Our Microsoft sustainability journey
Managing the sustainability of our operations is at the core of our journey to create a more sustainable world.
Carbon
We’re committed to being carbon negative by 2030 and by 2050 remove from the atmosphere an equivalent amount of all the carbon dioxide our company has emitted either directly or by our electricity consumption since we were founded in 1975.
Climate Innovation Fund
We created a $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund to support innovative technologies and business models that have the potential for meaningful, measurable climate impact by 2030.
Carbon Removal
We’re on a mission to build the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) capacity that the world will need to help prevent the worst effects of climate change.
Thermal Energy Center
We’re innovating with thermal energy as part of our Redmond Campus Modernization project with the Thermal Energy Center.
Implementing all-electric kitchens
In 2022, Microsoft opened our first all-electric kitchen on our Redmond campus. We released a new Dining All-Electric white paper sharing our lessons learned, technical details, and decision making.
Water
Microsoft is committed to being water positive by 2030. We’re strengthening how we manage water within Microsoft, while working to improve the way the world evaluates and manages water today and for future generations.
The five pillars of water positive
Getting to water positive goes beyond reducing water-use intensity and replenishing water sources; it’s also about providing people across the globe with access to water and sanitation services, engaging in public policy, and driving innovation.
Water risk monetizer
Ecolab partnered with Microsoft to develop the water risk monetizer—this free tool allows you to assess the true value of water and risk exposure you face.
Water Works
Our Silicon Valley campus is pursuing Net-Zero water certification and is on track to be one of first tech campuses to secure this certification.
Pioneering liquid immersion cooling
In 2021, Microsoft became the first cloud provider to run two-phased liquid immersion cooling in a production environment—it’s a key part of our effort to make datacenters more sustainable and efficient to build, operate, and maintain.
Waste
We’re taking an increasingly circular approach to materials management. As a company that manufactures devices, builds campuses and datacenters, and uses manufactured goods in our operations, we’ve committed to responsibly design and source materials and build a more circular approach into our work and the world.
Circular Centers
At Microsoft, we’re building Circular Centers at our campuses to help improve our own materials management at all stages of our devices’ and products’ lifecycles.
Designing for repairability
Microsoft invests in this space and the findings will aid in our product design and plans for expanding device repair options for our customers that are safe, effective, and sustainable. Our latest Surface products feature a host of replaceable components.
Reducing packaging waste
Microsoft participated in the development of a cross-industry white paper on stretch wrap alternatives.
Ecosystems
We’ve made a commitment to permanently protect more land than we use by 2025. We’re also committed to being good stewards of the land we use – as well as going beyond our own operations and actively working to protect the environmental health of the communities that host our datacenter operations and where our employees live and work.
Protecting biodiversity in the Western US
Through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Western Big Game Migration Program, we invested in projects in the American West that are vital for preserving the migration corridors of endangered and at-risk species, including mountain lions, grizzly bears, and Canada lynx.
Planetary Computer
Building on the work of the AI for Earth program, the Planetary Computer is our ambition to create a tool for people and organizations that enables sustainability decision-making through the power of the cloud.
Our science-based approach to land protection
Microsoft is using the Last Chance Ecosystems framework to prioritize our selection of land protection projects and partner with the UN Biodiversity Lab and the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity (GEO BON) on developing conservation management tools.
“If the world is going to meet net zero goals by 2050, companies need to use their entire ecosystem and all of their positions of influence.”
Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President
Set commitments based on science
Sustainability science has been at the center of our commitments. The world needs to reach net zero by or before 2050, and achieving it relies heavily on the private sector partnership and action.
Consider all positions of influence
As a global technology leader, Microsoft has many opportunities to influence—as a customer, supplier, investor, employer, policy advocate, and innovation partner.
Establish sustainability as part of culture
We’re pursuing opportunities that help solve the challenges of people and the planet—and we’ve made sustainability core to our brand and our business.
Make it central to business
To move from pledges to progress, Microsoft set commitments and built sustainability into the strategy, operations, and roadmaps of each business group and every subsidiary across the globe.
Ensure governance and accountability
Governance and accountability are critical to ensure cross-company alignment and prioritization. Achieving our sustainability commitments is a core priority for every business group and review our progress quarterly.
Report on everything, not just progress
Microsoft is committed to sharing our progress and learnings—through our annual sustainability report, white papers, blogs, and journal publications. We share playbooks from our successes, as well as learnings from new challenges.
AI4Science
We use approaches from our global AI4Science team, launched in June 2022, to advance the state of the art in scientific discovery by using simulations of natural phenomena to produce training data for large-scale AI models.
Research for Industry
Our Research for Industry (RFI) program uses our advanced data platforms and technologies for cloud and edge processing, Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, robotics, and AI to contribute to new solutions in multiple industries, including agri-food, energy, retail, and financial services.
Climate Research Initiative
We’re advancing initiatives in sustainability by partnering with external experts in the field. This group of multi-disciplinary experts is crucial to catalyzing the work we’re doing to address today’s greatest societal challenges.
Evolving carbon accounting
The world needs robust carbon data and accounting—the body of rules that govern tracking and reporting of carbon emissions. At Microsoft, we’re working to evolve our internal emissions accounting approach, focusing on achieving greater accuracy, consistency, completeness, transparency, and alignment with real-world emissions impact.
Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap
Over 3,500 companies globally have issued climate pledges – however, many lack a workforce with the necessary skills to turn these pledges to progress. Our report shows the urgent need to develop a new level of sustainability skills and fluency – and how we aim to help support the transformation.
Lessons learned from carbon removal
At Microsoft, our path to carbon negative includes prioritizing carbon reductions first, with carbon removal as a critical second component to our strategy. This paper shares our reflections on lessons learned as a large buyer in this emerging market.
Achieving operational zero waste
In this paper, we share insights and learnings from our zero waste journey at Microsoft campuses and datacenters.
