the investors betting that scientific knowledge gained from a mineral found roughly 200 years ago (called perovskite), can lead to a new, more efficient leader in solar energy, the CNBC report said. Among the moves to note: The biggest U.S. solar company, First Solar, recently acquired a perovskite tech player, CNBC pointed out.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability News
1. G7 Meeting - Commitments and Critics: Multiple sustainability statements surfaced during a G7 meeting in Japan, but critics alleged multiple shortfalls in the efforts, The Group of Seven is a political forum that includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union is a "non-enumerated member." Key developments from the G7 meeting include:
Meanwhile, various green climate groups objected to continued G7 support for more gas investments.
2. United States - Texas: The city of Waco, Texas has launched a Green Business Alliance to develop and promote a sustainable economy.
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