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, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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Our updates for Friday, March 24, 2023 include…
A. Sustainability and Net-Zero News and Research
1. Research - Net Zero Transition Costs: Around $3.5 trillion a year of capital investment will be needed on average between now and 2050 to build a net-zero global economy, up from $1 trillion per annum today, according to an Energy Transition Commission's research report.
2. Research - CFOs Prepare for ESG Reporting: Corporate finance departments are working to control ESG (100%), developing oversight of ESG reporting (97%), and increasing its role in preparing disclosures related to the SEC’s proposed reporting rules (93%), Persefoni research asserts.
3. Research - Canada Energy Careers: Canada will see 700,000 more energy jobs in a net-zero 2050 than exist today, according to a new report from Clean Energy Canada with modeling from Navius Research.
4. Research - Aviation Carbon Footprints: Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has entered into a research partnership with Honeywell Aerospace to examine methods involving hydrogen fuel cells to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, according to a local newspaper report.
5. Sustainability Consulting Awards: They're set to be announced June 27 in Chicago...
6. Green IT Awards: TUI Group, a global tourism organization, honored three technology partners as part of the first TUI Green IT Award. The honorees included:
- Technology from Amazon for the net zero transformation of a sports arena;
- a smart recycling process for workwear at Deutsche Telekom; and
- support for underrepresented groups in the IT industry by QA Ltd.
Two other companies received "special mention" for their commitment to sustainability. They were:
- Sonata Software (India), which promotes local tourism at heritage sites and monuments by providing resources to develop digital tours and platforms.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (USA), together with Facebook and Microsoft, is making hundreds of patents available royalty-free as part of the Low-Carbon Patent Pledge to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies.
7. Momentum - Decarbonization Spending: British industrial technology company Smiths Group upgraded its annual forecasts after a 27% increase in first-half profit as demand for its products soars on decarbonization trends and from airport upgrades, Reuters reported.
8. Manufacturing - Battery Plant: LG Energy Solution Ltd. of Seoul, South Korea, will invest $5.5 billion to build a massive manufacturing complex in Arizona as the electric-car battery maker seeks to speed up production in order to meet rising demand for clean cars, Bloomberg reported. The factory expects to begin mass production in 2025, the report said.
9. Carbon Credit Concerns: South Pole, the world’s leading purveyor of offsets, is facing allegations that it exaggerated climate claims around its forest-protection projects, Bloomberg reported. The uncertainty could influence how legions of companies try to slash their emissions.
10. Shareholder Votes - Corporate ESG Policies: U.S. companies are facing fewer shareholder proposals on social issues this year but more calls for climate action, The Wall Street Journal reported. Anti-ESG ones are increasing, too, the report said. The data is from the Sustainable Investments Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks such votes.
11. Europe: The European Central Bank and euro zone national central banks will publish their first detailed carbon footprints in the coming days, showing the environmental impact of years of crisis-fighting, Reuters reported.
12. Carbon Emissions Calculator: CSX announced an enhanced carbon emissions reduction calculator that will "help companies achieve their supply chain sustainability objectives by converting from truck to rail," the company said. To use the enhanced calculator, customers must register at ShipCSX.com. Admittedly, the calculator is a sales tool to help shift customers from trucking to rail shipments. But the tool could provide a framework for additional industries to set up their own carbon emissions reduction calculators...
B. Sustainability and Net-Zero Government Policies
1. United States - Government Contractors and Compliance: Nearly 1,400 companies would be required to submit their full greenhouse emissions data to bid for US federal contracts under the Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Proposed Rule, according to Persefoni research.
2. Sustainable Buildings: Federal agencies can now tap into a $250 million fund for projects to make their buildings more energy and water efficient after the Biden administration announced it would open up the money included as part of the recent infrastructure law, GovExec reported.
C. Sustainability Funding, Financing, Mergers & Acquisitions
1. Funding - Data Center: Trane Technologies has invested in LiquidStack, a developer of liquid immersion cooling for data centers. Financial terms of the Series B investment were not disclosed. Trane Technologies develops sustainable heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies. LiquidStack (previously known as Allied Control Limited or ACL) provides thermal management solutions to cloud services, semiconductor, manufacturing and IT hardware providers. LiquidStack previously raised $10 million in Series A funding -- though specific investor details were not disclosed in that 2021 announcement. Early LiquidStack partners include Wiwynn and Bitfury.
D. Sustainability Partnerships, Alliances and Associations
1. UK - Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Southern Britain is set for a major public rollout of electric-vehicle charging stations as officials seek to help consumers ditch combustion engines, Bloomberg reported. England’s Surrey County Council and EV-infrastructure company Connected Kerb plan to install 10,000 chargers by 2030, they said in a joint statement. The firm plans to invest £60 million in the project, which is the nation’s largest deployment of on-street EV posts by a local authority.
E. Sustainability Conferences, Summits and Events Calendar
Here are five upcoming sustainability conferences and ESG events for business and technology partners:
F. Send Us Your News Tips
Got news tips, research or data to share? Please email me the details.
Joe - All the best with your new newsletter!
Hey Richard: Always great to hear from you. Thank you for all of the briefings over the years. I truly value the journey and the expertise you always share with me.
Best,
-jp
Founder & Editorial Director
Sustainable Tech Partner